Strengthen Your JCI Local Organization With JCI Tools

This week's blog is from JCI.  Visit JCI's website at www.jci.cc.

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The 2012 JCI Local Organization Toolkit provides every resource you will need to manage and grow your organization while bringing active citizenship to your community.

Global change starts with local action. JCI Local Organizations are the driving force creating collective change around the world. JCI local members are the masterminds behind grassroots projects that analyze the needs of a community and establish innovative, sustainable solutions. As a local member, it is your duty to answer the call to action. And JCI World Headquarters is here to help.

Build a great new Local Organization or improve your existing one with the JCI Local Organization toolkit. The materials included range from guides on how to administer your JCI Local Organization to inspiring videos that can spread the message of active citizenship to your existing members, partners and community stakeholders. Take a look at some of the new tools provided this year.

Local Resources

Leadership and administration are two vital aspects of a successful Local Organization. They provide direction and structure for JCI members and help align local projects with the JCI Mission and Vision. Highlights of this section include the JCI Active Citizen Framework infographics and information sheet. Provide job descriptions and guidance to your Local Board members with the new and improved Local Action Guides. Be sure to check the new JCI National and Local Organization Website Management Guide to find out more about the new website format and how to best use it for your Organization.

JCI Documents

This section consists of many official JCI publications intended to serve as references for JCI members and officers. Use the JCI Style Guide. Use this guide to ensure professional and consistent writing and editing in all of your communications. Also check out the JCI Sales Merchandise list. With the 2012 JCI Area Conferences starting, see what’s available so you can make your shopping list for the JCI Store!

JCI Programs

The documents in this section provide guides for running JCI Programs in your Local Organization. Whether you use these materials to develop your own JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World program or host a local JCI Debating Championship, JCI programs provide members an opportunity to learn, achieve, be recognized and inspire active citizenship. This year, look for updates to the JCI Awards toolkit with the new system and categories launching at the Area Conferences.

Videos

JCI has created a number of videos for both internal and external audiences. New videos in this section include the JCI Active Citizen Framework video in English, Spanish, French and Japanese, and the video documenting the JCI Nothing But Nets Cameroon Observation Trip.

Marketing and Communications

Establishing a professional look for a Local Organization is easy using the templates in this section of the toolkit. These materials will help align your marketing and communications efforts to the global brand and promote JCI initiatives. New materials include the UN Millennium Development Goals posters and bookmark as well as the JCI Operation Hope poster.

The Local Organization toolkit will save you time and money, utilize JCI’s international partnerships, support the JCI global image, run JCI Programs and plan for future success by engaging your community. Our strength at the local level allows us to increase our global impact.

Pick up your copy of the Local Organization Toolkit at your JCI Area Conference or download the new Local Organization Toolkit now.

Seeing How Advanced Leadership Works

This week we have the honor of having a guest blogger who is currently serving as our wonderful U.S. Jaycees National Vice President Stan Fichtman (Hawai’i)!

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Once in a while, experiencing the leadership qualities of another organization makes me realize that what we do in the Jaycees is not only necessary, but critically needed in today’s world.

Let me explain through an experience I had recently.

I had the honor of attending a local civic organization’s annual meeting here in Honolulu. To give you a picture of this organization: they do a lot of community outreach, and have a dedicated core of members – from young to retired. Their statewide leadership is made up of a small group of individuals who are in their late 20s or early 30’s that was recently put in charge to both turn the organization around and, more important, promote local culture values in the community.

At a weekend meeting, the organization held their annual elections for officers. One of the offices was being contested by members who were both seasoned and well respected. Support from both was widespread and the campaign was intense. Supporters for both wore buttons promoting one or the other and campaign volunteers for both sides buzzed around looking for more support as the conference went on through the morning.

In the afternoon the elections were held. Each candidate was given 12 minutes to speak to the delegates. The first candidate, after being introduced by a seasoned member, went on stage to speak. He was surrounded by at least 20 to 30 supporters. All they did was listen as the candidate gave his campaign speech. Upon completion, the supporters enthusiastically applauded and got the crowd to “whoop it up”. A positive attitude pervaded the room, even for those who would not vote for that candidate.

The second candidate had a series of speakers go to a remote microphone and speak. Again, selected members with pull in the organization were chosen to speak. Each spoke about the merits of the candidate. The third speaker, a younger woman who had been tapped to be part of the leadership, went to the microphone to talk about the candidate. Her speech, initially, was positive in nature.

But then, as if another person took over, she started talking down to the other candidate. In one sentence, she went from positive to negative, verbally accusing the other candidate of defaming the character of the organizations chairman (an appointed position). She then started to cry as she continued the accusations, finally uttering that she was upset that the candidate was saying hurtful things about her boyfriend, who was the Chairman no less.

She then sat down, and the silence in the room was palatable.

It took me a couple of seconds for the message to sink in….that, in very short order, a perceived young leader of this organization basically broke down because someone else “dissed” her boyfriend who happened to be the head honcho.

It was then I shook my head and quietly asked my neighbor “what the hell was that?” He didn’t have an answer for me.

After the results were announced, in which the one candidate with all the people surrounding him lost to the candidate whose supporter cried on stage, I started to think long and hard about what the current state of community leaders are these days. What I realized is that the quality of leadership development these days is much to be desired.

It then dawned on me that the leadership development that we provide in the Jaycees is now needed more desperately than ever. Our role in the community – in creating leaders today for them to be our community leaders of tomorrow – is something not being taught by anyone else besides us. By demonstrating, literally that there is no escalator to the top, that instead you have to take the stairs, the patience to become a proper leader is something that we need to get out and promote to every young person looking to get a leg up in society.

That is why the mission of our organization, from that of the new member all the way up to our national president, needs to be focused on developing our members in close concert with the lesson plans we have created over the past 92 years – The Book, mastering the Chairman’s Planning Guide, encouraging higher participation in our promising young people to take leadership roles and allowing for them to be properly mentored and developed by our more seasoned members and members of the Senate.

I know that the mission of the Texas Jaycees is just that, and it shows in both the recruitment of new members and the quality of those members to become effective leaders in the organization. Your example continues to prove that the system created by Hy Gissenbier, our founder, is still relevant in this day. Because the message, unfortunately, is now needed more than ever, especially to our up and coming community leaders that we are asked to support.

I am proud to be assigned the Texas Jaycees as your National Vice President, and even more so, proud to be a Jaycee By Choice (JBC)! Aloha!

Fully Invested

This week we have the absolute pleasure of having a guest blogger who is currently serving as U.S. Jaycees State Presidents' Coach, is a candidate for U.S. Jaycees President, and is an all-around amazing individual Chrystal Ramsay! 
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I had the amazing pleasure of visiting the Texas Jaycees at their FOYT convention in Houston. At lunch I addressed the group about being fully invested. Sometimes it is easy to think we are fully invested because we are working so hard, we come to all the meetings, we attend the trainings, we work the projects, but are we fully invested? Are we asking other people to join the most amazing group of individuals our chapter? Are we inviting people to come to conference and get the full experience of being a Jaycee? Are we sharing with everyone we know and even people we don’t know how the Jaycees are the premiere organization for young people? Are we investing in other people and allowing them to become leaders in our chapters? So then they too can become fully invested and want to share this organization with others?

If these things are not happening we need to change. It is so easy to get the “I will just do it” attitude. It is easier if I do it. I don’t have time to teach someone how I do it. I am not sure if they will deliver on their promises. I don’t want to have to come back and do it later. All excuses we fill our brains with so we don’t feel bad for just doing something and not delegating and allowing others to lead. My favorite that I have heard all too much lately in this organization is no one is ready. If you step into a leadership position and feel that you are ready to take it, then you have been sitting in a holding pattern preparing yourself for too long.

We are all nervous when we are looked at as the leader. Whether it be a project chairman or officer, when we are in charge the ultimate responsibility falls back on us. And I can assure you from someone who has served in several leadership positions I look back at the end of every year and go I could have done this and this different if I would have known this and this. But the reality is we all feel if we would have had more time or more resources we could have done things differently. But I can almost 100% assure that if given another year to do the same position you would say it again at the end of that year also. However, the reality is as long as you tried and led with the best interest of the chapter/state/nation at the forefront and you learned and grew, you did a great job.

Remember this is a learning organization and everyone needs a chance to learn and grow in the organization. A chance for them too, to become fully invested. Besides more than likely there is another position waiting for you on the horizon.

So make me this promise today. Work really hard to see how you can become FULLY invested in the Jaycees. Whether it be asking more people to come out and join you for projects or socials. Whether it be stepping up and letting someone lead. Whether it be stepping out of your comfort zone and leading. Because by doing this you will see all the amazing things that will happen to you as an individual and your chapter as a whole. It is awesome.

Thanks as always for welcoming me as you always do. I am certain I am half Texan. I love all of you and believe in what you are doing. You are making a huge IMPACT and leading the organization. Great work this year. Keep it up and as always I am here if you need anything.

Chrystal Ramsay
State Presidents’ Coach
United States Jaycees
(352) 502-0535
CRamsay@USJaycees.org
“MAKE iT HAPPEN”