Walt Hansmann, who worked on the USJCC Headquarters Staff, posted this on Facebook 8 years ago. It resurfaced today. I hope you enjoy it.
Thirty-two years ago, Jan and I drove down to Tulsa from our home in Hastings. Having been an active member of the Hastings Jaycees, a chapter officer, and a state officer with the Nebraska Jaycees, I had been invited to interview for a position on the staff of The U.S. Jaycees.
I remember a full day of interviewing that Friday … eight individual interviews (Donald Reddaway, Rudy Szewczak, Mark Kuss, Mike Fernandes, Dennis Christensen, Gram Hopkins, Kevin Krepinevich, and Sam Willits) and a panel interview in the C. William Brownfield Memorial Room that was formatted like a press briefing with me standing at the lectern in front of a dozen people asking me questions. It was a daunting and exhausting day. I think the clincher was that card game they taught me at lunch … 😀
The next morning, Saturday, Jan and I drove out of a rain storm that became the historic 1984 Memorial Day flood here in Tulsa. When we heard the news reports of what had happened, we questioned why we would ever want to relocate to Tulsa.
Days later, Don called and offered me the position on the staff. That became a defining moment … an auto mechanic from little Hastings, Nebraska was being given the opportunity to work for the greatest young persons leadership training organization in the world.
I spent a decade working with a team of the greatest people in the world. We were more than employees, we were a family. We held a belief that we, young men and women, could change the world … That service to humanity was the best work of life. To this day, I remain friends with almost all of my former Headquarters co-workers. A few have left us too early, and I have lost track of a few. Many of us get together frequently to catch up and rekindle our memories of those great days. I cherish my friendship with each of them! ❤️
That massive change in the direction of my career, and the opportunities to travel and train in 49 states and 9 countries fired my passion to become a workplace learning and performance professional and help people learn and grow! I am eternally grateful to the Headquarters family who so influenced our lives!
I also want to share a few images … the original JCC Creed banner, a contemporary Jaycee Creed banner, and my favorite image of The United States Jaycees War Memorial Headquarters.
