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Checkout this article on the BBC website showing how malaria deaths have decreased by over 20% in the last decade!  JCI and its support of the Nothing But Nets ca,paign really has made a difference in helping to achieve this and lets keep the momentum going!  Help JCI UK to raise even more money in 2011 and donate here!

Experts are saying that if current targets continued to be met then a further 3 million lives could be save by 2015 and JCI UK Can be a part of it!

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JCI UK Nothing But Nets wristbands have now arrived!

JCI UK are supporting Nothing But Nets by selling wristbands!  Why not sell them at your workplace, to friends, family, members?  For only £2.00 they are a real bargain and can help save lives and promote JCI and this great cause. 

All proceeds with be donated straight to Nothing But Nets to help eradicate malaria and help saves the lives of thousands of children across Africa.

Wristbands will be available to purchase at all major JCI UK events, but if you would like to purchase in bulk, contact National Community Director, Gemma Fletcher!

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Dear JCI UK Members, Senators and Friends,

I named the last quarter of 2011 as the time for recognition - something that I truly believe in, but something I can't believe I am saying already. Even the weather still thinks we are in July!

September has well and truly been a great month, there has been so much that has happened, both big and small that has kept me smiling for the whole month!

After the disappointing number of miles travelled last month, I decide it was about time me and my car took to the road again, so 1,148 miles later, I have done the following:

VIP reception hosted by the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau aboard the HMS Belfast in London - The Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau were very supportive of JCI Belfast and indeed JCI UK during World President Kentaro Harada's visit to the UK at the end of July. During our time in Belfast, I was taken on a site visit ahead of JCI Belfast preparing their Bid to host the National Convention 2012. They subsequently invited me to a VIP reception aboard the HMS Belfast in London, and wow what a night. I don't know if you have ever been to Belfast, but in my opinion it is a MUST! The people are lovely, the city is lovely, and you will just have an amazing time.

Attended JCI Barnsley's Vicious Circle Dinner - I only got name checked once, I've still not decided if this is a good or bad thing!?!? As always though a very funny night, and it was nice to see after 8 years of entering our Richard Grange was crowned the winner of the evening.

Chaired the National Council and JCI UK AGM - hosted by JCI Doncaster at The Dome, the meeting started off with some gentle aerobics music in the back ground, but that didn't stop us from cracking on with the job in hand. It was a really good meeting, with the highlights being;

• Solveig Malvik, JCI London, elected as the JCI UK 2012 National President
• Sarah Beckwith, JCI London, elected as 2012 JCI UK Administration and Membership Director
• Emma Eastwood, JCI Leeds, elected as 2012 Personal Development Director
• Steven Vandervelde, JCI Sheffield, elected as Regional Group Chair for JCI Yorkshire and the North, and
• Jen Little, JCI Cambridge, elected as Regional Group Chair for JCI South - A big congratulations to all of you.

We also saw JCI Belfast's fantastic bid to host National Convention 2012 passed unaniomously, well done JCI Belfast, it looks to be a brilliant convention.

Invited by JCI Sheffield to attend the MADE Festival - this was a great opportunity to showcase JCI, and it was great to see the JCI Sheffield team in action. It was evident that JCI Sheffield is well respected and supported by some key players in the city, and the JCI Sheffield team just have so much energy and passion - totally brilliant! The highlight for Dan Senter, JCI Sheffield Deputy President 2012, was having his photo taken with Peter Jones,

Attended and spoke at JCI Bradford's, 'I'm a President - Get me out of here' themed annual dinner. I have never been so scared... stood on a stage trying to give a speech when there were creepy crawlies scurrying in boxes next to me.......but it was nothing compared to what Philip Cavalier-Lumley went on to do - or Should I say Senator 70882 Philip Cavalier-Lumley. It was such a massive honour to be able to award Phil with his much deserved Senatorship for his never ending support and commitment to JCI.  Phil decided to face his fears in the name of charity, which included taking a business card from underneath a Scorpion, kissing a snake, and have a tarantula placed over his mouth...... that has made me shudder just thinking about it!! There was also a very cute Meerkat and a beautiful white owl there too - much more my cup of tea!

Attended a JCI Doncaster Meeting - I was invited to go along to JCI Doncaster's meeting, which was focused on reflecting on 2011, and thinking about the plan for 2012. I was made to feel really welcome, and while I intended to be quiet, that intention didn't last long, and before you know it I was chipping in, and felt right at home.

JCI Sheffield - There's an app for that - Well if you have not yet heard the amazingness of what JCI Sheffield have just done, please do take a look at their blog post. They have launched what we believe is the first fully interactive JCI iphone app..... IN THE WORLD! The JCI Sheffield team have totally blown me away with this one, and Glyn Jones, who is JCI Sheffield's Business Director, has been instrumental in seeing this project through from the initial concept to the launch. We are currently making plans with JCI World Head Quarters about arranging a meeting to see how we can work together to take this Global. Fantastic!

JCI UK Printed Newsletter - A massive thank you to Solveig Malvik, JCI UK Deputy National President for all of her hard work in producing the JCI UK Printed Newsletter, and also a big thank you to all Local Presidents who worked hard to make sure that they sent in their articles. I am really proud of it, and hope that you will be able to use it as a marketing tool within your chambers. I also wanted to thank Lorna form JCI UK Head office, for doing the mail shot, to make sure that each of our members received it.

JCI UK Membership growth - It's official we've had just over a 25% increase in our membership this year, as declared to JCI World Head Quarters! Thank you so much to everyone who has made this happen, I really am so happy about this, but please let's not take our foot of the accelerator, this is just the start, we need to keep growing - after all it's not fair that some people don't yet have JCI in their life!!

So I am sure you will agree wow what a great month!

Before I head off, I just wanted to remind you about a couple of things coming up:

• Local Leaders Weekend being hosted in Boston over the weekend of 15 - 16 October. This training is open to everyone, and everyone is welcome.
• JCI World Congress 2011 taking place in Brussels 1 - 5 November. There is a good number of JCI UK people attending, which is fantastic, but if you have not yet booked your place, it is not too late, and the more the merrier. Did you know, we have secured a place at the global Village this year too - yay!
• JCI UK National Convention 2011 - Again have you booked your place yet? It would be great to see you there. Not only will there be excellent key note speakers, fantastic training sessions, brilliant speaking competitions, and an amazing social on the Friday night, but it is also the Prestigious Gala Awards dinner on the Saturday night, where I cannot wait to recognise the Local chambers and all that they have achieved during the year.

I look forward to seeing you at an event soon, have a great month

Cheers

Alli

JCI UK National President
Email: allison.cowell@jciuk.org.uk

Senator # 70323

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JCI Sheffield is excited to announce that they have launched the first interactive mobile app for a local chamber! The free app enables users to access all of the latest JCI Sheffield events and news wherever they are...not only that, but they can book directly onto events and also navigate their way to the venue! The app is available for iphone and android. A demo of the JCI Sheffield app can be viewed on YouTube.

This project has been led by JCI Sheffield Business Development Director Glyn Jones who stunned former Business Link Chairman at a JCI Sheffield event about investing in regeneration. Glyn saw his opportunity to outline the plans that he had developed that were being held back by funding and suggested that funding could be delivered via the Business Link reserves that were held by Sheffield Chamber of Commerce to form a collaborative sponsor approach. Needless to say, Glyn's pitch did the job and he secured funding to set up the app and support it for the next two years.

Glyn said: "JCI Sheffield thought that an app would be a fantastic way to connect with our busy members who are always on the go, juggling careers, families and a social life! We hope that this will drive engagement and also highlight to those individuals who are yet to join, that we are a professional, modern organisation that can provide them with opportunities that empower them to create a positive change."

The JCI Sheffield team is keen that an app in this format is accessible to chambers around the world and so the team is working on a referral offering to secure the best rates for other chambers who may want to take advantage of this resource. If you would like to find out more about the app and how your chamber might be able to replicate the model please contact jcisheffield@googlemail.com

DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW!

Apple Store 

Android 

Ps. you can read an interview with Glyn Jones here! 

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Congrats! You've just been elected Admin and Membership director JCI UK 2012! What made you stand for the position?
The position really plays to my strengths. I am well-organised, logical and love spreadsheets. I was membership director in JCI London for two years in 2008 and 2009 when the chamber grew hugely. I loved the role as I got to interact with and encourage lots of new members to make the most of JCI.

JCI is a membership organisation and I therefore really feel getting membership right is very important to the future of the organisation.

Having worked with you (Solveig) for the past two years, I am very excited about your plans for next year and getting to continue to work closely with you to make them happen.

Thank you! I've enjoyed working with you too and I'm very happy to have you on my team! What made you join JCI in the first place?
A friend was a member down in Fareham and she was always telling me about all these things she was off doing after work, like public speaking and organising charity balls. She told me it was a great way to meet new people and I was also really interested in the community aspect of the organisation. Once I joined, I discovered all the other great aspects of the organisation like the training on offer and international travel possibilities.

If there's one advice you'll give a new member, or someone just getting active, what would that be?
Talk to as many members as possible - ask them what they have got out of JCI, what they have done as a member, where they have travelled and who they have met. This is the best way to discover all the many amazing opportunities in JCI.

What's your plans for JCI UK in 2012?
I'm looking forward to using my five years of experience in JCI to help out the local chambers around the country with all membership and general queries. I'm hoping to make processes for joining and renewing membership as easy and transparent as possible and make sure the membership database is always up-to-date.

And of course I'm still intending to be very involved in my local chamber, JCI London, in my role as Immediate Past President. JCI London has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, we currently have so many fantastic, enthusiastic active members, I'm looking forward to seeing where the chamber goes next.

What do you personally expect to get out of the position in 2012?
To me the best thing about taking on this kind of role in JCI is the people you get to work with. I'm looking forward to working with other members of national board and the presidents and council members of local chambers. I always find I learn more about myself by working with different types of people.

This year you've been really busy as local president for JCI London, if you could tell me three things about being local president, what would that be?
1. The best thing about being local president is meeting members and watching their JCI journey unfold (and knowing you've helped to facilitate that a bit), as well as working with my council team - I love their passion, creativity and team spirit.

2. I have personally learned a lot of new skills this year, like setting up a website, blogging and editing a newsletter, something I'm pretty proud of as I'm not the most technically minded person in the world.

3. I've given up trying to join in with some conversations at work - watching TV is generally not an option so I often have not even heard of the programmes my colleagues are talking about!

I'd also like to get to know Sarah as a person, what do you do in daily life?
I'm a chartered surveyor working in a commercial property consultancy. I specialise in retail lease advisory, which means that I negotiate lease terms and rents on shops. I also enjoy getting involved in wider company activities such as graduate recruitment and training.

Can you tell us one thing we don't know about you?
I refuse to ever go near a ski slope, but have been sand boarding in a desert in Peru

Thanks Sarah! 

(interview done by Solveig. JCI UK Deputy National President 2011)

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It’s an exciting time for JCI UK;  Never have our mission and values been more relevant and it is clear that with a growth in membership of over 30% our members agree. The national magazine released this month was appropriately entitled “Excelling in 2011” and it makes for an inspiring read. It gives an overview of what is happening on a local level within JCI UK and offers many highlights from around the country; a fantastic endorsement for the organisation.

The National Convention is the flagship national event and hosts the National Award Ceremony as part of the programme (included in the conference fee). And with so much going on at a local level we can absolutely guarantee you a phenomenal evening at the awards ceremony. Join us in celebrating at the national level the success of JCI powered by you the members and the local chambers.

In addition, you can add to your own list of highlights for 2011 through attending our fantastic speaker and training sessions and dancing the night away with new friends during the social events.

We are proud to be offering you the following training programme;

Could any of these be relevant to you, your CV or your business?  Check out our website for the full details and speaker profiles.  JCI UK National Convention 2011 is going to be an event to remember….don’t miss out – book your place now at http://www.eventelephant.com/thejciuknationalconvention2011.  We look forward to welcoming you to the JCI UK National Convention 2011.

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Friday the 23rd of September JCI Bradford celebrated their annual dinner at the fabulous Midland Hotel in Bradford. Though I love annual dinners for the opportunity to catch up with friends, enjoy some good food and wine and dress up in pretty dresses (yes, I am that superficial), its nice when someone rethinks the concept and does something different.

The JCI Bradford dinner started out like most annual dinners do; with reception drinks, speeches and food. JCI Bradford President and long time supporter of JCI Phillip Cavalier-Lumley was awarded a well deserved Senatorship  from National President Allison Cowell.

Then the entertainment started. President Phil was challenged to face his fears in the shape of an angry scorpion (of the Emperor type; Pandinus imperator), then a big phyton and finally a hairy tarantula. Phil did well, kept his pants clean, and came out of the experience in one piece.

After the dinner, the other guests got to play with the animals and creatures as well. My favourite was a little meerkat called Alfie. You can see more pictures from the dinner after the video.

Congratulations to President Phil for a great experience I will remember!

Check out the video of Phil facing his fears.

President Phil receives his Senatorship

Phil facing his fear being challenged to kiss the phyton.

Phil's wife Pamela with one of the cute animals, a very friendly owl

JCI Leeds member Tim Metcalfe get some unusual head decoration

Me with Alfie the Meerkat.

The animal were provided and cared for by the Morley Exotic Pet Rescue.

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JCI members are active in many ways. JCI Senator Kate Atkin's husband Stuart is walking around England for charity. Read how you can support him. 

My husband, Stuart Jessup, is taking a year out of teaching and is walking 2,500 miles round England for charity, starting on 9th October. We are linking the walk to the "Time to Change" campaign that aims to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and we are also fundraising for two charities engaged in this task, SANE and Anxiety UK. More details can be found on the walk's website www.walkingontheedge.org.uk Stuart has personal insight into the stigma and issues surround mental health as he has suffered from chronic depression for much of his life.

Covering about 15 miles a day, six days a week, along with Poppy our springer spaniel, we expect the walk to take between seven or eight months. During this time Stuart's home will be a campervan, which he will return to at the end of each day by public transport and drive on to the start of the next section the following morning; I have a week a month scheduled to join him to be both moral support and driver.

An invitation:

Join us if you can in London on 9th October, as we will walk across Tower Bridge to start the walk. I am in the process of organizing a "meet point" so do let me know if you plan to come and I'll keep you updated.

It is also possible to sponsor Stuart at http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/walkingontheedge or make a pledge to sponsor Stuart by the mile

There are other ways to help, including...

• Talking about mental health. The aim of the Time to Change campaign is to make it as easy to talk about mental health problems as it is to talk about physical illnesses. The taboos around admitting to suffering from a mental health condition can isolate the sufferer and make the condition much worse than it needs to be. However one in four of us will suffer from a mental illness at some point in our lives (mainly depression and anxiety disorders) and at any moment one in six people are suffering. So just talking openly with others about depression, anxiety and other mental health problems is step towards alleviating this suffering. We are both happy to give talks based on our personal experiences of mental health issues.
• Help publicise the walk. If you would like to tell colleagues, friends and family about the walk that would be great. There is a blog on the website, and Stuart is also on Twitter (@englandwalk) and there's a Facebook page (just search for "Stuart Jessup"). I am coordinating PR for the walk and would grateful for any media contacts around the country and we are open to opportunities to give talks about the walk to local groups. Our very first press article, in the Cambridge First newspaper appeared back in July, and there's a copy on the website.

Thank you for your support.

kate@walkingontheedge.org.uk and Stuart@walkingontheedge.org.uk
www.walkingontheedge.org.uk

http://twitter.com/englandwalk

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