Empowered Relationships
—Justin Wutzke, 100th National President, JCI USA
Every time there is a personal tragedy with one of our fellow members, I’m witness to and reminded of the heart and love our members possess for one another. It’s times like these that remind me how amazing our organization is. The messages and stories I hear of members supporting one another during these times are inspiring and heart-warming. It’s comforting to know that when tough times fall on me and my family or my fellow members, our Jaycees family will be there to help us through it.
One of the major foundational opportunities of the Jaycees is the empowerment of strong relationships and bonds. The members of the Jaycees form one big family. Whether that family is your chapter, members across a state, across our country or even around the world. The more members you interact with, the larger your family becomes. Your family is there to support you during the good times and the bad times. Don’t think for one second as a Jaycee member that you don’t have fellow members that don’t think the world of you and wouldn’t be there when you really need it. Even just to give a hug or lend an ear. You all have experienced it. Think about how amazing that feels to have support.
The best way to overcome challenges, dream BIG and obtain everything we want in life is through coming together, collaborating and supporting one another through our actions. This is what we do in the Jaycees. We build upon experiences with one another and create our best work of life. That’s what makes this whole thing so dam beautiful. We share ideas and we try them out. Through failures we learn and become better. With our support network, we don’t fall as far when we fail. We have multiple hands stretched out to pick us back up. These are the basic ingredients for healthy and strong relationships and that is a major reason to be part of our organization.
The Jaycees is a place to create a fulfilling life. A place to belong to. A place to easily make friends. To seek comfort. To learn and develop from one another. To be able to fail and have others to help pick you up. To be empowered to make the impossible... Possible. We must nurture this environment and keep it growing. When you choose to address conflict and come to a higher place with others, you will see yourself and fellow Jaycees grow by leaps and bounds.
In this busy world of social media, work, family and endless opportunities for different experiences available at our fingertips… we forget about the simple things and what Jaycees is about... RELATIONSHIP, EMPOWERMENT and GROWTH. We overcomplicate things and forget to check in on our fellow members and to listen to their challenges and support them in overcoming them. Opinions and criticism are tossed out as quickly and easily as our need to breathe. Compliments, gratitude and quality time are hard to come by it seems.
The Jaycees is the natural remedy in this world where we are craving good news and positive experiences. As long as we remember our mission, things become simple and empowering. We’re here to make good things happen to other people and through that we all rise together. It’s as simple as that, so get out there and just Jaycee. Through strong relationships, we can start each day a little more confident and a little more ready to take on the world out there.