Thanks to everyone for an excellent meeting last week.

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Once again, I am reminded of how our class of officers and dedicated members has positioned the Western Maryland Jaycees for an exciting and productive 2010. I can’t tell you how excited and proud I am to be a part of it.

At our February membership meeting last week we took a giant step forward by setting our calendar of official events for the entire year. In addition to our established events such as Special Olympics, the Mylan Tailgate Party, 3 beer trucks at Friday After Five and the third Celebration of Young Professionals, we added some new events like the Canal Clean-up on April 10th, Frostburg’s Derby Day on July 4th and a Halloween Social Event on October 30th.

Our new website guru and Communications Director, Bill Moran (fabulous guy if you haven’t met him yet), is working to make the full calendar viewable on our newly redesigned website, www.wmdjaycees.org. Definitely check out the new site and give us feedback on what you like about it and what you’d like to see on the site to make it more useful.

In addition to our membership meeting last week we also conducted the February meeting of the Board of Directors. The officers were able to conduct some needed business, talk about what we’ve been doing and to share advice and ideas. Both minutes from the BOD meeting and the membership meeting will be available on-line very soon.

Thank you all for you involvement in the Western Maryland Jaycees and I hope to see you all this Friday evening at the Annual Dinner at the Oxford House in Cumberland.

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Membership Meeting POSTPONED

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Tonight’s scheduled membership meeting and the Board of Directors meeting has been postponed until next Wednesday, February 17th. The forecast is for high winds all day, with gusts of up to 40 mph. Blowing snow and below zero wind chills will make for a nasty evening — there’s no need to be out and about tonight.

We will meet next Wednesday at 7 pm at the Allegany Arts Council. The Board of Directors will meet at 6 pm.

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Membership Meeting February, 10th

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Hello, Jaycees!

We will hold our monthly membership meeting for February this coming Wednesday evening at the Allegany Arts Council, beginning at 7 pm. We will not be holding a committee meeting session this month.

Please join us for this meeting as we will be discussing several important issues. The officers and I have been preparing a budget for 2010 that we will submit to the membership for amendments and approval. This is your chance to have a say in how we raise and spend our money. (more…)

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Welcome to 2010!!

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Happy New Year, Jaycees!!

As you know, the Western Maryland Jaycees have come a loooong way in the last few years. We went from a small chapter that was struggling to attract and keep members to a chapter that has more than doubled in size, has developed outstanding events and continues the proud tradition of the Jaycees in our Tri-state area. Our service projects have improved and are expanding. Our fundraisers have increased in number and in scope. Our membership is more diverse, more visible, more active and more involved than just about any organization in Western Maryland.

We have been recognized by the Maryland Jaycees in numerous ways and – I believe it’s fair to say – that we have become a model for Junior Chamber Chapters across the Mid-Atlantic. Maryland Jaycees officers have made a habit of visiting our chapter to learn what it is, exactly, that gives us our momentum and helps us be so successful.

Our recent success is a tribute to the contributions of every one of our members.  The leadership of our officers through the recent years has kept our chapter running with very little turbulence, despite the rapid growth. The contributions of individual members, from taking on projects to developing new ideas and stepping up to the plate when needed, have been the key to making our chapter recognized throughout our community and beyond.

As a young professional in Western Maryland, I cannot say enough how much I personally appreciate all that the Jaycees have done to make our community a better place for us to live.  And as a member of the Western Maryland Jaycees, I want to give a huge personal thank you to each of you for your contributions to our chapter in the past and for the energy you bring to our future endeavors.

2010 promises to be an excellent year in the Western Maryland Jaycees. I am almost bursting with excitement. I am thrilled to have such an exciting, dedicated, motivated and talented group of officers with whom to work this year. Even in the e-mails that I share with the officers I can feel that their excitement matches my own.

We will be producing a budget for 2010, reworking some of our major events and adding new, exciting projects to our calendar.  We need every one of our members to be an active part of this process so please make an effort to attend the meetings, be active in our committees, take a leadership role and don’t be afraid to make your voice heard!!

It’s going to be a great year, and I’m looking forward to you joining us for the ride.

Joe Harman

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