2021 JCI Mississippi Competitions Manual

General Competitor Information

• The JCI Mississippi Professional Skills Program (PSP) is designed to help promote and
develop the skills of JCI members in the areas of speaking and writing. The following
guidelines are in keeping with the 2020 JCI USA PSP Guidelines.
• The goal of these competitions is to help members become more confident in presenting
themselves both verbally and in written format, skills which can be transferred to a
member's personal and professional life.

Competitor Eligibility Requirements

• Competitors, with the exception of Write-Up, must be fully registered to attend JCI
Mississippi 2021 Mid Year Convention prior to the time of competition.
• Competitors must be a member in good standing of a recognized JCI chapter prior to the
day of competitor registration for the JCI Mississippi 2021 Mid Year Convention.
• Guest competitors from other JCI USA states will be allowed to compete in the Speak-Up
Competitions but will not be eligible to represent JCI Mississippi at JCI USA events as a
competitor.

Specific Eligibility Factors

• The current JCI Mississippi State President, JCI USA Board of Directors, and JCI USA Staff
Members are NOT eligible to compete in any of the competitions. State PSP Committee
members ARE eligible to compete once their year(s) of service on the committee is
complete.
• Once a member has placed within the top 10% in a competition category at the state
level, then s/he is no longer eligible to compete in that particular competition again on the
state level.
• A resume, including community involvement, must be submitted as a part of the
competitor registration. Send resumes to hattiesburgjaycees@gmail.com, Attn:
Competitions, by Friday, 4 June 2021.
• This resume will be used to validate your eligibility to participate in the competition and
will not be scored or used for determining the winner. Competitors must also submit a
registration form which can be found on the JCI Mississippi Website.
• Final determination of eligibility will be at the discretion of the State Awards Chairman
and the State Board.

General Guidelines for All Competitors

• Dress – Competitors are expected to dress in business professional attire during the
competition. (Military uniforms, kilts, and cowboy hats are considered business
 2021 JCI Mississippi Competitions Manual

professional attire.) Competitors are not allowed to wear any chapter apparel, badge,
pin, or button that identifies the person’s home organization. A membership pin of JCI
USA or JCI is allowed and encouraged and will have no impact on the competitor’s score.

Note: Depending on the requirements at the JCI USA level, a determination will be made of
whether or not the Novice level winners will compete at the national level in 2021.

Registration Deadline: Friday, 4 June 2021

Registration Link: Registration Form

Write-Up Competition (Novice)

Purpose
• The annual Write-Up competitions are held to determine the most outstanding
writers in JCI Mississippi.
• No professional writers may compete at this level.
• A “professional writer” is defined as a member who either currently or previously earned
at least 25% of their income in a profession in which writing or publishing is required (for
example journalists, public relations personnel, and grant writers).

Implementation
• Upon approval of the competitor’s eligibility to participate, they will receive an email
confirming such. The Write-Up Competition will begin Monday, 7 June 2021, and conclude
Monday, 14 June 2021, at 9 AM. Any submissions not received at that point will be
disqualified. By 12 pm(noon) on Monday, 7 June 2021, all event participants will receive
their essay prompt via email from State President, Bethanie Miller.
• All essays will be due one week later on Monday, 14 June 2021 by 9 AM.
• Judging will take place between 15 June 2021 and 18 June 2021.
• The Winner of the Write-Up event will be announced at the JCI Mississippi 2021 Mid
Year Convention, 25 - 26 June 2021.
• Following the State Convention, all participants will receive their judging sheets to
assess their effectiveness and prepare for future competitions.
• If there is a tie for first place, a separate topic will be sent to the tied competitors
with a 24-hour deadline by 19 June 2021.

Essay Requirements
• Participants are discouraged from using outside resources such as web searches,
thesauruses, or dictionaries. There is no way to monitor this from the proctor's side, so
 2021 JCI Mississippi Competitions Manual

competitors are on an honor system.

• All essays should be no less than 1000 words and no more than 2000 words.
• All participants will have the same topic.
• Examples of possible topics may include:
o What do you see the future of JCI being in the next 10 years?
o What makes one a Jaycee?
o What is/should be the most pressing concern for our state?
o How has JCI changed your life?

Scoring
• Each entry will be judged on: comprehension and clarity of the topic, format and
presentation (logic), development of the entry (creativity), and mechanics (spelling,
neatness, and correct use of grammar).
• Contestants should take care not to identify their chapter in their essays.
• Deductions, at one (1) point each with a maximum of ten (10) points, can be made for
identification of local or state organization and for repetitive use of adjectives, phrases,
and adverbs.
• The scoring criteria for both first and, if needed, second-round competition can be found
in the Appendix.

Speak-Up (Novice)

Purpose
• The annual Speak-Up competitions are held to determine the outstanding speakers
in JCI Mississippi.
• No professional speakers may compete at this level.
• A “professional speaker” is defined as a member who either currently or previously
earned at least 25% of their income in a profession in which public speaking or
teaching is required for example clergy, public speaking instructor, corporate trainer,
and motivational speakers.

Implementation
• All Speak-Up levels will take place at the State Convention, Saturday, 26 June 2021.
• The Speak-Up competitions are held in two (2) rounds.
• Round One: A prepared five (5) to seven (7) minute speech on a topic that will be
released via email to all competitors simultaneously.
• Round Two: An impromptu three (3) to five (5) minute speech on a topic that will be
revealed to the competitors one (1) minute before they are to present the speech.
 2021 JCI Mississippi Competitions Manual

Timekeeping:
• The timekeeper will use signs to notify the competitor of the time remaining until the
maximum time for each round has been met.
• The competitor will not be cut off from speaking, but penalties will be assessed for going
over the allotted time.
• Speak-Up competitors will receive their topic, via email, on Friday, 18 June,
2021.
• Examples of possible topics may include:
o What do you see the future of JCI being in the next 10 years?
o What makes one a Jaycee?
o What is/should be the most pressing concern for our state?
o How has JCI changed your life?

Scoring
• The contestants will be judged on the basis of their delivery, speech content,
salesmanship, and continuity.
• Contestants should take care not to identify their chapter in either their prepared or
impromptu speeches.
• Winner(s) of the awards will be determined by a combination of scores from both
rounds. The scoring criteria for this competition can be found in the Appendix.
 2021 JCI Mississippi Competitions Manual

Appendix

Write-Up Judging Sheet Sample

 2021 JCI Mississippi Competitions Manual

Speak-Up Judge’s Sheet Example