The Jaycees are a national organization for young professionals between the ages of 21 to 40 who are committed to bettering themselves and their community. They offer professional development opportunities, community service projects, and fellowship to members. The local Statesboro chapter directly benefits the immediate community through various fundraisers and community endeavors.
Sydney Davis of the Statesboro Jaycees was recently selected as 2024 Jaycee of the Year for the entire state of Georgia due to her commitment to the values of the organization and its members. To add to the excitement, she is also beginning her term as the 2025 President of the Georgia Jaycees. She will be the 95th Jaycee to serve in this role.
"I'm really very early on in my Jaycee career, but I've been exceedingly lucky to have great mentors in the organization," Davis says. "Being Jaycee of the Year just confirms for me that I'm on the right track. It's not the final goal."
Davis grew up attending her parents', Jeff Davis of OTC and Becky Sanders of Visit Statesboro, civic activities, which greatly impacted her.
"When I was younger, all of the folks that I looked up to in the community and in positions I admired were all Jaycees or affiliated with the Jaycees or supported the Jaycees, and it was always something I was hearing about as I was finishing up high school and getting into college," she remembers. "My parents were fantastic about making sure I stayed community-involved. Being an only child, I got to sit at a lot of the adult tables. I have very early memories with Barry Turner and Jenny Foss. Looking back on it now, how lucky I was to sit at these tables with these community pillars."
The impression that these mentors made prompted Davis, a double Eagle, to join the local Jaycees chapter once she finished graduate school.
"I'm homegrown; I'm native to Statesboro," Davis shares. "I went to Georgia Southern; I was a biology major."
After a life experience steered her towards the geography department for graduate school, she finished with an MS in Applied Geography.
"During my master's program I actually studied sea turtles," Davis says. "It changed my life."
Even though the COVID shutdown lengthened her thesis timeline, Davis persevered and published her work. "I'm officially published now as an academic writer and that was a big moment," she says.
Davis wanted to put down roots in her hometown rather than move away to secure a job studying turtles in a remote location.
"After getting done with my master's, I very quickly got my job at Great Georgia Realty, and as soon as that happened, I was like 'Okay, I'm here; I'm hooked; I'm in; I've got to become a Jaycee," she said.
Davis recently read an article about "The Epidemic of Loneliness" that is happening in the U.S. right now. She has experienced firsthand the comradery groups like the Jaycees offer young adults to avoid this growing problem.
She urges anyone who is interested to join, not only for the social and self- and community-improvement aspects of the organization, but also to address the decline in volunteerism that is so prevalent in the post-COVID era. Davis, also the co-chair of the Membership & Marketing Committee for the Kiwanis Club of Statesboro, is concerned about this trend.
"I'm also a member of Kiwanis, so I can say this as someone who's involved in a variety of organizations: we're seeing a decline in volunteering, across the board, across the country," she says. "When times get tough, volunteering tends to fall by the wayside."
Davis explains that membership in the Jaycee organization requires potential members to attend at least one meeting before they begin the application process. This aids the committee in understanding what the prospective member wants to focus on, whether it be event planning, professional workshops, or something else, so they can be matched with the most helpful group within the local chapter.
"Our fees are very reasonable; it's $140 for the year," Davis shares.
This annual fee includes perks and discounts for entertainment and travel, among other things. The Statesboro Jaycees also contribute cash donations and goods to various charities.
"We raised over $9,000 for Bikers Against Child Abuse; I mean that is an impact," she says.
The Toys for Tots Program, one that the Jaycees have been affiliated with for years, has an immediate and profound affect on members as well as recipients.
"There have been so many Jaycees that I've talked to where they've been like, 'I've really never understood what it was like until I got to put that bag of toys into that mom's car who otherwise was not going to be able to do anything for her kids for Christmas,' and that's impactful," she says.
The Statesboro chapter, comprised of approximately 20 members, has the autonomy to adopt the local charity of their choice, and members have the opportunity to vote at the annual banquet, Jaycees Night Out.
"It helps to tie folks to the community," Davis says. "The actual Jaycees are getting more entrenched in Statesboro, and I just think that's great. It all spirals outward in a good way."
Davis wants to inform prospective Jaycees that there is a professional benefit to being a member, too.
"It's not just service, you know?" Davis, who also took home the Statesboro Jaycees President's Award at their annual banquet in February, says. "This is also about growing you. There's a reason we're 21-40. You are in a time period where you're probably coming into a career or working your way up, and this is the time where, maybe if your public speaking skills were brushed up on, you could maybe work on getting that promotion or that raise. We're trying to develop our members too."
The next meeting is scheduled for March 11, 2025 at 5:45pm, which happens to be Davis's birthday. The meeting will take place at Soyumi Asian Kitchen, located at 727 Buckhead Drive, Statesboro, GA 30458. All are welcome. Up-to-date information about the monthly meetings can be found on the Facebook page.
"I feel like people think it's so hard to get involved with something like this, and it's not, and you can make such a difference," Davis says. "It will add years to your life; it is good for you."
For more information about the Statesboro Jaycees, please visit their website.