Service clubs have had a long history in the U.S.; in the 1910s service clubs took off in popularity, beginning with the Rotary Club in 1905. Many similar groups followed, creating a social and business network, service opportunities, and mutual support for their members.

The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce, or Jaycees, is a community service and civic engagement organization created in 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri. It caught on and spread nationally, as its fellowship and leadership development had a positive impact. Membership was limited to 18-45 year olds; it was intended as a type of leadership development for young people on the rise.

52 charter members of the original Brevard Jaycees organized in 1941 with Eddie Varner, Jr., local business owner of Varner’s Drug Store, as the president and additional leadership offices being held by Edgar Loftis, John Anderson, and Mack Allison.  A news article from later that year shows that Varner’s enjoyed a boom in business that warranted moving to a new location to expand. It’s possible that membership in the Jaycees was the cause of his increased business success.

The early Jaycees hosted a social dance at the local country club as their first major event. Many businesses around Transylvania contributed, showcasing their talents and offerings and bringing the business owners into the network of support as well as the attendees. It was followed by a successful golf tournament that was reprised every year.

Street dances and community sings came next for Jaycee-led social events, followed by numerous programs and services for the community. Some examples of Brevard Jaycees’ contributions over time  include a competitive “Road-e-o” to reward safe driving, athletic and academic scholarships, pumpkin and holiday tree sales, parade sponsorship, meet-the-candidate forums, flag displays for businesses, a haunted house, and even moving all of the contents of the “old library” when a new building was constructed (now the Veterans’ History Museum). Their creative fundraising benefited causes such as burn and cancer victims, little league, higher education, mental health, and jobs creation.

The Jaycees began as a male-only group, with the female partner organization, the Jaycettes, organized in 1947. For many years, the two groups cooperated to achieve complimentary goals. The Jaycettes are credited with staffing a charitable clothing closet, the “sheltered workshop”, which later grew into Transylvania Vocational Services, sponsoring Brownie Girl Scout troops, candy sales, family picnics, and organizing social dances.

In 1984, the national organization blended the two groups into one larger mixed-gender organization. Some of the local members did not approve of this shift, as reported in the Transylvania Times. However, the group acquiesced to the wishes of the national organization’s decision. Major structural changes like this are often mixed in their outcomes. Although the Jaycees nationally were responding to the changing roles of women in business, economics, and civic engagement in the 1980s, by merging the two groups, leadership roles were cut by half, and more often than not, women are the ones left out of those roles.

The Brevard Jaycees held a ground-breaking to celebrate the construction of a new meeting center in 1983 on Old Hendersonville Highway where the Brevard Drive-In theater had previously been. The relaxed timeline led to completion in 1989.

1983 was a busy year for the state-wide Jaycees. The group announced that they had completed the repayment of funds that had been misappropriated in the 1970s. Their transparency and efforts to make right what had previously been done incorrectly is commendable and shows a commitment to ethics and fairness. Brevard Jaycees helped fundraising efforts to replace the funds, and the many chapters working together reached their goal in just three years.

Creative fundraising continued through the 1990s with events such as “Gangster Night” when Jaycees dressed as 1920’s era gangsters and appeared at local restaurants to “collect” donations from visitors. No matter the method, their funds always went to helping communities and individuals in need by supporting the D.A.R.E. program, the Chapel Hill Burn Center, Transylvania Community Hospital, and other causes.

Membership began to dip in the early 2000s for the Jaycees, but also for many social and service clubs across the nation. Many of these institutions began waning in popularity after a century of high visibility and participation. The 2008 recession and subsequent financial crisis left potential members with limited income and the inability to participate in extra spending, such as membership dues and charitable giving.

After years of struggling to maintain the required 30 active members, the Brevard Jaycees made the difficult decision to rescind their charter in 2011. Even with the end of the local chapter, the group sought to make a positive impact locally.

They advertised that they would be donating their meeting center to a local non-profit and carefully reviewed applications before donating the building to The Family Place of Brevard. It was clear that this group would benefit the most from having a physical location. The Family Place is still there, providing play groups, family support programming, and parenting education at this and their Rosman locations.

The Brevard Jaycees’ legacy of service will no doubt continue to have positive and meaningful impacts in our community for years to come. Photos and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Laura Sperry, Local History Librarian. Sources available upon request.