With young workers feeling the brunt of recession, Deirdre O'Shaughnessy spoke to Evelyn Cormican, President of Junior Chamber International's Galway branch, about attitude, opportunity and enabling success during a downturn.

Junior Chamber International is a junior version of Chambers of Commerce. The organisation has a number of functions, and one of its tenets, though it may seem unfashionable, is faith in God. JCI is an organisation for developing young leaders and entrepreneurs and provides great opportunities including personal development to its members.

The Galway branch is particularly active, having won Most Outstanding Branch in the world in 2006, the same year Evelyn joined.

"I decided to attend a meeting in February 2006. I was really impressed with the friendliness and the positive energy of the group, and the rest is history. I wish I had discovered this organization when I was in my 20s. Some people say JCI is the best kept secret in Galway," she says now.

As a life and business coach, she is very aware of the difference participation in extra-curricular activities can make to someone's life and career, particularly in times like these. Despite the time-poor nature of today's society, and the worries being caused by the current downturn, Evelyn believes now is the perfect opportunity for voluntary organizations to shine.

"I think the current climate will have a positive effect on voluntary organizationd like JCI. Obviously we are competing for members time, with the explosion of technology and the world wide web in recent years, and it's interesting that our membership has grown over the past few years and that's a trend I hope will continue. JCI was set up in Galway in 1962 and has stood the test of time. It is important to cater for members' needs and we try to do that through the projects we run and the monthly trainings we provide free for members. I am involved in a number of organizations in Galway and it is interesting to see that they boast higher membership than anywhere else in the country including Dublin and I think this is a testament to the positive attitude of the people of Galway," says Evelyn.

"I think with the downturn in the economy people will be looking for value for money and JCI is an organization that gives great value for money for developing business and life skills. I believe you cannot replace human interaction with a VDU or a mobile phone. To quote Napoleon Hills, 'Where more than one energy is gathered a third energy is created'; this I believe is the power of human interaction."