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MICHIGAN JAYCEES HISTORY:
The Junior Chamber movement
is now 79 years old. Originally, a group of young men
led by Henry Giessenbier formed a dance club in St. Louis.
They believed that if young people were to improve their
prospects for social and career advancement, they would
first have to join forces socially. With the help and
guidance of established civic and business leaders they
built the organization. Membership swelled from 32 to
750 members in just five months.
In 1914, the group merged with
six other dance clubs and in 1915 they formed the Young
Men's Progressive Civic Organization (YMPCA). Later, they
changed their name to Junior Citizens and became affiliated
with the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce.
Lectures, speakers and training
sessions provided the group with needed knowledge. But
some method was needed for members to apply what they
had learned. Service to the community provided the answer.
Community service allowed members practical application
of the insights they had learned. It was then the Junior
Chamber movement achieved its goal - building better leaders.
Over the years, Jaycees have been
involved in many local and national issues. In the 1920s,
the Junior Chamber began the first national program, "Get
Out the Vote", designed to encourage citizens to
participate in government. Today, many Jaycee states run
Model Legislatures to involve young people in the lawmaking
process.
In the '40s, the Junior Chamber
went on record in favor of compulsory military training.
While more than 85 percent of our membership were fighting
in World War II, local groups were conducting scrap drives,
selling war bonds, and assisting USO chapters to help
the war effort.
More recently, Jaycees have promoted
other constructive activities. These include the formation
of the National Wildlife Federation, backing the "Big
Brother" program, support of the adoption of the
Uniform Vehicle Code, and the creation of the National
Center for Voluntary Action.
In September 1924, representatives
form Flint, Pontiac, Jackson and Saginaw met at the Old
City Club in Jackson for the purpose of establishing a
Michigan Junior Chamber of Commerce. Guest from Toledo,
Detroit and Chicago attended at the invitation of the
Jackson Junior Chamber. Kalamazoo and Bay City did not
send delegates. Martin P. Luthy, Executive Secretary of
the Jackson Chamber and President of the Jackson Junior
Chamber, was named chairman of the By-Laws Committee.
Serving with him were Clarence Smith of Pontiac, Elton
Viets of Flint and Robert Frantz of Saginaw.
The 50 delegates voted to operate
under the direction of a three man committee; Martin Luthy,
Clarence Smith, and Elton Viets, until the first convention
scheduled in the fall of 1925. Project reports on Reforestation,
Civic betterment, Get out the vote and Social activities
were presented to the delegation.
A tour of Michigan State Prison
was conducted n the afternoon, with entertainment by the
prison orchestra and a short motion picture.
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Michigan's
first State President, Martin P. Luthy, had a full
and fascinating career in the Jaycees. As Assistant
Secretary of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, he helped
to organize the Jackson Junior Chamber as it became
the third chapter in the state. Only Pontiac and Flint
were in operation at the time. |
In 1925, he was elected as the first
State President of the Michigan Junior Chamber, and also
served as Secretary of the United States Junior Chamber.
In 1926, he took the position of
Manager of the Chamber of Commerce in Defiance, Ohio ...
while serving another year as Secretary to the national
Junior Chamber. Previously Martin Luthy served as president
of the Chicago Junior Chamber. He remained active in Jaycee
affairs until exhausting at age 36.
Luthy lived to the age of
94, when he passed away in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts,
where he spent his retirement years. Martin P. Luthy is
interred at a Chicago area cemetery.
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