1982 - 1994

1982 - Karl Flemke, former CEO of JA Los Angeles, becomes president and CEO of Junior Achievement Inc. and leads the organization through numerous changes.

1983 - The JA Professional Hall of Fame, JA’s highest honor, is established to recognize exemplary contributions among JA’s professional ranks. 

November 18, 1986 - A gala celebration is held at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago to showcase a permanent exhibit of laureates inducted into the JA National Business Hall of Fame. More than four million people visit the Museum each year.

June 11, 1987 – A new headquarters is dedicated after raising $7 million to build a state of the art facility in Colorado Springs, Colo. with a lead grant from the El Pomar and Gates Foundations.  

1988 – After taking the organization 47 years (1919 to 1966) to reach one million students cumulatively, JA reaches one million students during a single school year.

March 16, 1989 - President George Bush, 41^st President of the United States, speaks at the National Business Hall of Fame Ceremonies at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado

1989 - In response to increasing requests from other nations, JA Inc. creates an international department. 

December 7, 1991 - a delegation of 150 JA students, staff, local and national board members, classroom teachers, and business volunteers launch JA of the Soviet Union in the Kremlin only days before the fall of the USSR.

1992 - The elementary school programs are launched. These in-school programs allow for rapid expansion during the 1990s. 

July 1, 1994 - JA International is established as a JA Area with it’s own board of directors.

1994-95 - Kathy Whitmire, former Mayor of Houston, Texas, serves as president and CEO of JA.

Read the book Junior Achievement: A History by Joe Francomano and Wayne & Darryl Lavitt to learn more about the history of Junior Achievement.