JCI USA EmpowerCAST

JCI USA EmpowerCAST is the official podcast of JCI USA, a nonprofit that offers young people development opportunities through local chapters. In effect, it is the organization talking about itself and to its members. The episodes here are conversations with one or a few guests. The tone is warm, supportive and openly excited, and the interviewers tell guests how glad they are to have them on. Two interviewers give their names. Ross Ratliff introduces himself as JCI USA's national membership development director for 2020, the year, he notes, when the organization celebrated 100 years. Danielle Fields introduces herself as the 2021 membership development director. The episodes about the organization itself stand out most. Ratliff sets one up around staying connected during the pandemic and hearing about the first North American Academy. His guests are Lacey Hammett, serving a second term as Wyoming Jaycees state president, and Sheridan Jaycees president Jenny Epperson. In another episode, speakers who greet each other as Mr. President list the roles above the local chapter: international vice president, executive vice president, world president. One recalls a contested race for national vice president and wondering what comes next if the vote goes the other way. The advice that follows is plain and useful. Public speaking, networking and a working grasp of bylaws and organizational structure are presented as gains for candidates and general members alike, and a setback as a possible blessing in disguise. Fields's conversation with 2021 chaplain Neal Haynes is about adjusting expectations going into 2021, and it turns to people who spoke up for retail and service workers during 2020. The outside guests bring in other fields. Brian Freeman, introduced as an award-winning author, has made his living writing for more than 17 years and prefers villains whose backgrounds reveal what drew them across terrible lines. Asked whether he ever has to pull back for his own sake, he describes writing as all-consuming, with characters that follow him past the end of the day. A healthcare conversation brings in Teresa Pina, vice president of operations at Houston-based Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. Alongside her, a second guest recalls reusing N95 masks after ultraviolet cleaning when protective equipment ran short. Elec Simon, a 2019 JCI USA TOYA Award winner, greets JCI as family and describes the anti-bullying Motivational Musical assembly he takes into schools. Several episodes end with the same short statement of JCI USA's mission and a pointer to jciusa.org for anyone wanting to join or start a chapter. For a first listen, the conversation about leadership roles shows the show at its most useful: frank talk about ambition and the risk of losing, from inside the organization. The Freeman and Simon interviews are an easier way in for anyone outside JCI.