Rachel Jackson

"It's good to be recognized," said Rachel Jackson, 2004 Urbandale chapter president.
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Jackson was awarded the Iowa Jaycees Governor Award, the highest award presented to local members by the Iowa Jaycees.The award is intended for the Jaycee who has made significant contributions to the community and the growth of the chapter.

Jackson has been nominated for the Charles E. Kulp Award, given by the United States Jaycees to outstanding local chapter presidents.
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Jackson and Baitinger will attend the national Jaycee year-end convention in Daytona Beach, Fla., March 17-19.
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Jackson, whose mother was a local chapter president in Minnesota, became involved with the Jaycees when she moved to Urbandale.

"I wanted to get more involved in Urbandale, meet people and get connected," she said."(Jaycees) is a great place to meet people and give back to the community."

Jackson said she thinks her nominations have a lot to do with networking with community leaders.

As a result of a recent Urbandale goal-setting process, she said, the Jaycees have been working to promote membership and encourage members to get involved with local leadership by attending chamber of commerce events and city council functions.

Rachel Jackson, president of the Urbandale Jaycees, said her hopes for injecting youth into Urbandale involve drawing young adults interested in civic life.

She said the benefits of a more diverse leadership pool center around finding new, fresh ideas.

"There's not the whole concept of, 'We've tried this before and it didn't work,' " she said."We're not as cynical.We still think we can change the world."

She said she hopes to encourage members of the Jaycees, a group for adults ages 21 to 39, to become more involved.She also said she wants to eventually promote the idea of a junior government, which would link young Urbandale residents with a City Council member to learn how government works.

Members of the Jaycees will also try to generate interest in local politics by organizing a candidate forum, which is not yet scheduled.

"We are promoting local politics to our membership," she said.

Rachel Jackson, President, Urbandale Jaycees