On Friday, May 27, 2011, The Dover Jaycees hosted the monthly Business social at the Z-Bar in the Sheraton Hotel.  This invigorating event was embraced by many of the Dover Jaycees and friends to relax after another hard week of work!

We shared many laughs and recruited 2 new members! Liz Balogh quotes "This is one of the best turn out's that we have had for a social," and we hope to continue to increase our social entourage.

Thank you to everyone who attended the social and we look forward to seeing you at the next one! 

What an amazing conference for the Delaware Jaycees. Because of such key chapter projects during the same time we had the smallest delegation we have had in a while but we were noticed loud and clear!

The Delaware Jaycees had an amazing 2010 under the leadership of President Tina.  The state was recognized as 4th in the overall parade of states, which is tracked by record keeping of programming, membership goals and participation in national programs.  There are 38 active states so we can be very proud to be in the top 5. President Tina Macko was recognized with a Whitfield Memorial Award given to the best State Presidents in the nation.

The state achieved Blue Chip which is our toolbox for overall programming success. In addition to the state, Wilmington Jaycees, New Castle Jaycees and Middletown Jaycees all achieved Blue Chip. President Janet from the Wilmington Jaycees received the Charles Kulp Memorial Award for being recognized as one of the top local chapter presidents in the nation. This is the first time Delaware had a president receive the honor since President Lee Dotson in 1991. Charles Kulp was from Delaware and his two daughters were at the convention to help present the award.  

On Friday, June 3, 2011, The Dover Downtown Partnership hosted its monthly 1^st Friday event.  The night was filled with awesome sales, delicious hor' devours, and festivities.  The partnership blocked off the streets while patrons enjoyed music and line dancing by DJ Alex Vaughn throughout the night.

First Friday events are designed to support the Downtown Dover Merchants.  Some of the stores include Bel Boutique, Partners in Design, Maxine's New York Fashions, Delaware Made, Fly 365, and The Golden Fleece.  First Friday is always scheduled on the First Friday of each month.  This is a great opportunity to bring family and friends out to catch terrific deals and enjoy each others company!

Jaycees member, Catherine Hall, attended the event and quoted "I go to every First Friday just to get out of the house, network, and SHOP!"

The Dover Jaycees welcomed State Representative Darryl Scott of the 31st District to our June general membership meeting. Serving the people of Dover since 2008, Representative Scott described some of the contributions he has made in the past few years as well as what he looks forward to in the future. He acknowledged that being a servant of the people did not turn out quite like he expected, but he has no regrets. Representative Scott's fresh ideas and enthusiasm have helped to engage young people in the Dover area and across the state of Delaware. His strong ties to the community are reflected in the numerous volunteer activities he's undertaken, as well as his participation in countless community events. Thank you Representative Scott!

The Dover Jaycees will be running a community cleanup at the Goodwill in the Rodney Village Shopping Center in Camden. Volunteers are needed to collect items and assist Goodwill with the collection drive. Businesses are also needed to provide support and sponsorships. Please contact Sue Post at MDVP@DoverJaycees.org for information regarding sponsorship opportunities or to volunteer for the event.

The Golf Tournament Committee has been meeting once a month to work on the preliminary plans. Please send an email to Golf@DoverJaycees.org for more information on sponsorship and volunteer opportunities.

The Carnival Committee is proceeding a bit slowly.  This is the start of carnival season, so we are waiting to hear from carnival companies who are out on the road at this time. We have no definite date for the carnival since we are still in negotiations with the companies.

If you are interested in being on the committee or would like to help organize the event, please contact your co-chairs Jeff Lank at Chairman@DoverJaycees.org or Shelby Everline at IDVP@DoverJaycees.org.  

What is Speak-Up you ask?  Well, it is a public speaking competition designed to help improve the participant's ability to verbally present their thoughts and opinions the best way possible.  It helps to overcome fear of speaking in public, improve your oral communication techniques and improve your ability to communicate clearly to a group of people.  If you have ever heard of Toastmasters, it is very similar.  There can be several different levels of competition such as beginner on up to master level.  The judging will consist of delivery, speech content, salesmanship and continuity utilizing a speech evaluation sheet. 

We would have a competition within the chapter and other chapters.  The winner(s) would then move to a state competition, then regional and national.  The potential is enormous.  Those who participate have the opportunity to become professional speakers.

Write-Up is very similar to Speak-Up, except that it is a writing competition instead of a speech competition.  Participants are given the topic at the beginning of the competition and given a specific amount of time to write on the topic, such as 30 minutes.  The writings are judged on content, grammar and knowledge of the subject.  As with Speak-Up, it starts as a chapter competition, then winners move on to state, regional and national competitions.

We are also working on getting a CPG (Chairperson's Planning Guide) training set up.  This training will not be during one of our general membership meetings, but on a different date.  We are working on other training and speakers to come in and present to the chapter.  If there is a training you would like to see the Dover Jaycees offer, please contact me at IDVP@DoverJaycees.org. 

This business card sized ad was in the June Chamber Connections newsletter for the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce and will run in the July connections newsletter as well.  All members of the chamber can join for $51 as part of our agreement for our members to be involved with the chamber.

Lets GROW our membership this summer so our fall and winter projects will have even more support in planning and running. We can improve others lives in addition to ours through involvement in the Jaycees.