Opportunities

Member participation is necessary for our club to be successful. With so many ways to contribute you're bound to find something to suit your area of interest, expertise, time or energy levels and have fun in the process!

Ways you can participate ...
1) Pay your dues promptly in December or January. The number of paid members we have at the beginning of the year determines how many delegates we are allowed to have at the annual VFRW convention. The more delegates a club has, the stronger their voice and greater the impact they can have at the state and national levels.

2) Attend as many member meetings as you can. In addition to conducting club business a variety of guest speakers are invited throughout the year to present information of interest to our members.

3) Volunteer some of your time, talent or resources. Helping hands are always needed for events, fundraising, committees and campaigns. If you are short on time or talent consider contributing financially to various programs or fundraisers, or offering to host a meeting in your home. The MVRW can achieve greater things with less individual effort when everyone participates as they can.

Committees

Americanism: Leads the Pledge of Allegiance and is responsible for the proper display of the flag at club meetings & events. Other activities could include sponsoring patriotic essay contests for schools; presenting flags to schools & community groups; welcoming and working with newly naturalized citizens who have moved into our community, including attending the annual naturalization ceremony at the Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens.

Awards: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Responsible for ongoing review of the club’s planned programs and activities to assure that items listed in the Annual VFRW and Biennial NFRW 2006/2007 award guideline sheets are accomplished by the club. Responsible for participation in all other VFRW & NFRW awards (e.g. Scholastic, Membership, Campaign, Caring for America, Public Relations, etc.)

Budget & Finance: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Approves Annual Budget for the Club and organizes and oversees all fundraising events. Fundraising: Selling of White House Ornaments has been our only fundraiser for which the chairman has been responsible for ordering ornaments, selling, delivering and collecting funds.

Bylaws: Responsible for reviewing club’s bylaws every two years. Determines if bylaws are in compliance with VFRW and NFRW bylaws. Keeps abreast of state and national bylaws changes and amends club’s bylaws as necessary.

Campaign & Volunteer Coordinator: Organizes, collects and reports the number of volunteer campaign hours, monthly if possible, in accordance with VFRW and NFRW guidelines and reporting requirements. Can include hours of Associate Members in addition to regular club members. Committee responsible for providing information about Republican candidates at all levels to our club and to the community as needed. Work with the Party leaders/organization to encourage and coordinate volunteer campaign efforts by the club members to elect Republican candidates at the local, state and national level.

Caring for America: Responsible for recommending to the Board and heading up the club’s selected community service project that is non-political. This project should be an outreach project that expresses the generosity of Republican Women.

Chaplain: Responsible for the invocation at member meetings.

Communications Network: Responsible for contacting club members about club meetings, special events, national disasters, etc. Includes CAP Alert, Email and Telephone. CAP Alert: Comprehensive Advocacy Program Alert (CAP). Responsible for activating club members to respond to legislative action and to natural disasters such as Hurricane’s KATRINA and RITA following notification by the club President, VFRW or NFRW. Email: Sends out meeting, special events, and other notifications as deemed necessary. Telephone: Telephones members, associate members and others as appropriate concerning meetings, special events, and other matters as deemed appropriate such as “dish to bring to meeting or event” etc.

Historian/Scrapbook: Responsible for keeping an account of the club’s official activities, including a list of officers and committees; events and awards histories; state and federal activities that club members participated in; photographs; year-end membership totals, etc.

Hospitality: Responsible for greeting members and guests at all meetings and events. Especially informally welcoming and introducing new members to other club members at meetings and events.

Legislative: Responsible for keeping members aware of legislative news and events on the local, state and national level. Reports on legislation at club meetings and prepares newsletter articles. Researches legislative issue for club action or better understanding of the issues. Initiates and coordinates correspondence to elected officials.

Literacy: Responsible for the Mamie Eisenhower and Barbara Bush Literacy Programs. Mamie Eisenhower Library Project (MELP): Coordinates the donation of a book or books to a local school library or other institution from the list of titles provided by the NFRW. Barbara Bush Literacy Program: Coordinates the year long donation of new and gently used books for children and adults, to be distributed at year- end to a local library or other worthy institution. Members and guests bring books to meetings and events.

Membership: The 2^nd Vice President is the Membership Committee Chair. Committee is responsible for retaining current members and recruiting new members, including associate and student members. This position requires close coordination with the local club President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary and the Newsletter Editor.

Membership Directory: Maintains and publishes up to date membership directory in coordination with the membership chairman and Treasurer.

Student Outreach: Responsible for making contact and maintaining liaison with secondary and college students to encourage student membership and participation in local, state and federal Republican activities.

Newsletter Editor: Publishes monthly club newsletter with input from club officers and chairmen and uses VFRW and NFRW suggestions to create high-impact newsletter.

Nominating: Committee members are to be elected by the membership at the October meeting in order to select and present qualified candidates to be voted on by the membership at the November meeting. Nominating Committee members should be familiar with the club’s bylaws including the position descriptions, obtain copies of biographical data on candidates; obtain candidate’s willingness to serve if elected. The President does not serve on this committee.
 

Parliamentarian: Insures proper conduct at all club meetings and educates members concerning parliamentary procedures using Roberts Rules of Order.

Programs: The 1^st Vice President is the chairman of Programs. This committee is responsible for the program section of each meeting and events including acquiring program speakers well in advance of meeting dates. Committee should structure a calendar year of programs to meet the goals set forth in the VFRW and NFRW Achievement awards sheets as well as meeting the wishes and preference of club members and trying to balance programs between educational and social affairs. Additionally; balance programs between morning meetings, luncheons and evening meetings to meet the availability and needs of the diverse membership and associate members. All programs and speakers should be submitted to the Executive Committee for approval.

Photographer: Responsible for taking photos at regular meetings and events for furnishing to news media and inclusion in the scrapbook and newsletter.

Public Relations/Publicity: Chairman is the public information officer for the club. Chair and her committee are responsible for having a good rapport with the news media. Responsible for notifying the news media (e.g. Mount Vernon Voice and Mount Vernon Gazette at a minimum) of all upcoming meetings and events that are open to prospective members and guests. Provides photos and a write-up of club meetings and events, including member participation in conferences and other significant Republican events and activities to the media. Invites news media to club meetings and events with the consent of the Executive Committee or President. Notifies Executive Director of Fairfax County Republican headquarters of significant events and speakers. Coordinates closely with the Newsletter Editor.

Support for the Troops: Coordinates the club’s initiatives to support the troops. Past club initiatives included purchasing prepaid phone cards for injured troops at Walter Reed Hospital; donation to the Fisher House at Walter Reed Hospital for housing loved ones visiting their wounded family member and donation to the USO for care packages for our troops. Other club’s initiatives included sending letters and cards to our troops; adopting a service member’s family; and donating air fare to needy service members and/or close family members during regular or emergency leave. NFRW has a lengthy list of “Support the Troops” initiatives carried out by clubs nationwide for ideas.

Webmaster: (NEW position in 2007.) The webmaster is responsible for updating the club website approximately once a month. This position requires close coordination with the Executive Committee, Newsletter Editor and other Committee Chairmen. Familiarity with a computer and working with tables and digital picture files is necessary.

Women’s Health Issues: Responsible for working with the Program Chairman and Executive committee to develop at least one program/speaker a year to address women’s health issues. Works with the Newsletter Editor to highlight a women’s health issue of the month e.g. breast cancer (pink ribbon), cervical cancer, heart disease, lung disease, etc.

Other Opportunities

Political: This is what brings us to join the MVRW in the first place. We are interested in our elected officials and the election of those officials.

Voter registration is always important. We can't get voters to the polls if they are not registered to vote.
Recruiting candidates. Very often a candidate emerges because someone said to them, "have you thought about running for _____?"
Campaign activities include candidate events, fundraisers, manning headquarters, distributing campaign material and GOTV (Get Out the Vote).
Work on election day as a poll worker or elected official.

Legislative Day: Club members attend annual Legislative Day activities in Richmond. This is an opportunity to see our state government at work and to interact with our elected state officials. A luncheon is part of Legislative Day and this presents an opportunity to hear excellent guest speakers, honor individuals and network with other club members from across the state.

Regional conferences. These conferences provide an opportunity to interact with Republican women from all over the region, hear important/interesting speakers, attend various workshops, and become more knowledgeable about what is going on in our region and the country.

VFRW, NFRW, and RNC: The Virginia Federation of Republican Women hold their conventions every year, and National Federation of Republican Women hold their conventions every two years and the Republican National Convention occurs every four years. These conventions are an important educational source for our members. Republican women play a very important role in the National Convention and there are many opportunities for involvement.

Campaign Management School: The Campaign Management School (CMS) is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of campaigns. Schools are two-days in length and feature top flight professionals and strategists who have a wide range of knowledge and experience. A CMS can be brought to our area or you may attend one that is occurring elsewhere.