Medlin & Medlin, PA
Attorney at Law
(704) 786-8173
Concord, NC 

YOUNG LEADERS RAISE MONEY WITH THE WORLD’S SCARIEST HAUNTED HOUSE: THEIR GOAL - - TO CHANGE THE WORLD

For twenty years, young community leaders in the Concord Jaycees captured the imagination of the community at Halloween and supported many Cabarrus County charity projects.

Jaycees is a leadership and service organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40.

From 1978 until 1985, the Concord Jaycees raised serious money through these activities:

· Steve and the Jaycees created the scariest spot in town every Halloween with their annual haunted house fund raising project (he plays an excellent ghost). We created the ghostly effects in different locations and people from all over the county came to be spooked.

· Jam and jelly sales to fund the North Carolina Burn Center in Chapel Hill. We sold jam and jelly any way legal. We went door to door, we camped out in front of shopping centers. Our best technique was to carry 3 cases to a next door neighbor’s house and ask, “How many cases do you want?” All this money went straight to Chapel Hill to build the North Carolina Burn Center.

· The state “speak up” program to teach public speaking - One of the things I liked best about the Jaycees was teaching public speaking. Even though we were young and full of acidic acid and vinegar, we are just mortal. Most of us were scared of public speaking. We trained each other twice a month how to stand up, speak up, then shut up. I have acquaintances today nearly 40 years later who tell me their careers dealing with public or business presentations were started during Jaycees speak up program.

· Charity basketball games – Jaycees would play against city basketball league teams to entertain the public and raise big bucks. We never won a game but that wasn’t the point. We were like the Harlem Globetrotters. Never really taken seriously, but always entertaining. We were also entertaining because we were always trying to slip a sixth or seventh man on the court.

· Car washes - Several times a year, we would set up a car wash at any unsuspecting business that did not know enough to run us off. We wet each other, we had towel fights, we even got some cars cleaned in the process. But all the money went to wonderful charities and we were proud of ourselves.

· State Jaycees training convention held all over North Carolina

· Light bulb sales - When you are young and brazen, you will do anything to raise money. Can you imagine selling light bulbs door to door on a Saturday afternoon? Well, we did and raised a lot of money, too. We also became amateur psychologists. We got every kind of reaction in the world from the people to whom we sold.

All the money stayed right here helping Concord/Cabarrus County charities.

· My favorite fund raiser of all time was sponsoring and providing labor and organization for the Miss Cabarrus County beauty pageant. The young lady contestants were all talented and charming and the guys didn’t seem to mind showing up to work. We raised a lot of money and had fun. A lot of scholarships were awarded for the young ladies.

In other words, Steve Medlin and the Concord Jaycees never let moss grow under their feet.

Today Jaycees is a national organization of thousands of clubs dedicated to helping young people move into community activism and leadership positions.

The Jaycees was established in 1920 to provide opportunities for young men to develop personal and leadership skills through service to others.

In 1984, the Jaycees expanded to include female members. Past members include:

Bill Clinton

John F. Kennedy

Charles Lindbergh

Richard Nixon

Hubert Humphrey

In 1987, the North Carolina Jaycee Outpatient Treatment Facility at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center was created and cancer patients make more than 85,000 visits per year to outpatient clinics for treatment or follow up care.

Jaycees have contributed well over one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) to aid the organization in making life easier and more comfortable for cancer patients and their families.