JCI Brantford Senators

In 1951, JCI President Phil Pugsley (Past National President of Junior Chamber International Canada) and charter member John Armbruster were discussing a publication entitled "The Log," which Armbruster had been producing for retired officers and directors of the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. Aware of the vital role "The Log" played in sustaining friendships that had been formed through Junior Chamber, Pugsley struck upon the idea of sending a similar publication to the "alumni" of Junior Chamber International, and asked Armbruster to take on the job. They decided to name the paper "The Elder Statesman," for JCI alumni throughout the world were becoming important citizens of their respective countries, and were, in fact, elder statesmen to younger Junior Chamber members.

The Senate story took another significant turn in New York City in January 1952 at a meeting between Pugsley and JCI representative to the United Nations, Sid Boxer. During their conversation, the two explored important questions about the nature of the organization. Why were past members allowed to drift away from the movement when many would like to preserve some lifelong link to Junior Chamber? Why were local members spending thousands of dollars annually giving gifts to those they wished to honour when the same funds, spent on Junior Chamber International, could work for a cause in which they all believed? Why had an idea like Junior Chamber (then in its fourth decade) taken so long to gather enthusiasts around the world?

Upon considering these questions, Pugsley and Boxer conceived of the idea of a group of distinguished and honoured members, who would, in effect, help to spread the Junior Chamber concept worldwide. The JCI Senate was thus born. The idea was presented to the 1952 JCI World Congress in Melbourne, Australia, where it was approved and incorporated into the JCI bylaws as a category of membership. Since then, well over 67,000 Junior Chamber members in more than 100 countries have been honoured.