$4.50 for the train, $55 for the cab, meeting potential Jaycees Priceless.
What a week, it started out with a 25 + hour train trip to Chicago to attend the Jaycees National Convention and then my 1st National Senate Convention. The Jaycee and Senate Conventions were great, the Illinois Jaycees definitely know hospitality, and I met a lot of great people but that isn’t what this story is about…
I had to leave the convention the night of the Senate banquet, so I packed my things and caught the hotel shuttle to the Lisle train station on my way to Union Station to head back to NY. I spent a few extra minutes speaking with the shuttle driver who inquired about the group staying at their hotel. I explained about the Jaycees and the Senators and thanks to Patricia (PIE) from South Carolina I had a Jaycee application on me. I wrote my name on it and told her to speak to the Senators to find a local chapter.
TRAVEL TIP: Make sure when you’re looking at a train schedules remember to check if it is AM or PM. The train I expected to take was 12 hours earlier in the day, and the next train would get me to Union Station 10 Minutes after my train left. My train leaving Albany was 4 hours late to arrive; of course this train was right on time, so what do I do?
I decided to take a cab, as the other options of getting stranded in Chicago or paying for another hotel night weren’t ideal. Two college kids carrying strange box masks approached the cab, when they mistakenly heard the train is late. I asked, “are you from LMFAO,” (this is a current music group for those of you who aren’t as hip as I am, it stands for Laughing My F’ing A$$ Off). They responded, “no they weren’t LMFAO, but they were using them for an LMFAO promotion. How did you know that?” I told them “I actually saw them in concert a couple weeks ago. Did they need a ride to the station?” They were stunned that I knew the group and we shared a cab to Union Station and talked about college, their goals and the reason I was in Chicago, the Jaycees and the JCI Senate. I shared about the Jaycees and the opportunities they have given me over the past decade, the fact the Jaycees raised $21,000 dollars this weekend for Joplin, MO. They were interested in the Jaycees, especially when I told them women are members too. At the end of the trip I told them I’d cover all the cab fare, they just needed to check out the http://www.usjaycees.org website. Once again, thanks Patricia, I had another Jaycee application in my wallet. I wrote the Jaycee website on it, my name and gave them a business card. These 2 college kids are from Chicago and go to college in Texas. They are young, ambitious and now also have a story to share with their friends about meeting a Jaycee at a train station. I hope you were able to pass along the Jaycee Passion on your travels home from a wonderful Senate meeting.
David Stern
Senator 68349
NYS JCI Senate President Elect
New York State JCI Senate 