ABOUT THE JAYCEES
A Jaycee is a member of the Junior Chamber, a worldwide organization of young professionals that is not affiliated with any particular religion or political party. Jaycee members are men and women between the ages of 21-40, who meet regularly in local chapters to build connections and community. Famous Jaycees include Bill Clinton, Tom Monaghan (founder of Domino’s Pizza), JFK, Elvis Presley, Al Gore, Charles Lindbergh, Ted Turner and Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Our local Jaycee chapter is more than 80 years old, making us one of the oldest chapters in the state of Iowa, and the only remaining chapter in the Quad-Cities. We pride ourselves on blending social opportunities with service – like planning our Bridal Expo and having an after-party, hosting our Jaycee Santa program, and fundraising by connecting with the community through special brews! If you want to learn more, check out our Projects and Events pages.
JAYCEES CREED
We believe, that faith in God brings meaning and purpose to human life.
That the brotherhood of man transcends the sovereignty of nations.
That economic justice can best be won by free man through free enterprise,
That government should be of laws rather than of men,
That earth's great treasure lies in human personality,
And that service to humanity is the best work of life.
JAYCEES BOARD
Kelsey Watson
President
Kelsey has been a Jaycee since 2017, and takes pride in her community involvement. On top of co-chairing the Wedding Expo, Kelsey is involved in multiple organizations. She was born in California, but somehow made her way to the Quad Cities.
Kelsey is the Marketing & Sales Specialist at Solutions Management Group in Davenport. She adores her dog, Quentin, and cats, Frankie and Gretel, and considers herself a true crime expert. She loves to travel, plays volleyball as often as possible, loves designing things for her Etsy shop, and tries to work out often (to balance out her ice cream addiction).
Amanda Birch
State Director
Amanda joined the Jaycees in 2005. Throughout her Jaycees career Amanda has held numerous state and local chapter positions, including Chapter President in 2009, and has won various awards for her hard work and dedication to the Jaycees! Amanda has won 2010 M. Keith Upson Memorial Award from JCI USA. From JCI Iowa, Amanda has won Top Local Member, Top Management VP, Top Chapter President, 2010 David Tetmeyer Memorial Award for District Director of the Year, and 2011 Scott Brettmann Memorial Award for Regional Director of the Year. Amanda is an JCI Iowa Governor #484 and JCI Senator #79777.
Outside of the Jaycees, Amanda works for New Choices Inc. In her free time, Amanda loves to do arts and crafts including vinyl crafts, resin art, and coloring. She also loves to curl up with a good book or movie. Her favorite thing to do is hang out with friends and family.
Lisa Gerhardt
VP of Community Development
Lisa joined the Jaycees in 2022 after connecting with several members while volunteering at the Bar-B-QC. She was intrigued by the Jaycees commitment to giving back and joined to find more ways to volunteer and connect with others in the community.
Lisa is the HR Director for SAL Community Services in Moline. She grew up in Generseo and currently lives in Davenport. In her free time, you can find her serving on various committees, reading the newest bestseller, running/biking/hiking on local trails, and hanging out with her amazing golden retriever, Macy.
Bret McKinney
VP of Management
Bret has been a member of the Jaycees since 2021. He grew up in the Quad Cities and has spent most of his life here. He enjoys participating in the Jaycees and the opportunities it provides to meet new people and become involved in the community.
Outside of the Jaycees, Bret owns McKinney Insurance Agency, a small independent property and casualty insurance agency in Davenport, IA. In his free time he enjoys just about anything outdoors and traveling.
Charmaine Sibley
Treasurer
Charmaine Sibley joined the Jaycees in 2021. A native to Chicago south suburbs but relocated after marriage in 2016. After many years of her friend talking to her about the Jaycees she went to her first event and enjoyed it. Her first meeting was a new member meeting where they went over the history of the Jaycees and that is what solidified her decision to join.
Charmaine works full time in the financial field where she has grown up the ranks pretty fast. As a person that is always willing to learn something new in that industry, she threw her hat in the race to be the Jaycees 2023 treasure. The treasurer will get her more involved in the Jaycees but also help her learn things that she always wanted to learn.
Outside of work, Charmaine loves to grill and challenges most people to a grill off. She loves to travel with her favorite travel partner, her husband Kyle. She never says no to a game night, a pool day, or a hot tub day because those are the best things to do.
Forest Kane
Chair of the Board
Forest joined the Jaycees of the Quad Cities in May of 2019! Since then he has held 4 board positions, including President in 2022. Forest has also sat on multiple committees, including Brew Ha Ha, Bridal Expo, and Bar-B-QC. Forest enjoys volunteering and networking with other QCA professionals!
Outside of the Jaycees, Forest enjoys visiting local breweries and coffee shops, biking to the farmers market with his husband, and going on hikes with their rescue catahoula, Bette.
Emma Dengler
Secretary
A lifetime Davenport resident, Emma joined the Jaycees in 2021. The following year, after getting to know the chapter and its members, Emma served as Secretary and loved it enough to give it another go in 2023! She cherishes the friendships she has formed within the organization and rarely misses a chance to join them in community and social events, with no plans on stopping anytime soon. Her favorite way to be involved is attending Bridal Expo Committee meetings and participating in the chapter’s annual “Santa Shopping” activity.
Emma’s day job, for the last 8 years, is working as an Artisan at Isabel Bloom in the Mold Making department. Outside of the Jaycees and Isabel Bloom, Emma is a wife, auntie, and fur-mama, who enjoys cooking and baking, true crime podcasts, and Yahtzee.
Kaelyn Hagens
VP of PR & Marketing
Kaelyn has been a Jaycee since early 2021 after moving back to the Quad Cities area. She helped out the Bar-B-QC in 2021 and fulfilled the marketing and sponsorship role for 2022. She was awarded Top Local Member Award for the first half of 2022. In 2023, Kaelyn was elected to the Jaycees board as VP of PR & Marketing.
Kaelyn is the Social Media & Community Development Coordinator for R.I.A. Federal Credit Union and a Content Creator for Libib (a library cataloging app). She's also involved with the Quad Cities Young Professionals Networking Group.
When Kaelyn is outside of the Jaycees, she spends her time reading and creating delicious recipes in her kitchen. Someday she hopes to create on own cookbook.
Julia McNeil
VP of Individual Development
Julia is a native of Massachusetts and moved to the Quad Cities in early 2019. In 2021 she was introduced to the Jaycees and became a general member. In 2022 Julia joined the board as Vice President, Community Development and continues to sit on the board for 2023 as Vice President, Individual Development.
Outside of the Jaycees, Julia is the Assistant General Manager, Baseball Operations for the Quad Cities River Bandits. In her free time she enjoys being outdoors, cheering on her New England sports teams, and discovering new places in the Quad Cities area.
Rachel Stahle
VP of Membership
Born and raised in Bettendorf, Rachel joined the Jaycees of the Quad Cities in August of 2021 and hit the ground running. She quickly joined the Bar-B-QC committee for its inaugural year. She was the Bridal Expo co-chair for 2022, and the Bar-B-QC co-chair for 2022 and 2023, Rookie of the Year in 2021, and is now the VP of Membership.
Rachel owns candle & co., a local traveling candle workshop company that visits your favorite local restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. She began selling wholesale candles and offering fundraising opportunities for area nonprofits. Rachel is an Executive Assistant for Royal Neighbors of America. When Rachel is not volunteering or working, she loves spending time with her beagle mix Bryn and attending many local events the Quad Cities has to offer. She's passionate about giving back to the community and building strong community relationships.