Club Constitutions & Bylaws

The United States Constitution is the home base of what makes our great country unique. With it, citizens are protected by a number of rights and liberties that grant freedom and inhibit tyranny.

National TARS encourages all clubs to write a constitution and bylaws.  They will help members follow a path with specific goals and optimize the club’s effectiveness.  Having a pre-determined constitution and bylaws also helps guide members in the event of conflict and provides a base to stand on.

Example Constitution

The following is a sample constitution from the TAR Club in Fredericksburg, VA.  It can be found in the Appendix of the Organizational Manual.  For more examples, contact us.

ARTICLE I

The name of this organization shall be the Fredericksburg Teen Age Republicans, herein and after to be referred to as TARS.

ARTICLE II

The purpose of this organization shall be:

To bring young people into the Republican Party and to provide an opportunity for them to find political expression and recognition;

To foster and encourage the activities of the Republican Party to promote its ideals;

To collect, analyze, discuss, and disseminate information concerning political affairs and political philosophy of Teen Age Republicans.

ARTICLE III

Membership in this organization shall be limited to those teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19 who are in high school and are willing to support the goals of TARS.

Active members shall be those who have paid current club dues.

Only active members shall be eligible to be an officer and have voting privileges at any club meeting.

ARTICLE IV

This organization shall have the following elected officers: Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.  No person shall hold the same office more than two consecutive terms.

The offices of the organization shall be elected for a term of one year and shall serve until their successors are duly elected.

The powers and duties of the elected officers shall be:

The Chairman shall be the chief officer of the organization and shall conduct all meetings of the general organization and the Executive Board.  He shall make all committee assignments with the approval of the Executive Board, and shall be a member ex-officio of all committees.  He shall have general supervision over all the organization’s programs.

The Vice Chairman shall in the case of the resignation, disqualification, or absence of the Chairman, perform the duties of the Chairman.  He shall be the Chairman’s chief assistant, and shall be responsible for such additional duties as may be prescribed for him by the Executive Board.

The Secretary shall keep the records and proceedings of the organization.  He shall be responsible for the minutes of all meetings of the club and the Executive Board.  He shall keep a record of all projects and official actions taken by the club.

The Treasurer shall be responsible for the funds of the club and she keep a record of its recipients and expenditures.  She shall submit reports on the financial condition of the club to each Executive Board meeting and shall submit an annual report in writing to the annual meeting each year.

ARTICLE V

Election of officers shall take place in the spring of each year at the annual meeting.

Vacancies in any office shall be filled by election of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VI

The Standing Committees of this organization shall be: Newsletter, Membership, Publicity, Social, Campaign, Program & Finance.

The Newsletter Committee shall be responsible for publishing a regular newsletter to serve as a vehicle of communication to all club members.

The Membership Committee shall be responsible for recruitment and orientation of new members.

The Publicity Committee shall be responsible for publicity on all activities and projects of the club.

The Social Committee shall be responsible for arranging and setting up all social functions for the club.

The Campaign Committee shall be responsible for coordinating all campaign activities of the club with other Republican groups.

The Program Committee shall be responsible for arranging and setting up programs, speakers, etc. for club meetings.

The Finance Committee shall be responsible for setting up fund-raising projects for the club and preparing a budget.

ARTICLE VII

The Executive Board shall conduct the affairs of the club between regular meetings.  The members of the Executive

Board shall be the elected officers, and the chairmen of the standing committees.

Meetings of the Executive Board may be called by the Chairman or by a majority of the members of that Board.

A majority of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum necessary to conduct business.

ARTICLE VIII

This club shall not officially endorse any candidates for Public office prior to the Republican primary or nominating convention.

ARTICLE IX

Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern all proceedings of the club, except when inconsistent with the constitution and by-laws.

ARTICLE X

This constitution may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the delegates at any annual meeting or by a 2/3 vote of the members present at a special meeting called for the purpose of amending this constitution provided that all members of the club receive at least 10 days notice from the Secretary of the club stating the intention to amend the constitution.

No amendments shall take effect until the adjournment of the convention adopting them.