The Orange Jaycees

Last updated Oct. 13, 2006

Do you like to do a good deed once in a while? Do you like to have fun? Do you want to learn valuable career skills such as Management, Leadership, and Personal Skills? Do you want to do all these things at once? Well, Bunkie, we've got just the place for you! The Orange Jaycees have been doing good things and having incredible fun since the club was formed in August of 1936, at the old Holland Hotel downtown. Hundreds of Orange's successful businessmen and businesswomen and civic leaders got started in the Jaycees by helping put together and running projects. Fundraisers for worthy causes, short 'n sweet training seminars, trips to conventions, networking, and best of all, making new friends. I'm talking about good friends, not fair-weather friends. And if there's something in the community that needs doing and nobody has thought of it before, or has given up on it, here's how to get it done: Tell a Jaycee that it can't be done. That'll just fire 'em up more, and it'll get done. The Orange Jaycees meet about once a month on Tuesday night (excluding holidays) at about 7pm, usually at Gary Freuden's cool old farmhouse outside of town. There's a BBQ pit or two going, so bring something to grill and something to drink, and by the time the meeting is over, whoever volunteers to be Master Chef will have it done to perfection. Meetings last between one and two hours, depending on how many projects are active.   

FYI:  We used to hold meetings every Tuesday night at the Old Timers Pavilion, just off Tulane Road.  It took a good hit from Hurricane Rita, but it certainly wasn't destroyed.  The county didn't do anything to save it; we're the ones who put the tarp over the single roof opening (see photo, it's the lower right-hand part of the roof) right after the storm. Several contractors went and inspected the building, pronounced it structurally sound and in need of minor repairs and a new metal roof, which would have been completely paid for by the $15k insurance payout the county said they would get.  Still it wasn't repaired.  So when they said mold started growing inside it in July 2006, the county commissioners voted to demolish it.  We applied for and won a $5000 grant from the US Jaycees Disaster Relief Fund to repair the Pavilion, but it wasn't enough to change their minds.  Rest in peace, oh mighty Pavilion.  We're still trying to figure out why the county now says they received a total of $34k in insurance payouts for the Pavilion.

These pictures were taken in July 2006

Nothing much wrong on this side; the breaker box needs to be reattached.  The original roof is still good.

   
It took this big machine to knock down this tough building in August 2006!
The Pavilion was originally a horse barn; the main frame of the building was telephone poles!

Lead, follow or get out of the way of The United States Jaycees !

Our "State Office" of The Texas Jaycees contains many links to other chapters and tells more about the state organization. Each chapter is a little different, customized to the local community needs, and the good folks at the State Office keep it all running smoothly.

For more information about anything on Jaycees, use this handy tool: chevelle@pnx.com

The Mardi Gras/Gumbo Cookoff 2005 was a great success and lots of fun.  We helped stage the bead-throwing float parade, and we entered the Gumbo Cook-Off as well.  Thanks to Kelly Cordova and his Dad, the Jaycees won the second Place trophy in the seafood Gumbo category.  Yummmm!    We helped stage the Mardi Gras Parade in 2006 but didn't enter the gumbo cook-off since everyone was either busy or sick, and the weather that day was really bad, even by Orange standards.  We'll be there again in 2007!

The Children's Magic Show is kicking off, phones will be ringing soon if not already.  The funds go for our annual Jim Backus Memorial scholarships; last year we gave about $2900 in scholarships.

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Old news:

On March 10, 2001, we put on a big "Spring Fling" at Claiborne West Park. Live bands, the Cardinal Moods, the Lorna Badon Dance Teams, games and a moonwalk for kids, face painting, food concessions, the Gulf Coast Cruisers and their classic cars, and more. The 1st Texas Volunteer Infantry, Company F, staged a Civil War battle, and the South won it, of course. The Medieval reenactors, Amtgard, were there. It's amazing to watch them battle and live life the old way. Check them out at Amtgard We plan to do this every year. State President Michael Castellano and Corina were there, enjoying themselves tremendously. They even survived a night at State Director Robert Stacy's house and his famous spaghetti and meat sauce. ;-) Look for the Second Annual Spring Fling in Spring 2002!  (Note:  We have a good video of Spring Fling 2002 with Guesswork playing good music and the Civil War reenactors having a big battle.  Want a DVD of it?  Just ask!)

We attended FOYT in Houston May 18-20, 2001 and had a great time. Bob Garbarino was there and was in fine partying form. ;-). President Darren Smith attended a President's workshop and learned some great stuff. The surprise of the weekend was the presentation of a Senatorship to Hank Van Slyke! It was a total surprise to him, which means the troops successfully kept it a secret for about two years. Way to go! And we attended a convention in Houston in March 2002 and successfully presented two Senatorships to Orange members Joe Howington and Gary Freuden!  Congratulations, you hard-working guys!  (We have a DVD of that too.  Just ask!)

We're looking for nominees for the Distinguished Service Award, the Outstanding Young Law Enforcement Officer Award and the Outstanding Young Teacher Award. In 2001, the Distinguished Service Award was given to the Lions Den Committee, three ladies who gave their time and effort to organize the planning and construction of an elaborate children's playground. Christi Wimberly, Debra Mitchell and Pam Crew were the hardworking winners of this award, and this marked the first time we've given the award to more than one person at a time. This project definitely has made the most positive impact on the Orange area; award judging is along the guidelines of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans. We also gave the Outstanding Educator award to Mr. Woody, a great teacher who has touched so many students and prepared them for the future. The Outstanding Young Law Enforcement Officer Award was given to Officer Ellison of the Orange Police Department.  In 2004, the Distinguished Service Award was given to Gary Stelly, the young owner of radio station KOGT.  We figure he ought to keep it for another year or two for his exemplary work in keeping everyone informed of Orange's condition after Hurricane Rita crashed into the area in late Sept. 2005.

Each August, a small but rowdy group heads for Austin to participate in the Austin Jaycees' "Legislative Seminar". What a wild time! Orange Jaycees are seen on a frenzied charge through the competitions, parliamentary procedure, the search for hospitality rooms and microbreweries, and a general inspection of Sixth Street.  We always go to Joe's Generic Bar to hear The Blues.  The Joe Richardson Express is one of our favorites.  We usually go to The Oasis on Lake Travis, but it burned in 2005.  Bummer.

We presented the dozen or so winners of Orange Jaycees' High School Scholarships in May 2001, in the amount of $200 each. Winners were students at Orangefield, Little Cypress-Mauriceville and West Orange-Stark High Schools. The scholarship is named the "Jim Backus Memorial Scholarship", to honor a wonderful teacher here in Orange who made an outstanding positive impact on all of his students. He was also a member and past president of the Orange Jaycees. We lost a great man when he passed away in the 70s.

The Gumbo Cook-Off was held the first weekend in May 2001. Our brightly painted booth was the site of three different batches of some of the best gumbo in town. This year the judges had absolutely no taste buds, since the Jaycees didn't win any trophies at all. The big winners were Chevron-Phillips, which is a large-contributing corporate sponsor of the Orange Chamber of Commerce and Lamar University. hmmmmm  Like every year, we sold more gumbo and got more compliments than any of the winners! I guess we won the "People's Choice" award when they voted with their pocketbooks.

We're looking at holding a food sale fundraiser pretty soon. We only sell Zummo Party Time links, made in Beaumont, and Boutte's Boudain, made in Lumberton by one of our chapter members. Runner-ups in the Jaycee taste test are Earl Campbell Hot Links and Thorn Apple Valley Sausage (affectionately known as "TAVs"). *burp*

Saturday, June 23, 2001, some of the Orange Jaycees helped make a big difference in the Houston Asian Jaycees' Flood Relief project. They went to the Salvation Army and loaded up the car with good clothes, then went to a church garage sale and got stuffed animals, clothes and a furniture. Jamie Mahoney's relative and Jaycee member, Jessica, hauled the furniture to Houston with her toddler and young son along for the ride. With no air conditioning. That's dedication to helping people! Thanks, Jessica! ;-)

Sept. 15, 2001, we hosted a Regional Social with lots of food, beverages and piles of good training and competitions. Thanks to all who came and enjoyed themselves!

On Oct. 13, 2001, we had planned to put on the biggest, hugest and most fun 'fall festival' Orange had ever seen, and we named it the "Orangetoberfest". All the plans came together like greased rails -- bands to play, games and rides for kids, port-a-potties, food vendors, beer brewing demonstration by the Golden Triangle Homebrewers, a classic car show, a Civil War camp, free tours of the USS Orleck at the site of the festival, which was downtown by teh waterfront, outstanding cooperation from the City of Orange and all the law enforcement agencies, a one-day license to sell beer, .... all for naught because it poured in sheets of rain all that morning and until about 3pm. But the resilient Orange Jaycees came out of their raincoats and got the stage set up and the sound system going and four musical groups played on a clear cool evening! We still sold over 600$ of beer and took in 150$ or so at the gate. All the proceeds were to go to the USS Orleck restoration, but since we went into the hole about 1500$, we'll make all the money back next year. Everyone is excited about holding the Orangetoberfest again next year and we all hope it doesn't rain again! ;-)

We are done with this year's Children's Magic Show fundraiser at the Carl Godwin Auditorium. Thanks to Bob Garbarino of Garbarino and Johns Promotions, it is always a success. We've been doing this project for about 15 years or so. Look for the Children's Film Festival in March 2002.

The Christmas Parade was held on Friday, Dec. 7, 2001, with plenty of lighted floats, singers and dancing people to kick off the holiday season. This year's theme was "A Victorian Christmas", and a whole lot of entries went with the Patriotic theme. It all turned out great!. About 80 entries were in this year's parade, and it was videotaped by KOGT's Gary Stelly and Sheffield Productions. It was shown on the local cable access channel for many nights, and I saw it being shown again on Christmas night! Thanks, Gary!. The Orange Chamber of Commerce always does an outstanding job of supporting and promoting the parade and its theme. Thank you, Chamber! At the Trophy Presentation, we gave $200 checks to three local charities.

We had a Super Bowl Party at the Pavilion on Feb. 3, 2002, and had the annual Rib Cook-Off. Joe Howington won with his falling-off-the-bone pork ribs, and Gary Freuden came in second with his plum-based sauce-basted ribs. mmmmm!

The second Annual Spring Fling was held March 9-10 2002 at Claiborne West Park and was bigger and better than last year! The rain delayed it for about 30 minutes, but the skies cleared, the sun came out, the ground dried and the sound system provided by Island Time Entertainment worked flawlessly and loudly. ;-) Jennifer Lynn sang two sets, Jamie Mahoney sang a good version of "If I Only Had A Brain", the Civil War Re-enactors camped out the whole weekend and put on a battle both days with four loud cannon, some infantry and cavalry, all authentically dressed and equipped. Next year they said they will bring more participants. The Jaycees provided their Saturday evening supper of red beans and rice with sausage and cornbread. The 4-H Club had a petting zoo, the Orange Christian services manned the Coca-Cola booth and sold food, and many organizations had informational booths. It was good time for all the non-profit groups to come out and have fun and make money. We're already working on next year's Spring Fling!

We were at the Gumbo Cook-Off the first weekend in May, as usual.  It was hot, but we were under a shade tree.  Linda had her refrigerated boudain truck parked next to the booth, which made a great place to take a break -- inside it.  ha  We didn't win any trophies, thanks to taste-bud-less judges, but once again we sold more gumbo than anyone else and got more compliments than anyone else on the great taste and color of our gumbo.  Maybe next year they will have judges that possess working taste buds.  ;-)

The Children's Magic Show was held in mid-November 2002with good attendance and a wonderful show by C.J. Johnson.  Garbarino and Johns always does a great job of promoting this show.

The 54th Annual Christmas Parade was held Dec. 6, 2002 with over 100 entries.  The theme was "A Star Spangled Christmas".  This year marked the first time to stage the parade at the Big Lots shopping center.  We needed the extra space.  The parade was filmed by Gary Stelly of KOGT and was shown on the local cable channel for several nights, which helped a lot of local businesses to decide to enter next year's Parade.  Thank you, Gary!  And for the first time ever in the history of the parade, the Jaycees got to choose a trophy recipient -- the "Jaycees' Choice Award" went to Mike's ATV for their Texas-themed float and ATV riders.  Way to go, Heath!

Feb. 28, 2003, the Orange Jaycees will help stage Orange's first-ever Mardi Gras Parade.  Next year, the Gumbo Cook-Off will be combined with Mardi Gras.  For this year, look for us again at the Orange Gumbo Cook-Off the first weekend in May!

The Third Annual Spring Fling was be held the second weekend in March, and the Civil War Re-Enactment was to be huge.  There was also live music and displays and food booths and all sorts of fun for all ages planned.  But a week of heavy rains turned the park into a muddy lake and we had to cancel it.  Maybe next year.

The New Year is here and we're still showing up at the Old Timers Pavilion each Tuesday night for barbeque and refreshments, and a mostly-productive Jaycee meeting. ;-)  And yes, we are hosting the annual Super Bowl Party at the Pavilion!

See you at the next meeting!

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