"Speaking of the Jaycees" from Gatecity Blog

"In an earlier post, I commented on the Jaycees and their decline in prominence. A poster makes the point that businesses just don't appreciate the value of community service and do not give employees, especially younger ones, the time off to develop their leadership skills.

Here is a copy of the posters comment:I think you miss the point of why organizations like the Jaycees have declined over the past twenty years. The problem as I see it is that young leaders are not grown or encouraged by their employers any longer. In the last five to ten years, work places have had to become so efficient and productive that they have not allowed the younger employees to involve themselves in activities such as the Jaycees, etc.

For example, if you were to sit on the executive committee of the golf tournament, you might as well ask your employer for half the year off. The time requirement is easily 1000 hours per year. Also, if you were to hold a chairmanship for the tournament, you would likely ave to take 7-8 days off of work in the fall. Very few employers are left that value community service to that extent. Also, the companies that employ people in the Greensboro area are no longer from the Greensboro area, nor do their managers, who have come from out of town, have a history with the GGO. To sum up a long and complex topic, employers are unwilling to allow their employers to take part in something that requires this much attention.

If the organization does not have a project high profile enough to require this kind of attention, it is not likely to be noticed anyway. Is anyone in Greensboro talking about how much trouble the opera company is having finding directors? This fails to even take into consideration the major drag serving in an organization like this is on your family, when it is done on top of work and everything else that one needs to do.

Gate's Response

Business has become increasingly bottom line in America and corporate goodwill has become tied to how it helps corporate profits. That is the truth. Volunteering takes time and a benevolent employer.But blaming corporate America for the decline of the Jaycees in Greensboro is skirting the issue. Big Business did not cause your membership to shrink. The Jaycees declined because

A) The Quality of membership declined and young professionals who had the time and ability to serve stopped being members; and

B) The GGO got too much for them to handle, causing a multitude of ill will and publicity in Greensboro. Volunteering to help y'all is an exercise in frustration.The poster also says that serving is a major drag on family and that one puts in at least 1,000 hours of service a year for the tournament. I would suggest you recruit more members and delegate. Or let your professional staff take care of things more.

As for service being a drag on family life, that is the price of civic commitment. You have to know what you are willing to sacrifice and balance your home life accordingly.

As for the Opera having trouble coming up with the Directors, getting Board Members ain't their problem, it is getting a professional staff. Their issues are for another post, but their troubles mirror the Jaycees when I think about it.The Jaycees have spent the past few years denying their problems, then bemoaning them.

Sadly, it is too late for either to be of benefit. The tournament will soon be no longer yours, and the Jaycees will just be another volunteer group. As I have said before, I hate that it is happening that way, but the Jaycees have left no other choice. "

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