Wednesday, December 31, 2014

One year to lead - A look back on 2014

What a year it’s been!

As we welcome our new JCI Winnipeg President, Natasha Fisher, we reflect on our Past President’s commitment to JCI this past year.

Danelle Hueging served as 91st President of Junior Chamber International Winnipeg, the first Canadian chapter of JCI, established back in 1923.

When I first joined JCI, I heard the phrase “one year to lead” coined for the first time. A good catch phrase, I thought. Well, that’s changed. Working with Danelle on JCI initiatives has amplified my definition of what “one year to lead” means for me, for our members and for our community. This note is my attempt at showcasing that fact.



Here is a quick rundown of JCI accomplishments, under Danelle’s leadership …  

Having been sworn-in on Dec 7, 2013 at JCI’s signature Winter Gala, Danelle quickly got to work on getting her board ready for new challenges in 2014.

Read her message as incoming President - 2014 President’s Message

Her impact began manifesting itself as she mingled with her peers in St. Louis at JCI USA’s Local President's Summit, early in 2014. Representing Winnipeg and Canada, Danelle studied successes in other chapters in order to bring back fresh ideas on how JCI Winnipeg could shape its potential for positive change in Winnipeg.

Then, she scheduled a Local Officer Training (LOTS) session with other JCI chapters in Canada’s Prairie Region. We all benefited from this weekend to learn, connect with fellow members from Western Canada and to bond as colleagues.

The bar was set; Danelle quickly focused her attention on supporting a variety of initiatives and projects offering professional development opportunities to our membership, visibility and influence for the chapter and opportunities to have positive impact in our community.



Here are a just few of them…

Bold Winnipeg Caucus
As President of JCI Winnipeg, Danelle served as Ex-Officio Member on the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She joined the BOLD Caucus, along with 26 other community leaders to help shape the BOLD platform. Simply put, the platform captured the creativity and passion Winnipeggers have for our city in an effort to inspire innovative thinking and ideas among all mayoral candidates for the 2014 Civic Elections.

Read about the BOLD Caucus - BOLD Winnipeg Caucus

Leadercast Winnipeg
The best one day leadership training summit of the year! Participants heard from current and influential leaders from all walks of life. JCI gathered over 100 people for this inaugural event that drew keynotes speakers Sachit Merah and Hon. Kevin Chief who spoke on the theme 'Beyond You'.

Read remarks from local leaders on Leadercast Winnipeg - Key messages from Leadercast Winnipeg



JCI Winnipeg’s Effective Speaking Workshop and Competition
Following in Natasha Fisher’s footsteps as Effective Speaking Champion of the Americas, JCI Winnipeg organized professional development workshops for effective speaking and saw member Katrina Hueging defend Winnipeg’s title as Canadian champs at JCI Canada’s National Convention in late September 2014.

Read news stories on Natasha Fisher’s bid for the World Title in Effective Speaking - Natasha Fisher’s public speaking skills are taking her around the world.

JCI Winnipeg to become bilingual
Following the World Trade Centre Winnipeg’s lead, JCI Winnipeg has decided to invest resources in becoming bilingual in French and English. A key partnership was achieved with Jeune chambre de commerce de Québec (JCCQ), Québec City’s local JCI chapter. With their assistance, we successfully secured funding for the initiative. We have since become members of the Chambre de commerce francophone de Saint-Boniface (CCFSB) and have a new bilingual website scheduled for launch in early 2015.

Read about our bilingual launch - JCI Winnipeg says OUI to bilingualism

Community Clean-up – Fort Rouge Park
Danelle’s strong sense of community energized JCI’s membership for our annual Community Clean-up event. Community members and small business sponsors worked hand in hand with JCI to clean up Fort Rouge Park. Rain or shine, Danelle took the helm and mobilized us for some for positive impact in our community.

JCI Winnipeg’s Annual Golf Tournament
With help from member Joel Mabon, JCI accomplished a little fundraising and redefined the term #funwithpurpose. The day was spent among new and past JCI members, along with JCI Senators, friends and family having fun on the links while raising funds for JCI’s many community initiatives. Danelle took this opportunity to connect the past and current members for an afternoon of fellowship, where success stories from JCI Winnipeg’s long history were shared.

Read JCI Member Jason Gunnlaugson’s reflections - Ways and whys of getting involved locally.

2014 JCI Canada National Convention
JCI Durham was host to 2014 JCI Canada National Convention which took place Ajax, Ontario. Danelle did not hesitate to maximize the opportunities that presented themselves at this annual event. After submitting a copious amount of projects and initiatives for awards in the weeks leading up to Nat Con (as we call it), Danelle accompanied the JCI Winnipeg delegation to JCI Canada’s General Assembly, participated in many training sessions and promoted JCI Winnipeg’s achievements at multiple networking events organized by JCI Durham. Her hard work paid off as JCI Winnipeg was recognized in 4 different categories. Danelle also took every opportunity to promote Natasha Fisher’s bid for the World Effective Speaking Championship Title and raised over $600 for her travel expenses. And finally, Danelle accepted a new role as National Vice - President for JCI Canada. 

Read about her experience - 2014 JCI National Conference

Danelle Hueging finished off her year to lead by supporting 4 stunning projects; JCI’s Trick Or Eat Halloween Food DriveJCI’s Charity Toy Drive, the Santa Claus Parade Day events, and a new collaboration with Junior achievement of Manitoba. She also accompanied Natasha Fisher to JCI World Congress 2014 Leipzig, Germany in November 2014. 

All of these projects take an impressive amount of coordination, skill and dedication. Danelle brought this to each and every meeting, every member Mixer and at every event where she represented us. She also knew how to bring it out in all of us. She successfully mobilized us to take on innovative projects, to invest our time for greater causes and to commit to bringing our best. She has helped our board, our members and our community become better versions of ourselves, and all this within her year to lead.



Witness to Danelle’s enthusiasm and dedication, my belief that we can achieve positive change in our community, as a group and as an individual, continues to grow.

Speaking on behalf of all of those you've reached this year, thank you for being involved, for being fearless in front of new challenges and for believing in our ability to make the world better.

To quote Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

All the best in 2015 as a JCI Canada National Vice-President.




Monday, December 1, 2014

JCI Winnipeg's Holiday Gala 2014

Winnipeg's local Junior Chamber International Chapter celebrated it's 91st anniversary at East India Company on Saturday, December 13th 2014. 

The JCI Winnipeg Holiday Gala gave our members, friends and sponsors the opportunity to look back on a year of engagement and impact in our community. 

Download our Evening Program here.

Follow us on Twitter @JCIWinnipeg and have a look at #JCIwpgGala for live tweets of the evening. 

Have a look at our Facebook page for our photo album of the Gala. 

Past-member Kelly Faubert hosted our evening which recognized outstading members who initiated projects that impacted the lives of many in Winnipeg.

Erica Christie was awarded Rookie of the Year for her dedication and efforts on two very important initiatives: JCI Winnipeg's Trick Or Eat event and JCI Winnipeg's involvement with Junior Achievement of Manitoba's programs. 

Brandi White was awarded Member of the Year for her continued involvement with JCI initiatives, notably JCI Winnipeg's Charity Toy Drive

Simon Méthot was awarded Board Member of the Year for his work on the bilingual initiative and the creation and maintenance of our blog

Katrina Hueging was awarded Executive Member of the Year for her role as VP of Fellowship and her ongoing involvement in JCI Winnipeg's success.


Past President Danelle Hueging continued the evening with the swearing in of our 2015 JCI Winnipeg President Natasha Fisher, who represented JCI Winnipeg as Effective Speaking Champion of the Americas at World Congress in Leipzig, Germany in November 2014.  

As incoming President, Natasha Fisher welcomed her 2015 Board of Directors

JCI Winnipeg wishes to thank our Holiday Gala Sponsors for their gracious support. They are:




Word from our Past President 

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the impacts made by our dynamic group of active citizens! 

As our membership takes on projects and initiatives to bring positive impact in Winnipeg, our friends, sponsors and partners take great pride in supporting all that the Jaycees do. What a pleasure it was to celebrate these achievements with a great meal at East India Company surrounded by the very best of Winnipeg's young active citizens. 

As our creed states, service to humanity truly is “the best work of life”. I have seen firsthand how the impact of one can resonate with so many; getting involved in food drives, skill development workshops, mentoring youth and helping Santa onto his float has made our community better.  

Like Margaret Mead stated, ”Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”. 

Here’s to many more years of positive impact ahead!

In Jaycee Spirit,

Danelle Hueging
2014 JCI Winnipeg President


Saturday, November 8, 2014

Sophia leads the way

UPDATE : JCI Winnipeg's Charity Toy 

After a busy month with our #wpgToyDrive, we are very excited to share with you the success of this initiative. With the help of 13 different sponsors across the city, coupled with JCI Winnipeg member Brandi White's efforts, we collected over 300 toys for the Christmas Cheer Board.

A very big THANK YOU to all those who contributed to this initiative. Your generosity is undeniable, heartfelt and appreciated.

Have a look at our Facebook Photo Album

We would like to thank the 13 businesses that made important contributions to this drive. They age:




Sophia leads the way...



I was moved when my daughter and I discussed the Christmas Cheer Board’s toy drive.

What’s a “toy drive” she asked. With a few explanations about giving to those who need, Sophia decided to break open her piggy bank and give.


She wants to make sure that as many kids as possible can have a present to unwrap on Christmas morning. She wants to help me organize a drive. And so, we are. With the help of JCI Winnipeg and generous support from small businesses across the city, we've put together a list of Drop-off Location Sponsors to help Sophia gather as many contributions as possible.


I'm happy that she has such a big hart. I'm so proud of her and that she cares for others. It's an important value that all children can learn. Also, I'm glad to be a part of JCI. This group of young professionals can help little ideas like this turn into community successes.


On Monday, Nov. 10th, look to JCI Winnipeg's blog and Twitter feed for details on where you can donate a new, unwrapped toy for the Christmas Cheer Board. Tag and follow the drive on Twitter with #wpgtoydrive.

Thanks to all the businesses who have volunteered to host a Drop Off location, and to all of you who can contribute. 


Together, let’s help Sophia get, or should I say give, her Christmas wish.


Brandi White,JCI Winnipeg member and proud mother. 


Get all the details on how you can contribute by visiting our JCI Winnipeg's Charity Toy Drive page.









Sunday, November 2, 2014

Trick-or-Eat with JCI Winnipeg

Take a look at our Smart Biz article about the #TrickOrEat event here. (page 6)

JCI Winnipeg
#TrickOrEat
Flyer 2014
JCI Winnipeg organized a #TrickOrEat Community Food Drive in support of Winnipeg Harvest for Halloween this past Friday. 

With the help of our sponsor, MB Battery, and the residents of Meadowbank Rd, Marygrove Crescent and Tolcross Gate in Whyte Ridge, JCI Winnipeg made a total weight contribution to Winnipeg Harvest of 411 pounds of food and $60 in cash donations. 

This inspiriting generosity reminds us all of our capacity to give. Thank you to all who have contributed to this kindness. We look forward to next year's event and invite those who wish to achieve a greater impact to join us. 

It all started amid various discussions among members at our JCI Winnipeg Summer Wrap Up event on Sept. 3rd. What should we do for Halloween? Then, John Mark Wilderspin and Erica Christie came up with the idea of Trick-or-Treating for contributions to Winnipeg Harvest. The project was accepted unanimously, a work group was formed and tasks were quickly snatched up.  

In all, we mobilized 9 young active citizens, some JCI Winnipeg members and some future members, and went door to door in Whyte Ridge, collecting contributions to Winnipeg Harvest. We gathered 411 lbs of food and $60 cash for Winnipeg Harvest in less than 2 hours.  




John Mark and I chatted about next year's event while unloading what we had collected at Winnipeg Harvest. He's agreed to lead the project again, and I pledged to assist him. I am sure next year's JCI Winnipeg Board of Directors will adopt this project and make it even bigger. 

If anyone wants to help out, here's what we need:
  • Someone to design a better flyer
  • Volunteers to go door to door with us on Sat. Oct. 31st, 2015
  • Small business sponsors like MB Battery :-)

Leave a comment below, email us at JCIWinnipeg@gmail.com or tweet us at @JCIWinnipeg to sign up for next year. 

Winnipeg Harvest takes donations year round, have a look at these options on how to get involved

Thanks to all who participated.


What's next for JCI Winnipeg ? 


Thursday, October 9, 2014

JCI Senetorship

JUNIOR CHAMBER STAYS TIGHT WITH PAST MEMBERS
Featured in Smart Biz
Published on October 6th, 2014
Written by: Danelle Hueging

What is a JCI senator you ask? A senatorship is the highest honour that can be bestowed on a member of Junior Chamber International. It is a unique way to pay tribute to an individual for his or her dedication and outstanding service on either a local, national, or international level. Continue reading...




Monday, October 6, 2014

2014 JCI National Conference

It was a whirlwind weekend spent in Ajax, Ontario where JCI Durham hosted the 2014 JCI National Conference., conference chair. Congratulations to Erin Guillemette, event chair, and your team for organizing such a fantastic event!



Most of the 16 JCI chapters across Canada were represented at this year’s conference, which serves to gather Canadian members to share ideas and expertise, to take part in the General Assembly, earn recognition in the National Awards Ceremony and cast their vote in the JCI Canada’s National Board.

Of the many Canadian delegates who gathered to share, learn and have fun, JCI Winnipeg was represented by Katrina Hueging, VP Fellowship, Joel Mabon, Director, Natasha Fisher, VP Membership (EffectiveSpeaking Champion of the Americas) and myself, JCI President Danelle Hueging. We also had the pleasure of welcoming JCI Senator Gord Kraushar and his wife Arlene, who joined us for the JCI Senator’s conference taking place on the same weekend.

Wednesday night’s opening ceremonies kicked off the convention. We welcomed several USA Jaycees, along with a few JCI Senators. Always fun catching up with members from across North America!

Thursday marked the formal aspects of the convention – all Chapter Presidents and the JCI National Board were in General Assembly, reviewing progress made with the 2014 strategic plan, reviewing budgets and sharing updates from local chapters. JCI Durham, convention hosts, had planned workshops for all other members not participating in General Assembly, including sessions on entrepreneurship, fundraising and active citizenship.

JCI Winnipeg President Danelle Hueging addressing General Assembly. 

This made for a very busy day full of networking and the learning never stopped.

Thursday night we had an “All Aboard” theme night, where everyone dressed up in their finest sailor attire! Between karaoke, some bad sailor jokes and getting re-acquainted with fellow members from across the country, a lot of great stories were shared and fun memories made.



One of my highlights from Friday was seeing our regional Effective Speaking Champ Katrina compete in the National Effective Speaking Competition – she did so well. Not to brag, but she also took home the award for Best Impromptu Speech. Nicely done Katrina – we’re so proud of you getting to the national stage!

Later, I accepted my nomination as National Vice-President for the JCI National Board. I’m eager to begin working on JCI’s national objectives and look forward to the development opportunities this will bring for my fellow JCI Winnipeg members. 

Friday evening was reserved for the JCI National Awards Ceremony, which celebrates personal and chapter achievements, the highlight of the National Conference! I’m so proud of the hard work our members put into the projects, and we are bringing home the following recognition:

*Best Chapter Management Initiative (Communications)
*Best Local UN MDG Project (Winnipeg Harvest Food Drive)
*Best Community Impact Award (Roundtable Breakfast Club)

and GOLD Chapter Excellence for our chapter diligence!



Special congratulations to Natasha Fisher for being nominated as Executive Board Member of the year, and to Simon Méthot for being nominated as Best New Member of the Year – JCI Winnipeg was able to accomplish a lot over the past year with strong team members like yourselves giving 110%!

JCI Members, these awards were won because of YOUR hard work; for stepping up, getting involved and taking action to make a difference. I am so proud of the positive impact you have in our community and across Canada-keep up the great work!

Saturday, the delegates were invited to take part in a ‘community clean’, a gorgeous, sunny day for it. This was followed by the President’s Gala, when the new National Board is sworn in for their term.



JCI Winnipeg took the opportunity to collect donations for Effective Speaking Champion of the Americas Natasha Fisher’s bid for the World Title. The finals are taking place in Leipzig, Germany in November 2014. A 5$ donation would get you an official “Support Button”. Some chose to give more, including Jean-Simon from Quebec and Shawn from Edmonton who gave 100$ each to help Natasha. And to everyone who gave, whether it was $5 or $50, your generosity is second to none - thanks for helping us to help her make the trip to represent Canada on the world stage.



Being a Jaycee really does take on a whole new meaning when you step outside of your local community projects, and get involved on a bigger level. I hope that everyone takes the opportunity to get involved in one of these unforgettable events!

I’m already looking forward to the next one in Calgary – see you there!


Danelle Hueging
President - JCI Winnipeg
National Vice President - JCI Canada

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Ways and whys of getting involved locally.

Last Friday, I joined fellow members for JCI Winnipeg’s Annual Golf Tournament, taking place at Larters at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club. The objective this year was to raise funds to help JCI Winnipeg deliver its Leadership Series events. We also wish to help Natasha Fisher bring home the World Title in JCI’s Effective Speaking Competition taking place in Leipzig, Germany.

After a quick lunch, we hit the links for a round of golf, laughs and fellowship. And something more…


Since returning to Winnipeg 7 months ago, friends and colleagues often ask why I am involved with JCI. What’s does JCI do for you? What’s it all for?

In the quiet moments on the tee box and between putts, I found a few answers.

Last Friday, I went golfing, and I made a contribution to the success of Joel Mabon’s first experience as a JCI Event Chair. Well done Joel.

Last Friday, I didn’t go to work; I brought work to me by inviting my boss and 2 clients to join us. This gave me chance to show my appreciation to all three.

Last Friday, I promoted two business people from my immediate network, who left some gifts for all tournament golfers.  (Thanks Dulux Paints and Perspective Financial)

Last Friday, I supported Natasha Fisher in her efforts to bring back the World Title in Effective Speaking at JCI’s World Congress in Germany.

Last Friday, I connected with a group of young, dynamic and energetic professionals committed to a better Winnipeg.

Following the tournament, we were welcomed by past JCI member Kelly Faubert for a BBQ at his place.

In the end, I left with a few things, new friends, a few grateful clients, some cool prizes (thanks MB Battery). I also left with a stronger sense of who I am and how my involvement can make a difference for those close to me, for my City, and all those whom I share it with.

Jason Gunnlaugson

Owner, DV Painting
Treasurer, JCI Winnipeg
jason@dv-paint.ca






From the President,

It was a great day to hit the links! JCI Winnipeg’s Annual Golf Tournament united past and current members and gave JCI Director Joel Mabon a chance to successfully organize his first JCI event.

It's always good to see a project come together and to see JCI members creating opportunities to get involved locally. Every event that mobilizes the community to raise funds for community projects is a win for Winnipeg; and it’s due to people stepping up and taking on responsibilities as organizers.

Getting involved really is the best way to make a difference, and the experience you gain along the way is well worth the effort.

Congratulations to golfers Michael Thompson, a past JCI Board member, and supporters Kevin Gates, Larry Gates and Elaine Gates for taking home Best Score!

Huge round of applause for JCI Past President Kelly Faubert and his wife Jennifer for hosting the post-golf wrap-up at their place... despite the cooler temperatures, we still took advantage of the pool!



Thanks to our sponsors MB Battery, BKG Distributors and King Accounting and Tax Services for helping us make the event so successful! Your support at events like this help create opportunities for professional and personal growth for our members; your involvement is greatly appreciated.

To everyone who came out in support of our tournament - THANK YOU!

A final note to JCI Senators Bill Enefer and Gord Kraushaur who joined us – I will practicing for next year so I can beat your scores – GAME ON !

Danelle Hueging
JCI Winnipeg President



Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Growing with JCI - Looking back on experiences gained from JCI


Past JCI Winnipeg member gives his account about his time with JCI, published in SmartBiz.

--------------------------------------------------

"A past member and board member of JCI Winnipeg, I was a part of JCI as long as I could be. It’s designed for those 18-40, and I have enjoyed celebrating my 40th already – otherwise I would still be in there taking advantage of the opportunities and experiences JCI presents.
Before I start to tell you about my JCI development, my question for you is: where are you right now with your life? Are you comfortable? Are you bored? Are you spinning your wheels because no one will give you a chance or opportunities? Do you dream of doing more?" Continue reading...


Natasha Fisher’s public speaking skills are taking her around the world.

Update: World Effective Speaking Championship Competition

The results are in. The JCI World Champion for Effective Speaking is Paul Akingbola of JCI Nigeria. Congratulations to this well earned victory.

Have a look at the list of awards handed out at JCI World Congress 2014 in Leipzig - Germany in Issue #5 of the JCI World Congress Newsletter (page 3) 

To our Natasha Fisher : we are SO PROUD OF YOU. We wish to extend our sincerest thanks for being our ambassador to the 2014 JCI World Congress, representing Winnipeg, Canada and the Americas as Effective Speaking Champion of the Americas.

We look forward to welcoming you back home with this new experience and anticipate a stronger effective speaking training program for JCI Winnipeg members in 2015. 

The leadership you displayed throughout your bid for the championship title will serve you well as you take on the role of President of JCI Winnipeg in 2015, and our members will benefit greatly from your experience on the JCI World stage. 

Thank you for all hard work, your courage and your leadership. 


Update: World Effective Speaking Championship Competition

Today, Natasha Fisher delivered her speech at JCI World Congress 2014 in Leipzig - Germany as Champion of the America's. She competed with three other candidates representing their respective areas. These candidates were from Denmark, Nigeria and Cambodia. All four delivered impressive speeches. 

We await the awards ceremony taking place on Friday, November 28th 2014 to find out who will take home the World Effective Speaking Championship Title. 

All the best to our Canadian representative. We're behind you 110%.

Keep tabs on Twitter with #jciwc2014 and by following JCI Winnipeg



Previously posted

JCI Winnipeg's Natasha Fisher, Vice-president of Membership ascends Effective Speaking Champion of the Americas, and will represent the America's at the JCI World Congress in Leipzig, Germany in November 2014.



May 2104, Jared Story of the Winnipeg Free Press wrote:

When she speaks, people listen : Sinclair Park resident off to Germany for JCI World Congress
"Winning the national competition, Fisher then represented JCI Canada at the JCI Conference of the Americas in Medellín, Colombia from April 23 to 26. Once again taking top spot, Fisher will now be representing the Americas at the JCI World Congress in Leipzig, Germany in November." Continue reading...


August 2014, SMART Tab published her story:

Competing for the world title for effective speaking in Leipzig, Germany.  
"On November 26th, 141 days at the time of writing this article, I will be competing for the world title for Effective Speaking in Leipzig, Germany. This is journey I started over a year ago here in Winnipeg. This incredible opportunity is due to my involvement with JCI (Junior Chamber International)." Continue reading...


JCI member-to-member mentoring

Natasha Fisher quickly transferred her knowledge and skills as an effective speaker to JCI member Katrina Hueging, who just competed for her place at the Prairie Regional Effective Speaking competition that took place on June 7 in Calgary. Katrina will be competing for the top spot in JCI Canada's Effective Speaking Competition taking place in Ajax, ON in September, during JCI Canada's National Convention.

All the best to Katrina who will be defending Winnipeg's claim to national effective speaking champs, and a chance to represent Canada, as Natasha did, in the next JCI Conference of the Americas, taking place in Cochabamba, Bolivia in May 2015. 

JCI Winnipeg's Katrina Hueging competing for the Prairie Regional Effective Speaking title in Calgary, AB.



Saturday, July 12, 2014

JCI Humboldt Demolition Derby

It was mentioned in conversation back in 2013, at JCI’s National Convention in Québec City. “Our big event in Humboldt is the Demolition Derby – the entire town gets involved and it raises a lot of funds for the community… you should come check it out!” said JCI Humboldt member Aaron Prunkl.

Now 10 months later, I find myself in a car with fellow Winnipeg Jaycee Brandi White, on the open road to the little town of Humboldt, SK… home to rolling landscapes, Germanic inspired buildings and 6000 of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet, some of whom make up the JCI Humboldt chapter. Our destination was JCI Humboldt President Amanda Klitch’s home, where we were going to be spending the weekend taking part in their signature event, the same one we caught wind of back in Quebec City!



The Humboldt community is very proud of their local JCI chapter, which has recently finished a project that brought a Spray Park for the towns’ youth. JCI Humboldt is now leading a project to build new exhibition grounds in order to host more activities, including the Demolition Derby, a town favorite.

After a tour of Humboldt, we headed out to the Summer Sizzler Cabaret, an annual social at the curling club. We were greeted with big smiles and warm hugs by every Jaycee we met, we were treated like family. “Little Wicked”, a Winnipeg band soon took the stage and performed for the people of Humboldt as the Jaycess stayed busy selling tickets, mingling with their townsfolk and promoting the Demolition Derby taking place the following day. We couldn't have asked for a better evening full of fun with purpose.

Saturday morning was pouring rain, and the town was getting ready for their annual parade. Being a farming community, the high-end tractors were out in full force, along with floats decorated by the local businesses, ATV’s with decorated riders and antique cars braving the wet conditions to parade down the town’s main street. There may have been a few more people watching the parade from inside their cars. Staying dry, Humboldt was there in support of the weekends activities – and that is a part of what makes this community so awesome!



The Demolition Derby was next on the agenda. With no confirmed drivers as of 9AM, the exhibition grounds were empty and I was curious how the event would come together without confirmed commitments. (As a planner, I try not to leave too much to chance!) This is where Brandi and I were able to witness how great JCI Humboldt is at working with the community and raising money! Their mantra of “host it and they will come” proved true, and by noon the cars were lining up to register at the JCI Camper at the derby grounds and people were slowly trickling in.



I witnessed past and present Jaycees coming together with the community to make this event a resounding success. Past JCI Senators, Presidents and members were all making contributions to this event. A past JCI Humboldt president helped push mud to create the Derby Ring, past JCI members completed vehicle inspections and we even had past JCI members present who had founded the Demolition Derby 43 years ago.

The Fire Department was on scene as well and were called to action when some cars caught fire. Andy, from the local radio station and JCI member, covered the event. Everywhere, you could see the bright orange t-shirts of volunteer event staff making sure people were having fun, being safe, and selling 50/50 tickets or keeping an eye on the beer tent. Everyone stepped up and had a great time doing it! As the first car pulled into the ring, the sun poked out of the clouds and soon after, the engines roared, the crowds cheered enthusiastically as the cars smashed into one another. The Demolition Derby was underway.



This event raised over $20K for JCI Humboldt’s new exhibition grounds and shows the potential that can be achieved by a local JCI group.

To our hosts in Humboldt, thanks so much for the hospitality, and letting us tag along for the ride - You can trust there will be some Winnipeggers back next year to see the magic happen once again!

Danelle Hueging
JCI Winnipeg President

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Junior Chamber International Winnipeg celebrates success stories in mentorship

Take a look at a recent article published in SMART TAB

Johanna Wood, past local president of JCI.
Johanna Wood, past local president of JCI.
“Our belief is that in order to create lasting positive change, we must improve ourselves and the world around us,” says JCI Winnipeg’s president, Danelle Hueging. “The JCI mission is to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change.” .....continue reading here
Join us at the SMART TAB launch event.
Tue July 8th 2014 – 6:30pm
SMART Tab Launch Party @ Carbone Coal Fired Pizza
260 St. Mary Ave (Parking at back)
Admission: $15 
Tickets available at Carbone St. Mary Ave.

All proceeds go toward the preservation of the monarch butterfly population in Manitoba.

Monday, June 30, 2014

JCI Winnipeg brings you Leader Lunch

Following our inaugural Leadercast Winnipeg presentation on May 9th 2014, JCI Winnipeg brings you Leader Lunch: a series of Leadership-themed workshops delivered over lunch.

JCI members shares the belief that in order to create lasting positive change, we must improve ourselves and the world around us.

Leadercast is focused on building Leaders Worth Following and exists to serve individuals and organizations across all sectors who want to become intentional about raising their standard of leadership.

Our goal is to provide monthly leadership development opportunities in order to help build leaders worth following within our communities, leading up to Leadercast 2015. 

Sign up for the Leader Lunch Bulletin for details on our first Leader Lunch taking place on Thursday, July 3rd 2014, from 11:45 AM to 1:15 PM at CDEM (200-614 Des Meurons, Winnipeg)

Sarah Lewis's TED Talk Embrace the near win will be headlining this Leader Lunch.

“In our pursuit of success and mastery, is it actually our near wins that push us forward?”

Following the video, JCI Winnipeg will facilitate a workshop to reflect on how these concepts can help in developing leadership qualities. 

Sign up for the Leader Lunch Bulletin here.