US Jaycee Executive Directors

xecutive Vice Presidents of the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce have served, as some have remarked, as the “backbone” of the organization. For years, these individuals were given the broad outlines and vision of the leadership and were responsible for the implementation, communication and success of those dreams and goals of the organization. At times “all alone” and at one point with as many as 80 staff to supervise, direct and manage the Executive Vice Presidents and now the Executive Director of the The U.S. Jaycees has had a unique position in the organization the Chief Executive of the paid staff and a non-voting member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors.

The Executive Vice-President/Executive Director (EVP/ED) of the Corporation, is recommended by a committee (as defined in the bylaws) and ratified by the Executive Committee, the EVP/ED shall serve until resignation has been accepted by the Executive Committee; or until removal by the Executive Committee. Until a bylaw change in the mid-80’s the Executive Vice President as well as the paid staff were required to “retire” by age 40 so even a paid staff position with The U.S. Jaycees was considered a training opportunity to move on to other things in one’s life. However, now the Executive Vice President/Executive Director shall not be limited by age and shall be engaged in no other business or vocation.

The Executive Vice-President/Executive Director, under the direction of the President, is in charge of the operation of the Corporation’s National Service Center and is responsible for the successful execution of the Policies and Procedures and any applicable regulations of the Corporation as determined by the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors. The Executive Vice-President shall have general supervision/disbursement over all corporate funds, dues and accounts of the Corporation and report on the financial condition of the Corporation.

The Executive Vice-President/Executive Director is an ex-officio member of all of the Corporation’s committees and affiliates. The EVP/ED keeps and files minutes. The EVP/ED gives notice of all meetings of the Executive Committee, Board of Directors and the Annual Meetings of the Corporation.

Those that have served are listed below showing their home state at the time of hiring:

2017 –

The First Executive Secretary

Harry J. Krusz was an apple-cheeked, cherubic young man with a warm smile and pleasant ways that belied his years and suggested he could not possibly get down to serious business. He lost no time proving that appearances do not mean a thing.

A youthful Harry Krusz (front row, sporting a beanie) attends an assembly of Junior Chamber members.

He joined Henry Giessenbier’s Junior Citizens in St. Louis in late 1917 at age 16 and was named assistant secretary. Shortly, he was tapped to also head the safety committee where his splended work was a forerunner of greater accomplishments to come. By 1919, he was ready for another job and was given chairmanship of the 20-member foreign trade committee. He continued working his way up the local ladder, earning election as president in 1926 and as national director the following year.

All the way along, if a song leader was needed, Harry was on the job. When a Glee Club librarian was needed, Harry volunteered. Whenever anyone had a tough job to put over, they put out the S.O.S. for Harry.

After H. Grady Vein was elected national president in 1927, he felt the organization had grown to a point where an executive secretary’s services were necessary. Krusz, an assistant to the general manager at Clarence Howard’s Commonwealth Steel Company, answered Vein’s call on a temporary basis. He ended up serving in the terms of the next six USJCC presidents.

After leaving The U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce in early 1934, his career led him to be a leading executive in the chambers of commerce in four sizeable cities, eventually working as vice president in charge of internal affairs of the Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. in Washington, D.C., in the mid-1950s.

His last position was as president and administrator of the Willows Foundation, a Laguna Hills, California, retirement home. Krusz, the “go-to-guy” for the Junior Chamber in its pioneering days, died five days short of his 78th birthday in 1978. During the Jaycees 75th anniversary year, his wife Marylu, was residing at the retirement home he once headed.

* In 2011 the United states Junior Chamber Bylaws were changed to change the title Executive Vice President to Executive Director and changing the scope and depth of the responsibilities.