About Us

How it all began!
It all began when a 22-year-old St. Louis
bank clerk and Herculaneum Dance Club
president set out to attack such wild new
dances as the grizzly beat, tango, and fox trot.
From this modest beginning, Henry
Giessenbier's dance clubs moved forward
and on October 13, 1915, 32 young men
formed the Young Men's Progressive Civic
Association, turning its attention to civic
affairs. In 1916, the Y.M.P.C.A. changed its
name to Junior Citizens, from which came
the nickname JC, or when spelled out,
Jaycees. The JCs were quickly noted by
various civic-minded businessmen and in
1918 became affiliated with the Chamber of
Commerce and changed its name from
Junior Citizens to the St. Louis Junior
Chamber of Commerce, after which the fame
of its civic work began to spread.