I AM opportunity for all. The blood of the world runs in my veins. I am hundreds of thousands of active young people striving to become more than they think they can, and the voice of millions who have gone on before me to provide the ideals by which I live today and which I still make possible for those who follow me.
I AM a fabulous organization of many things and many people.
I AM the Indians of Oklahoma, the bright orange coats of Florida, the volunteers of Tennessee, a cowboy from Texas, the sunflowers of Kansas, and the Eskimos of Alaska. I am the '49ers of California, a Viking from Minnesota, a rebel from Mississippi, the liberty bells of Pennsylvania, a lighthouse from New Jersey, and a Georgia peach.
I AM volunteerism, Special Olympics, Shooting Education, Haunted Houses, Big Brothers, Boy Scouts, telethons... and Santa Claus to thousands of needy children at Christmas time. I am Speak-Up, and Springboard and Degrees of Jaycees. I am truly leadership in action in 10,000 communities in America, and in all countries throughout the free world. I am people joining together to help those who cannot help themselves by first building a better me!
I CAN be found in sleepy, rustic villages and large, roaring cities. From the swamplands of Louisiana to the mountaintops of Colorado, I am a strong group of people wherever I am! I search for America in every project I undertake and I am busy at this very moment building a better tomorrow today!!
I AM meeting tonight in a small church, in a skyscraper in New York, in a tavern in North Carolina, and in my own building built with love and sweat.
I AM a farmer, a clerk, a salesman, a mechanic, a Christian, a Jew, a Hindu, a housewife, and yes-- even a convict. I can be found everywhere you look: a college campus, a ghetto, a nature trail, hospitals, orphanages, and a prison cell. I am there.
I AM a letter to a senator, a ballot in an election, the excitement of a national convention, the tears of joy when I win, the silence of defeat when I don't. I am growing through all that I undertake. I am never a loser.
I AM pins, patches, vests, coats, bumper stickers, newsletters. A gavel at a podium, backrooms, long drives home, late hours, year-end books, awards, certificates, trophies, plaques, TOYA--and winners teaching winners to be winners!
I HAVE always been with the Spirit of America. I was the spirit that would not let Columbus turn back. I was there when George Washington knelt in frozen prayer at Valley Forge. When Paul Revere raised his hand at a committee meeting and said, "I'LL RIDE AND TELL THEM." It was the Jaycee spirit that gave young Nathan Hale the guts to look 'em in the eye and say, "I REGRET THAT I HAVE BUT ONE LIFE TO LOSE FOR MY COUNTRY." It was the group that collected scrap metal and helped FDR spread his message that, "THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF." And I was already doing what John Kennedy asked when he said, "ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU, BUT RATHER WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY!" I was on the boat when Admiral Farragut said, "DAMN THE TORPEDOES, FULL SPEED AHEAD!" I built this country with faith, courage, and a spirit that can only be called JAYCEES!
I LED the fight for the draft when wartime America needed it and also led the cause for its abolishment when it didn't. I am change! I am for what is right and against wrong and injustice. I am white, black, yellow, red...and I never judge people by the color of their skin, but rather by the content of their characters.
I HAVE established and introduced many young people into the Red Cross, MDA, the USO, volunteer fire departments, boys' clubs, City Hall, state governments, and even the congress of the United States.
I MOVE. I travel to spread Jayceeism. I have presented Billy Graham in Madison Square Garden, seen the Great Phoenix Rodeo, Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Independence Hall, the Statue of Liberty, Disney World, the Alamo, and the Golden Gate Bridge. I marched with Martin Luther King to Washington, I have walked for mankind, traveled the badlands of the Dakotas, the bluegrass of Kentucky, and the snow-filled valleys, of Ohio to pass on this feeling of brotherhood and love.
I HAVE made my mark on time with men like Seldon Waldo, Clayton Frost, Keith Upson, Dennis Hamilton, Clint Dunagan, and Don Cavalli---men who made a difference by giving all that they had. I am Bill Brownfield writing the creed, Durward Howes designing the shield, and John Armbruster editing the LOG. I am millions of young people who have graduated from my ranks to become the leaders of this very world today!
I AM THE JAYCEE CREED. I believe in God, brotherhood, free enterprise, law and order, human personality, and service to humanity. I am what is good about America. Within my spirit lies the very basis of the future of my country. I am freedom and will fight to my last breath if necessary to see that it is preserved. May I always possess the integrity, courage, and strength to keep myself unshackled and to remain a beacon of hope to all people everywhere.
Mike Marshall, The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce President 1996-97