THE SECOND YEAR

ROBERT F. LINDHOLM, SENATE No. 7792

Elected: June 1973, in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Other presidential candidates: Unopposed

James J. O'Connell      Chmn. of the Board            Illinois
Leo Briere              Secretary                     Illinois
William McKinley        Treasurer                     Nevada
Richard Taylor          Legal Counsel                 Virginiaa
Melvin Routt            Editor, The MENTORS           Florida
George Michuda          P.R. Director                 Illinois
Tom Donnelly Jr.        Liaison, US Jaycees           Virginia
Ralph Sowell Jr.        Vice President                Mississippi
Charles Schadle         Vice President                New Jersey
William Miller          V.P. Western Institute        Texas
Daryl Watts             V.P. N. Central Institute     Iowa
Richard Hiatt           V.P. Mid-America Inst.        Illinois
Robert E. Ellis         V.P. New England Inst.      Connecticut

"I was among those present at the first planning meeting of the Senate in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1972, and the first meeting the next day, June 20, at the Marriott Hotel in Atlanta. The vote was unanimous to form 'The United States JCI Senate.' I was elected vice president for the Mid-Atlantic Institute that day."

"Perhaps our most important accomplishment was gaining official recognition for this US JCI Senate from the US Jaycees in April, 1974. Coming into office, I became immediately aware of the hostility the US Jaycees directed at us, mainly because of their fear that we might be forming ssome kind of a 'Senior Jaycee' group. Leadership was intimidated by the explosive growth Jim O'Connell had accomplished in our first year and wanted reassurance that we would not go into competition with the US Jaycees, as the Philippines JCI Senate was doing."

"Asking a friend, Tom Donnelly, to serve as Liaison (he had been a US Jaycee Executive Vice President), proved to be very important as he was the go-between, and he arranged for national president, Rick Clayton, to invite me, at Jaycee expense, to TOYM in Dubuque, Iowa, to make a presentation to the executive committee. Chairman of the Board, Ron Au, and especially Rick Clayton, were very supportive and adopted a resolution officially recognizing us, April 1, 1974."

"In San Diego, at the national convention, the US JCI Senate was included for the first time on the convention agenda and I was formally recognized before the body."

"Our first National Directory was published that year, thanks to the hard work of secretary, Leo Briere. Mel Routt, our editor, was also very valuable in improving the MENTORS. A good year."

"As of April, 1974, 21 states had paid the charter fees to become affiliated with the JCI Senate organization."

"In the spring of 1976, I was appointed to the US Jaycees Foundation for a three-year term. I was elected chairman twice out of my term of three years. The position had become 'too political' and the US Jaycees wanted to develop an outside board to establish the Archives. As chairman, I presided over the formal dedication of the Exhibition Hall Archives. I was vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jaycee War Memorial Board and chairman of the Crew Reunion in Washington in 1975."

Another giant step forward for the US JCI Senate, being officially recognized by the US Jaycees. That was a large hurdle that was cleared out of the path of our organization. It was now time to expand our wings some more and continue the growth process.