Message from President Randy Cox

Well, here we are at the start of another new year! Boy it feels like just yesterday that the 2005 officers were being inducted. Time truly does fly when you are having fun!

This month I would like to share a story with you. It is the story of a young man that came back to Greenville after several years of being elsewhere. He had only one or two friends in Greenville, and was desperately seeking a social life.

One of those friends just happened to be a Jaycee. The Jaycee encouraged this young man to join and so he came to a meeting and joined right away. He came to all of the meetings, but not much else. He was very quiet and did not make a great deal of effort to join in the projects. As a matter of fact at each meeting he said to himself, “I am never going to chair one of those projects!”

Well, as a result he floundered around in the group and then he started to miss meetings and even stopped coming to the few projects that he used to come to. As a matter of fact, it was getting to the point where he was getting a little embarrassed to come back to any event, he had missed so many.

Until one day a very wise President called him on the phone and said we miss having you around and would love for you to come with us to an out of region visitation. Believe it or not, that phone call did the trick. It took away his embarrassment for not showing up and made him want to come to the next meeting. He slowly started making his way back into the Jaycees. He eventually chaired a couple of projects and has even served on the board of directors for several years and this year I have the honor of serving as your 2006 President. All because of a little phone call!

There are several points that I want for you to remember throughout this year and the years to come. First, if you feel that you are currently floundering in the Jaycees and are on the verge of leaving us, I am calling on you now! Please come back - we miss you! Secondly, if you are an active member please remember that everyone can make a difference. No matter what position you are in. If you notice a member falling by the wayside… pick up the phone, make the call. Membership retention and recruitment is not only the job of the Membership VP. It is everyone’s job!

On behalf of the 2006 Board of Directors, we would like to thank each and every one of you for electing us to our positions. We look forward to working with you this coming year.

Randy Cox
2006 President