What is a JCI Senatorship?
       A JCI Senatorship is an award that may be given to current or past members to honor
them for outstanding service to the Junior Chamber organization on the local, national or
international level. It provides a unique means for recognizing the outstanding achieve-
ments of members and former members and, at the same time, provides funds for the
extension and expansion of Junior Chamber to more and more young people.
       A Senatorship confers "Life Membership” in JCI. Member organizations are encourag-
ed to include a self-operative provision in their constitution that a JCI Senator shall also
be a life member of the respective local and national organization (LOM and NOM) The
awarding of this status does not exempt the member from payirig regular membership
dues to JCI and the question of whether a Senator shall be liable for the payment of local
and national dues is matter wholly for local policy and legislation.

Who may be awarded a Senatorship?
      Senatorships for current individual members are restricted to members of at least
three years standing for services rendered at any level of the organization and are subject
to the written approval of the local and national presidents.
     Senatorships for past members may be awarded by way of presentation subject to the
written approval of the local, state (if any) and national organization presidents. Such
presidents are expected to make as many inquiries with respect to the past Junior
Chamber activities of the applicant as they deem appropriate.

Instruction for Enrollment
     An application for a Senatorship must be completed. approved and signed by the
president of the local organization of the applicant, the president of the national
organization of the applicant, and the president of JCI (Consult your national head-
quarters for any additional requirements -as is the case in Australia, Canada and the
USA) No other approval shall be required or permitted. If the applicant is one of those
whose signature is required, the next senior officer may sign for him. Senate application
forms are available upon request from your national headquarters or the JCI World
Headquarters.

     Before (or at the same time) the application is forwarded to the JCI World Headquart-
ers for approval by JCI president. A full Senate membership payment must be made to
JCl by the sponsoring NOM or LOM. The application is not approved or processed until it
is submitted in the prescribed form bearing all necessity signatures and a full Senate
membership payment has been received. Please allow three weeks for processing and
mailing from the JCI World Headquarters.

     After the application is approved, the applicant is assigned a number and his name
is entered in the Roll of Senators. The new Senator receives a Senate membership
certificate, prepared in calliqraphy, a membership card and a special Senator’s pin.

Presenting a Senatorship
      The awarding of a JCI Senatorship is an honor that can be bestowed upon a member
only once in a lifetime. The actual presentation, therefore, should be conducted with
appropriate dignity & preferably, at a formal installation ceremony, awards banquet , etc.

The Senate History
     This is the story of the birth and growth of a great idea-what developed from it and
what heights it has already attained. It is an account of a program which has in a signifi-
cant manner enhanced the prestige of Junior Chamber International by retaining the
interest and support of many outstanding people throughout the world.

     The first seeds of the Senate were sown with the creation of the circular, The Elder
Statesman. Our story begins in September 1951 when two prominent members. JCI Presi-
dent Phil Pugsley and charter member John Armbruster of the original Junior Chamber,
were discussing a publication called Log. which John had been sending out to retired
officers and directors of the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. Phil, aware of
the fine work the Log was doing to keep alive friendships formed among past US Junior
Chamber members, struck upon tne idea of sending a similar publication to the “alumni”
of Junior Chamber International. Naturally, Phil asked John to take on the job--who
better qualified to edit a publication for JCI "oldtimers” than John Armbruster?

     Recalling the incident, John commented: “After discussing various names we could
give the little paper, we hit upon The Elder Statesman. The JCI alumni throughout the
world were becoming important citizens of their respective countries, and they were,
in fact “elder statesmen” to the younger men in the Junior Chamber movement. So this
name was adopted for the newsletter “ The Elder Statesman has since become synony-
mous with “Senate” in the minds of thousands of members and past members through-
out the world.

     A further development in the Senate story took place in New York City in January
1952 at a casual meeting between JCI Representative to the United Nations Sid Boxer
and Phil Pugsley. During their conversation, questions - which for a long time a remain-
ed unanswered - arose:

     "Why is it that past members are allowed to drift completely away from the move-
ment, when many of them would like to have some lifelong link with Junior Chamber?
Why do local members spend thousands of dollars annually giving baubles in the form
of trays, briefcases, desk sets, and the like to those they wish to honor when the same
funds, spent on Junior Chamber International, could work for a cause in which they all
believed? Why has an idea like Junior Chamber taken so long to gather enthusiasts
around the world after having been alive for nearly 40 years?"

     Searching for answers, Phil and Sid conceived the idea that perhaps a group of
"honored" members could be formed that would, in effect, help to spread the Junior
Chamber concept worldwide At the same time they felt membership in this group could,
in many ways, strengthen Junior Chamber International. So it was that two earnest
members, over a cup of coffee, conceived this idea, and the JCI Senate was born. The
idea was presented to the VII JCI World Congress in Melbourne, Australia, in September
1952, where it was approved and placed in the JCI bylaws as a category of membership.
Since then, well over 57,000 Junior Chamber members, in more than 90 countries have
been honored. There is a growing appreciation of the value and honor of the Senate. In
granting honorary Life Membership, the Senate provides a subtle link with present and
past members. The nature of the link is one of continuing interest in, and indirect
support of, the Junior Chamber movement.

THE SENATE TODAY
     Since its inception, the JCI Senatorship has become a coveted honorary award,
granted only to those people who have performed outstanding service to the organiza-
tion. It is a special award that provides, through life membership, a tangable link with
an organization embracing over 420,000 young people in nations around the globe.

     It provides a unique means for recognizing the outstanding achievements of members
and former members and, at the same time, provides funds for the extension and expan-
sion of Junior Chamber to more and more young people.

SENATE CHAIRMAN
     The Immediate Past President of JCI is the Chairman of the JCI Senate. JCI is respon-
sible for ensuring that information on subjects pertaining to the Senate is distributed to
Senators.

SENATE PUBLICATIONS
In 1989 JCI launched the first edition of the Senate Wor!d newsletter.