He drove across the country, stopping in Humboldt on his way back.
The JCI national president, Francois Begin, made his last stop in the JCI National President Canadian tour on July 26 in Humboldt.
Begin, travelled across the country from Quebec City in an RV with his family.
"As a National President, I have to travel to visit all of our chapters and members across Canada," said Begin.
He decided instead of making about 20 short trips, he would instead do a JCI Canada Summer Tour.
"We rented an RV and travelled 12,000 kilometres across the country to visit all the chapters and members," said Begin.
Humboldt was his last stop on the tour. While in Humboldt, he had a tour of the city, learned a little about the history of farming in the area at the Humboldt and Area Vintage and Antique Club, had lunch at the Humboldt Golf Club and saw the JCI Humboldt Spray Park in Water Ridge Park, the latest project by the local JCI chapter.
"It was exciting to have the JCI national president visit us in Humboldt," said Krista Grimson, JCI Humboldt co-president.
As far as current JCI Humboldt members know, this is the first time a national president has been to the city.
"It was great to see the national board didn't forget about Humboldt and all we do in our community," said Grimson.
Begin enjoyed his tour across the country.
"It is a good experience to see what our members have accomplished in Canada, to talk to our members, to see our dynamic across the country has been an amazing experience," said Begin.
He also mentioned it was great to see the different dynamics from chapter to chapter.
"Our chapters are so different," said Begin. "We have chapters that work more towards community, some of them are more towards networking, some are doing a lot of training."
He said these differences are part of what makes JCI a strong organization.
"It is great to see the differences," said Begin. "I think this is what makes us strong is for whatever reason you join JCI, you will find what you like in JCI because we exploit so many aspects."
He explained it is exciting projects, like the Humboldt JCI Spray Park.
Being here in Humboldt is amazing to see what JCI Humboldt has been doing for their community.
"The spray park is amazing and this is what JCI is - to leave a trail in a community, to do things that will stay on forever, so in 30 years from now, people will be able to tell their grandkids, this is what I did as a JCI member," said Begin. "This is exactly why I am serving as national president, to see these great projects happening."
The Humboldt JCI Spray Park recently won an award in the JCI Western Region for Best Project, said Grimson, which was exciting for the chapter.
Now that his tour is over, Begin is looking forward to the next JCI event, the national convention in Kimberly, B.C., September 19-23.
"I hope all our members that show up there will have an amazing time," said Begin.
