The Norfolk Jaycees

History of the Norfolk Jaycees

The Norfolk Junior Chamber of Commerce was founded in August 1924 by a group of young men who were dissatisfied with the lack of an opportunity to express themselves in community affairs. They elected an attorney, Michael B. Wagenheim, as their first president. An intensive membership drive was launched immediately, and the roster of members grew to over one thousand with a full-time secretary and a full-time assistant. Elaborate offices were maintained in the Bank of Commerce Building on the thirteenth floor.

In 1939 Norfolk was the leader in establishing the Virginia Jaycee organization. It was one of eight chapters that elected Tom Baldridge, a member of the Winchester-Frederick Jaycees, president.

Until this time some of the projects held by the Junior Chamber included the backing of the elimination of toll calls from Norfolk to Ocean View, establishment of the Norfolk Voters Club, the installation of uniform street signs, advocation of a municipal airport, partial tax pay plan for the city, and a merchants and manufacturers exhibition.

In 1941, a Jaycee Air Show was held in Norfolk. This show attracted thousands of attendees and managed to sign up 250 applicants for the Army Air Corps. Another 350 men were signed up for the Army in a "dugout" booth in downtown Norfolk. Also, War Fund and War Bond drives were very successful.

In April 1975, the first Easter Sunrise Service was held at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. In 1979, the Jaycees ran bingo for almost a year to raise funds for an SPCA van.

In 1984, the Norfolk Jaycees voted to approve the admission of women to the chapter. In August of 1984 the United States Supreme Court ruled that Jaycees had to allow women to join as full members. Gerry Roth, the first female President of the Norfolk Jaycees, and a former Virginia State President, offers some insight on some of the changes the local chapter needed to embrace under this new climate.

"I joined the Jaycees shortly after the Supreme Court ruled that excluding women was unconstitutional and that women should be allowed to join. For the most part, women were welcomed into the chapter. The President, Jim Blassingham, and Membership VP, Gary Bonnewell, did everything they could to get everyone involved. In fact, they did such a great job that the Norfolk Jaycees were recognized as the best chapter in the state that year. As the years went by, there were weddings and changes to programming of the 'new chapter'. A couple of changes included 'Spa Day' and a guest speaker at Valentines Day from a dating service."

Annually, the Norfolk Jaycees run upwards of 40 projects. Listed here are some of those projects:

The Norfolk Jaycees supports the Azalea Festival by sponsoring the United Kingdom float in the Parade of Nations. Each year the chapter sends campers to Camp Virginia Jaycee, a camp for mentally and physically handicapped persons fully supported by the Jaycee chapters throughout the state. The chapter has participated in the Stockley Gardens Arts Festival for Hope House, Save the Bay Day, and St. Columba Ministries to feed the hungry. They have taken the children of Big Brothers Big Sisters to Busch Gardens and the children of the Salvation Army Christmas Shopping. They have renovated the playgrounds of Norfolk, planted and groomed the gardens at the Ernie Morgan Environmental Action Center, and adopted St. Paul's Boulevard in partnership with the Keep Norfolk Beautiful programs. They work with the children of Tarralton Community Center to bring sports competitions to them including Pepsi's Pitch, Hit and Run and the Gatorade Punt, Pass and Kick (which will be held in August).