The Pasadena Chapter of JCI was founded in 1929, and is one of the oldest Jaycees chapters in the country. A group of young men called upon William Dunkerly, the manager of the Chamber of Commerce, to help organize a service group. With assistance from the Los Angeles Jaycees and their immediate past president, Durward Howes, Sr., who was also a Vice President in the United States Jaycees, the Pasadena chapter was born.
By 1930, the Pasadena Jaycees’ membership had swelled to 161, with the chapter running projects to raise the spirits of the community following the great depression. Among the early committees were Aviation, Fire Prevention, Get Out the Vote, and the Olympic Publicity Committee. One of the core Jaycee philosophies is that government should be of laws rather than of men, and many of the chapter’s earliest projects in the 30s reflected that.
In 1934, the Pasadena Jaycees started Operation Santa, our longest-standing project, where Santa teams deliver toys to children in Pasadena on Christmas Eve.
1946 saw the birth of the chapter’s most profitable and recognizable project, The Junior Rose Bowl, a major media event featuring a football game, parade and queen. The Junior Rose Bowl was the chapter’s primary fundraiser for years.
In 1966, the Jaycees were given a sanction from the NCAA to allow 4-year colleges to participate in a new game titled the Pasadena Bowl, which lasted through 1971.
In 1967, the Jaycees contracted with the Missouri Valley and PCAA conferences for teams to play each other. In 1972, the Jaycees were contracted to paint the football field for the Rose Bowl Game. The Jaycees have helped out every year since, making it our second oldest tradition next to Operation Santa. Though the Junior Rose Bowl and Pasadena Bowl no longer take place, the Pasadena Jaycees still sell game programs at the Rose Bowl Program Sales every year–the chapter’s biggest fundraiser.
In 1949, Bob Hope (pictured above) brought his radio show to Pasadena and began a relationship with the chapter that lasted several years. Mr. Hope was a tremendous supporter of the chapter as the Jaycees, donating proceeds to the chapter over many years. Other notable speakers and entertainers that were associated with the Jaycees included Richard Nixon, General Omar Bradley, Johnny Carson, Dinah Shore, Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater.
Originally formed as a men’s club, in 1984 the issue of female membership in the Jaycees reached the U.S. Supreme Court with the case Roberts vs. U.S. Jaycees. The Supreme Court, through a unanimous ruling, ordered that the Jaycees admit women. Approximately 60 women joined the chapter that year. In 1988, Cathy Stafford was elected the 60th President of the Pasadena Jaycees, becoming the first female president.
The Japan Homestay Exchange Program with our sister chapter of Kasukabe, Japan began in 1985, and we recently celebrated 40 years of the project.
One of the Jaycees most effective community projects, Operation Gobbler, began in 1987 and provides Thanksgiving meals for families in need. Currently the Jaycees work with Friends in Deed, a non-profit organization that supports low-income families, to distribute the food collected the week before Thanksgiving.
In 2003, the Pasadena Jaycees were recognized as a “Model of Unity” by the Human Relations Commission for their diversity of service and membership in the community. In 2013, the chapter was awarded the “Special Services to Children Award” by Five Acres in recognition of the Five Acres Party for foster children, and the prestigious Salvation Army “Others Award” for their work in the community.
In 2024, the Pasadena Jaycees were awarded Most Outstanding Local Chapter Organization by JCI USA, celebrating the chapter’s outstanding leadership, impact, and membership growth. Though memberships in civic organizations have been generally declining, the Pasadena Jaycees are showing no signs of slowing down–we doubled our membership in 2024!
2024 Drew McWilliams
2023 Justine Gray
2022 Irene Guillen
2021 Phillip Bello Arce
2020 Nick Scott
2019 Erin Scott
2018 Natalie Andres
2017 Jessica Privett
2016 Mike Wehbe
2015 David Vivas
2014 Michelle Lai
2013 Scott Pool
2012 Branden Boucher
2011 Deanna Durst
2010 Henrik Helgesen
2009 Jed Leano
2008 Eric J. Palmstrom
2007 Susan Reed
2006 Katie Sloan
2005 Leslie Hawkins
2004 Corbet Wilcox
2003 Corbet Wilcox
2002 Eric Muntz
2001 James Greenbaum
2000 Maureen Madsen Short
1999 Craig Valine
1998 Stephen Macala
1997 Jack Daniel Smith
1996 Mark Ladesich
1995 Todd Vradenberg
1994 Edward J. Morales
1993 Eric K. Winschel
1992 Gregory Apodaca
1991 Catherine Haskett Hany
1990 Joseph Unterreiner
1989 Nancy Andrews Davidson
1988 Cathy Stafford
1987 Rob Fisher
1986 Welles Adams
1985 Neil Barker
1984 Edward Afsharian
1983 John Tegtmeyer A.I.A
1982 David Hotchkin
1981 James Eberhardt
1980 Jeffrey Throop
1979 Gregory Stavish*
1978 John Stevenson
1977 Lawrence Gray Jr.
1976 Mel Cohen
1975 E. Lawrence Kaminski*
1974 Philip K. Ishizu*
1973 Richard Biggar*
1972 Robert Cheney
1971 Don Mike Anthony*
1970 Kenneth Hill
1969 Gareth Dorn*
1968 Everett McDonough Jr.*
1967 Michael Ward*
1966 W.H. Griest Jr.*
1965 Bill Leishman*
1964 Stan Stevens*
1963 John Lamb*
1962 Don Metcalf*
1961 Richard Wall*
1960 Hank Ives*
1959 Jack Lamp*
1958 Howard Bushnell*
1957 Don Judson*
1956 D. Ramsay Lawson*
1955 Vincent Hueblein*
1954 Dick Hubbell*
1953 Richard Fox*
1952 Wendell Thompson*
1951 B. Durward Howes III*
1950 Harold Angerhofer*
1949 Harrell Kloke*
1948 Kenneth Stever *
1947 Marvin Lee*
1946 Myron G. Thomas
1945 Randolph Richards*
1944 Roland Walker*
1943 Richard Heimann*
1942 Henry Kearns*
1941 Eugene Payne*
1940 William Nicholas*
1939 Drummond McCunn*
1938 James Robbins*
1937 Leon V. Kingsley*
1936 L. Clifford Kenworthy*
1935 Max Colwell*
1934 George H. Schuler*
1933 Roland Maxwell*
1932 Harlan G. Loud*
1931 Max Turner*
1930 Lathrop K. Leishman*
1929 James K. Ingham*
*deceased
2024 Cordova Cafe, Smart & Final, and Yamashiro
2023 Whole Foods Market & Arroyo Insurance
2022 Heliogen
2019 Miss Holly – Drinkers Hall of Fame, John Henderson
2024 Bryan’s Cleaners
2023 Michael Smith (Scottish Rite)
2022 Chris Martin
2021 Sue Fisher
2020 Beacon Property Management
2019 Ashley Notley
2024 Lauren Keys
2023 Kaitlin Tran & Lucas Tiet
2022 Minami Roberts
2019 Madison Hoiby
2024 Sana Farooq
2023 Shawn Sauerwein
2022 Jillian Jacobs-Edmondson
2018 Alisabeth McQueen
2017 Sara Kaliounji
2024 Operation Santa, Sana Farooq
2022 Operation Santa, Shawn Sauerwein
2018 Operation Gobbler, Runi Marali & Michelle Le
2017 Five Acres Summer Party, Nataly Tavidian
2024 Phillip Arce #92
2023 Nick Scott #91
2022 Jessica Wehbe #88
2021 Natalie Andres #89
2019 Eric Muntz #74
2024 Skip Adams #58
2022 David Hotchkin #54
2021 Deborah Spector
2020 Rene Amy
2022 Support JCI Ukraine, Jillian Jacobs-Edmondson
2021 Op Restaurant Worker
2020 Operation Strong
2018 Royal Court Reception, Lindsey Reed
2024 Operation Santa, Sana Farooq
2019 Ana Morino, Five Acres
2018 Christopher & Kristina Del Vecchio, Five Acres
2017 Justine Gray #94 & Yong Yeong, Operation Gobbler
2024 Claire Pukszta #96
2023 Jared Gonzalez
2021 Crystal Diaz
2020 Justine Gray #94
2024 Shawn Sauerwein
2023 Drew McWilliams #95
2022 Justine Gray #94
2021 Irene Guillen #93
2024 Matt Brunner
2023 Claire Pukszta #96
2022 Jared Gonzales
2021 Tessa Young
2024 Jade Chen
2023 Sana Farooq
2022 Leah Rassam & Drew McWilliams #95
2021 Sarah Nam & Wilson Bang
2024 Kevin Sauerwein & Brady Mahony
2023 Matt Brunner
2022 Claire Pukszta #96
2021 Jared Gonzales
2023 Op Santa, Drew McWilliams #95
2022 Kasukabe Homestay Program, Jonathan Eshom
2021 Op Santa, Jillian Jacobs-Edmondson
