1949
National DSA Banquet - Page 2
The judging panel for the ten outstanding young men
of 1949 included Henry R. Luce, the Editor-in-Chief of Time Magazine, Dr.
Charles W. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic, L. B. Neumiller, president of Caterpillar
Inc., and the Hon. Clinton P. Anderson, U.S. Senate.
Paul G. Hoffman, administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration,
served as the principal speaker for the banquet. Jacque Mercer, crowned 1949
Miss America from Arizona was also in attendance.
The event took place on January 21, 1950 at the Shrine Mosque in downtown
Peoria. The Shrine Mosque is still there today, and the Peoria Jaycees conduct
their monthly membership meetings right next door at the local Amvets post.
Public exposure of the event was made by a radio broadcast by WEEK, the Peoria
NBC affiliate, between 8:30 - 9:30pm the evening of January 21, 1950. Coast to
coast coverage was provided by NBC between 10:30 - 11:00pm. Several dignitaries
were invited other than the DSA winners and judges.
A letter dated January 16, 1950, from Illinois governor Adlai E. Stevenson,
stating that he would be unable to attend the banquet. It is personally
signed by the governor himself, with no indication that this letter was
written by any assistant.
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A letter from then Rep. Gerald R. Ford, indicating that he would be in attendance. His
letter, also dated January 16, 1950, is signed Jerry Ford. Other letters and telegrams received came from Henry Luce, Clinton P. Anderson and Dr.
Charlie Mayo. |
The Peoria Jaycees received a lot of local press after the event was
completed. The Journal Star even ran a cartoon, (pictured above) depicting a tiny
Peoria Jaycees welcoming the ten outstanding young men at the National DSA Banquet. |
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