YOU MUST BE A LEADER....You are a member of the YMBL!

That phrase has echoed over the years throughout Beaumont and the area since a group of young and progressive business and professional leaders organized the Young Men's Business League May 4, 1917.

On that Spring evening over 75 years ago, Ed Paggi, a far- sighted visionary and Beaumont business tycoon, met with a group of civic-minded individuals who wanted to do something for their community above and beyond the normal business routine. The YMBL has more than lived up to their expectations. The YMBL, as President Ronald Reagan was quoted as writing in a congratulatory letter to the organization on its 65th anniversary in 1982, said: "The YMBL is living proof that organizations of good purpose have a vital place in the life of every city."

And the YMBL has been a powerful force in Beaumont, constantly striving to make this area a better place in which to live. Thanks to the foresight of Ed Paggi and the founders, and to the civic enthusiasm and just plain hard work of its multitudes of members over the year, the YMBL has made considerable progress in dozens of different fields and ventures.

With a membership of more than 1,200, the Young Men's Business League, "strives to improve the general welfare of the city and area; it develops and pursues programs which will maintain and improve the city's educational facilities and opportunities; it undertakes activities to enhance the agricultural and commercial resources of the area; it takes part in projects which will benefit the youth as well as the elderly; the YMBL is ever mindful of the needs of the community in fields of health and welfare, public works and civic improvement, governmental leadership and spritual guidance."

To accede to these lofty precepts as set forth in the organizations by- laws, the YMBL must function in a business-like manner. Chartered by the State of Texas as a non-profit organization, the YMBL is a responsible corporate citizen. Governing policies are set by a twenty- one member Board of Directors who are elected annually by the general membership. Officers are President, First, Second and Third Vice Presidents, Treasurer and Executive Vice President.

Although there is miniumum income from membership dues -$20 per year - the bulk of the organization's operating funds come from sponsorship of the "all-volunteer" South Texas State Fair and the annual YMBL World Championship Rodeo. The eleven-day Fair is second in size to the State Fair, Dallas, with an attendance of more than 500,000 from this S.E. Texas/S.W. Louisiana area. More than 700 YMBL members will work on various phases of this giant 55-year old exposition.

The YMBL Rodeo is nationally recognized and is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), and each year draws over 300 of the top cowboys and cowgirls in the world. More than 400 YMBLers work on this project and over 14,000 rodeo fans attend the event's four performances. The Rodeo celebrated its 50th year under YMBL sponsorship in 1995.

Other community activities sponsored by the YMBL throughout the year are not money-making events, but they provide many hours of family entertainment and enjoyment to residents of the area.

The YMBL has always sponsored projects beneficial to the youth of the city and area. Among these events are three athletic tournaments geared to high school boys and girls: The South Texas Shootout, formerly YMBL Boys' Basketball Tournament, has been in existence for more than forty years and is recognized as one of the premiere round-ball tourneys in the State; the Girls Volleyball Tournament is fast becoming one of the largest such meets in Texas and several State championship teams have been winners of the YMBL Tournament; the High School Invitational Track and Field Meet in the spring brings in some 700 top athletes, both boys and girls, from all over the State; the YMBL Junior Golf Tournament held during the summer, is a fairly new project and has already gained acceptance by coaches and players in the Beaumont area. Elementary, Middle School and High School golfers, boys and girls, are flighted according to age in this two-day meet.

Two additional programs appeal to those youngsters who are not able to take part in many events because of mental and physical handicaps. The Babe Zaharias Relays hosts about 2,500 youngsters each year in races and field events geared to these special kids. All entrants are considered winners in every event in which they participate and ribbons are awarded to everyone in this four-day meet. The YMBL's Rodeo Youth Day will see many of these same youngsters in attendance. This program is held at Fair Park Coliseum the day before the YMBL Rodeo opens. More than 2,000 special youngsters will see a full- fledged rodeo and be treated to a hot dog lunch with riding and roping furnished by the cowboys and the rodeo's stock contractors, and meals and drinks served up by YMBLers and volunteers from the community.

Being almost 100% volunteer operated, the organization stages a few projects for the membership each year including two Golf Tournaments, two Fishing "Rodeos," a Ladies Night Banquet, Workers Party and a Get Acquainted Party. More than 15 standing committees and a half-dozen special panels function under the YMBL's annual Program of Work and hundreds of YMBLers engage in the activities. Each member is given an opportunity to work on one or more projects and all committee assignments are made by the chairmen.

As a not-for-profit organization, the YMBL contributes thousands of dollars each year to other civic groups and charitable institutions in need of financial support. These contributions range from several hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars to any one organization. Lamar University, a long- time beneficiary of the YMBL's generosity, received $50,000 in 1978 to construct a student pavilion on the south campus and in 1986, an Athletic Scholarship Endowment was funded at the University in the amount of $40,000. In 1995, the YMBL established a second endowment for a Masters Degree scholarship in the School of Business which will eventually become a permanent $40,000 fund.

Among many community organizations receiving financial aid from the YMBL in the past include:

American Heart Assn., Altrusa Club, Anayat House, Art Studio, Boy Scouts of America, American Red Cross, Beaumont Blood Center, American Legion Boys' State, Babe Zaharias Memorial Fund, Baptist Hospital, Beaumont Art Museum, Beaumont Business and Education Day Camp, Beaumont Mental Health Assn., Beaumont State Center, Beaumont Symphony, "Ben Rogers I Have A Dream Scholarship," Big Thicket Museum, Civic Opera, Boys' Haven, Buckner Children's Village, Central Day Care, Christmas Baskets for the Needy, Civic Ballet, Coastal Cattle Assn., Communities That Care.

Others are Campfire Girls, Cancer Society, Lamar Cardinal Club, Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Christmas Bureau, Clean Community Commission, Crime Stoppers, Crisis Center, Community Players, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, CP Rehab Center, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Enterprise Empty Stocking Fund, Family Services Assn., Fairway House, FFA of Hamshire- Fannett, Fire Museum of Texas, French Trading Post, Garden Club, Goals for Beaumont, Golden Gloves, Golden Triangle Rose Society.

Also Goodwill Industries, Gulf Coast Conservation, H.O.W. Center, Hughen School and Bob Hope High School-Port Arthur, Imagination Station, Jefferson County Mediation Center, Jefferson County Rescue Team, Junior Achievement, Junior Forum and the Jefferson Theatre Preservation Society, Land Manor, League of Women Voters, Beaumont City Library, Louisiana Hurricane Relief, Make-A-Wish Foundation, McFaddin- Ward Cancer Center, March of Dimes, Muscular Dystrophy.

Additionally, Mid- County YMCA, Angie Nall Remedial Clinic, Nutrition for Seniors, United States Olympic Fund, PATCH, Pietzsch School Progran for the Handicapped, Police Explorer Scout Post, Palmer Drug Abuse, Minnie Rogers Juvenile Home, Suicide Rescue, Sabine Oaks Home for the Aged, Beaumont Senior Citizens Assn., Shrine Circus, Silsbee Cultural Center, SE Texas Community Health, SE Texas Food Bank, SE Texas Veterans' Group, SE Texas Industrial Arts Council, Some Other Place.

Completing the list are the Salvation Army, Stewart Halfway House, Schlesinger's Home for the Aged, Spindletop Foundation Horse Show, American Lung Assn., Special Olympics, Texas Tourist Council, Soccer League, Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas Deaf Assn., Texas Energy Museum, Tyler County Aging Services, United Board of Missions, United Appeals, Unity House, Vietnam Veterans, Volunteer Services Council, Womens' and Childrens' Shelter, YMCA and YWCA, Young Life.