PWAYR Club Bylaws
BYLAWS FOR THE GREATER PRINCE WILLIAM AREA YOUNG REPUBLICANS
(adopted August 2007, amended April 2008, amended August 2013)
As educated, politically active, freethinking individuals, we set forth these bylaws as the blueprint for the procedures and perpetuation of the Greater Prince William Area Young Republican Club, and to preserve our rights as members of the Young Republican Federation of Virginia (YRFV).
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this organization shall be "the Greater Prince William Area Young Republican Club."
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE
A. To educate the members of the Greater Prince William Area Young Republican Club (which shall be referred to as "the Club" for the remainder of this document) in Republican political strategy.
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B. To make known and to promote the line of political thought set forth by the platform of the Republican Party.
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C. To assist the Republican Party in the promotion of its candidates for office.
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D. To raise funds to facilitate the above.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
All members of the Club, regardless of their membership status, must be willing to pledge his or her support to the Republican Party and this Club’s purpose as enumerated in Article II of these bylaws.
A. Active Members
1. Shall carry full voice at all Club meetings and be eligible to vote at all Club meetings;
2. Shall be a resident, have voting residency, or work in the County of Prince William, or the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, Virginia;
3. Shall be between and including the ages of eighteen (18) and forty-one (41);
4. Shall not be an Active member of another YRFV Club or an Active member of the College Republican Federation of Virginia; and
5. Shall be a member of at least one committee as defined in Article IX.
B. Inactive Members
1. Shall carry full voice at all Club meetings, but shall not be eligible to vote at Club meetings;
2. Shall be a former Active member;
3. Shall be between and including the ages of eighteen (18) and forty-one (41); and
4. Shall be eligible for reinstatement of Active status, as defined in Article IV.
C. Associate Members
1. Shall carry a voice, subject to recognition by the Chairman, at all Club meetings, but shall not be eligible to vote at Club meetings;
2. Shall be eligible to serve as a member of any Club committee as defined in Article IX.
D. Honorary Members
1. Shall carry a voice, subject to recognition by the Chairman, at all Club meetings, but shall not be eligible to vote at Club meetings; and
2. Shall be awarded honorary status by not less than a majority vote of the Executive Board.
ARTICLE IV. DUES
A. Amount of Membership Dues.
1. The Treasurer shall receive $10.00 in annual Club dues from Active members.
2. The Treasurer shall receive $5.00 in annual Club dues from Associate members.
3. The Treasurer shall receive no annual Club dues from Honorary members.
B. Deadline for Payment of Membership Dues.
1. New Active and new Associate members shall remit dues within 30 days of joining the Club (“New Member Dues Deadline.”)
2. Renewing Active and renewing Associate members shall remit dues within thirty days of the annual election of Club officers.
3. Renewing members who have not remitted Club dues within 60 days of the annual election shall be deemed Inactive members.
4. Upon full payment of Club dues, Inactive members shall be granted Active status.
ARTICLE V. OFFICERS
The elected officers of the Club and duties shall be as follows:
A. The Chairman shall:
1. Preside over all meetings of the Club and the Executive Board.
2. Be responsible for the administration of Club activities.
3. Have the powers of appointment and removal of the nonelected positions that are deemed necessary by the Executive Board.
4. Represent the Club (i.e. at Senior Party events such as County or City Committee meetings, et al.).
5. Maintain communications with the YRFV.
6. Serve as an ex-officio member of all Club committees and receive copies of all Club committee communications.
7. In the event that the Chairman is unable to serve or is absent, the order of succession for the Club shall be as follows: (1) Vice Chairman, (2) Secretary and (3) Treasurer.
B. The 1 st Vice Chairman shall:
1. Serve as temporary Chairman if the Chairman is absent or unable to serve.
2. Be responsible for all reasonable tasks assigned by the Chairman.
3. Serve as an ex-officio member of all Club committees and receive copies of all Club committee communications.
C. The 2 nd Vice Chairman shall:
1. Serve as temporary Chairman if the Chairman and 1 st Vice Chairman are absent or unable to serve.
2. Be responsible for all reasonable tasks assigned by the Chairman.
3. Serve as an ex-officio member of all Club committees and receive copies of all Club committee communications.
D. The Secretary shall:
1. Keep accurate and updated lists of all members and attendance records.
2. Bring list of all members and planned Club events to all Club meetings.
3. Record the business of the Club and the Executive Board Meetings.
4. Furnish the Chairman with a typed summary of the minutes of the last meeting prior to the call to order of the next meeting or Executive Board meeting.
5. Place a copy of Executive Board meeting and Club meeting minute summaries in a central file and maintain such file, which will be available for review by all Active members.
6. Be responsible for all reasonable tasks assigned by the Chairman.
E. The Treasurer shall:
1. Keep accurate and updated financial records of the Club, to be reported at each Executive Board meeting and at the request of the Chairman.
2. Be responsible for collecting dues and other monies owed to the club and writing receipts for those monies.
3. Be responsible for all reasonable tasks assigned by the Chairman.
ARTICLE VI. EXECUTIVE BOARD
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A. The Executive Board of the Club shall consist of the aforementioned elected officers, and Elected Young Republican Federation of Virginia (YRFV) officers in the Club, the immediate past Chairman, the Parliamentarian, the Sergeant at Arms, the Executive Director, the District Representative(s), and all Standing Committee Chairs, provided that all are Active members of the Club.
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B. Only the elected Club officers shall carry a vote on the Executive Board, though all Executive Board members shall carry a full voice at Executive Board meetings.
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C. No member of the Executive Board shall cast more than one vote. Proxies for voting members of the Executive Board can be carried by any Active Club member who does not ordinarily carry a vote on the Board. The Chairman shall be notified at least 72 hours in advance of any Executive Board proxy vote via email; a copy of the email must be sent to all Executive Board members.
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D. The Chairman shall call mandatory meetings of the Executive Board no fewer than once every three months.
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E. The Executive Board must establish a schedule of regular membership meetings. The Chairman or two-thirds of the whole Executive Board shall have the right to call special club meetings when deemed necessary.
ARTICLE VII. ELECTIONS, OFFICER TERMS AND QUALIFICATIONS
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A. The annual election of Club officers shall be held no later than the third Tuesday in May and no sooner than sine die of the General Assembly. If extenuating circumstances occur, such as weather, the Executive Board shall call a special meeting as defined in Article VI section E. If these circumstances occur the Chairman must notify members within 15 days of the new meeting date via email and post to the Club website.
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B. An elections chairman and committee shall be appointed by the Chairman and approved by the Executive Board. No member of the elections committee will be a candidate for any Club office. The committee shall be responsible for the following:
1. Preparing the ballots to be used for voting.
2. Tabulating the results of said ballots.
3. Verifying candidate eligibility to seek office as outlined below.
4. Serving as timekeeper during the nominating and seconding speech process.
5. Serving as judge in all disputes concerning the election.
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C. The Chairman shall announce elections between 30 and 60 days prior to the elections meeting, at a regularly scheduled membership meeting or via email. At that time, the Chairman shall announce the procedures outlined herein for elections, the constitutional requirements for each office, and the criteria which must be met in order for a candidate to be eligible to seek office.
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D. An Active member may seek elected office by submitting a written statement of intent to seek office to the Elections Chairman no later than 20 days prior to the elections meeting.
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E. The term of a non-elected (appointed) officer shall expire upon the Chairman’s replacement of the officer or the end of the Chairman’s term, whichever comes first.
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F. All candidates for office must have been an Active member in the Club, as defined in Article III section A, for no less than thirty days.
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G. The term of the elected officer shall begin immediately after the elections meeting ends. The term shall last until the next annual elections meeting.
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H. Any officer who misses three consecutive membership meetings or eight non consecutive membership meetings in one year shall be impeached.
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I. Any vacancy in the elected officer positions shall be filled by the Chairman and confirmed by a majority vote of the Executive Board. The newly appointed officer will act in an interim capacity until the next general election.
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J. If any of the Executive Board positions are non-contested the Elections Chairman shall call for a voice vote. The candidate shall be approved by a majority of the Active members present at the elections meeting.
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K. Only Active members, as defined in Article III section A, as of 72 hours prior to the elections meeting will be eligible to vote in the election. This is for administrative purposes to qualify those members eligible to vote.
ARTICLE VIII. QUORUM
A. A quorum shall consist of twenty percent (20%) of all Active members or ten (10) Active members, whichever is least.
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B. A quorum shall be required to conduct all official business, and such business shall consist of:
1. Elections of Club officers;
2. Endorsing Candidates on behalf of the Club;
3. Passing Resolutions on behalf of the Club; and
4. Amending the Club’s bylaws.
ARTICLE IX. COMMITTEES
A. The Club shall have the following standing committees in place and operation at all times:
1. Social – responsible for organizing the social events for the Club as determined by the Executive Board.
2. Finance – responsible for raising money for Club activities.
3. Membership – responsible for implementing strategies to recruit new Club members.
4. Speakers and Programming – responsible for recruiting speakers or developing the program for regular membership meetings.
5. Grassroots – responsible for organizing volunteers for candidates for local, state and national seats.
6. Community Service – responsible for organizing and promoting an annual community service event.
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B. The Chairman shall appoint a chairman for each standing committee with the approval of a majority of the Executive Board.
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C. The Chairman shall have the power to appoint and terminate adhoc committees with the approval of the Executive Board.
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D. The Chairman shall have the authority to remove committee chairmen with a majority vote of the Executive Board.
ARTICLE X. RULES
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A. The Chairman may appoint a Parliamentarian to be approved by a majority of the Executive Board.
B. The Parliamentarian shall have a voice, but not a vote on the Executive Board.
C. The Parliamentarian shall ensure that General Membership and Executive Board meetings run justly and properly, first in accordance with the Club's bylaws, and second by Roberts Rules of Order. He or she shall intercede upon any infringement of said rules. Recognition by the Chairman is not necessary for the Parliamentarian to execute his or her duties.
D. Meetings shall be held in an orderly, but informal manner that allows all members the opportunity to state their views. Parliamentary procedure will be used for all elections, for the ratification of amendments to the constitution and bylaws, and during any meeting in which a majority of Active members vote to use it.
ARTICLE XI. STATE CONVENTION DELEGATES
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The Chairman must submit a list of delegates for the YRFV State Convention to the Federation Chairman or designee, as specified in the YRFV bylaws, at least seven days prior to the convention. Only Active Club Members may be delegates. The list of delegates shall be approved by the Executive Board by a majority vote.
ARTICLE XII. AMENDMENTS
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A. These bylaws may be amended by a three-quarter (3/4) vote of all Active and present members.
B. Any proposed amendment shall be presented to the General Membership in writing at a regularly scheduled meeting. At that time, a date will be determined to vote on the proposed amendments. The vote shall take place no earlier than 30 days and no later than 60 days after the proposed amendments are presented.
ARTICLE XIII. APPENDIX
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These bylaws became effective immediately upon ratification on September 17, 2007.