Preamble We, the members of the National Junior Classical League in Tennessee, in order to carry out more effectively the purpose of our national organization, namely "to hand on the torch of classical civilization in the modern world," do hereby adopt the following constitution and agree to abide by its rules:
Article I: Operation Section 1 - Name: The name of this organization shall be the Tennessee Junior Classical League, hereafter referred to as TJCL. Section 2 - Purpose: The purpose of this organization shall be three-fold: a) To gain a more thorough knowledge of Roman and Greek life, history, and literature; b) To understand the practical and cultural value of Latin; c) To interest other students in classical languages and civilizations.
Section 3 - Robert's Rules of Order: The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order shall govern TJCL in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are consistent with the Constitution and By-Laws of TJCL.
Section 4 - The emblem, pin, and colors shall be the same as those of the national organization.
Section 5 - Publication: The official publication of this organization shall be titled The Tennessee Torch.
Article II: Membership Section 1 - Individual Membership: Individual membership in this organization shall be of two kinds: member of a chapter and member-at-large. All members must either be taking or have taken a classical language or course in the classical humanities. Additionally, membership may be granted to others at the discretion of the chapter or state organization, not necessarily taking a classical language course in the present or past.
Section 2 - Local Chapters: Local chapters shall consist of five or more individuals who qualify and who affiliate with the state and National Junior Classical League. These local chapters must have a qualified sponsor as outlined in Article 2, Section 5.
Section 3 - Member-at-Large: Properly qualified persons who wish to become members of TJCL but who have no local chapter may become active members-at-large by affiliating properly with the state and national organizations.
Section 4 - Good Standing: Local chapters shall be considered in good standing with TJCL only upon meeting the standards annually established by the Executive Board, with said standards including but not limited to the payment of annual state and national dues by the deadline set by the Executive Board.
Section 5 - Sponsors: Local chapters must be sponsored by a Latin teacher, by a teacher of the classical humanities, or by another individual approved by a State Chair. This person, who will be responsible for chapter activities, must be a member of the American Classical League.
Article III: Executive Board Section 1 - The Executive Board shall consist of the State Chairs, the Academic Contest Chair, the three Area Sponsors, the elected student officers, and the immediate past State Chairs. They shall act as agents through which the business of the TJCL can be transacted between conventions. The State Chairs shall serve as the chairpersons of this Board.
Section 2 - The State Chairs shall be elected by the local sponsors of the TJCL. They may be reappointed by the same process.
Section 3 -The Academic Chair shall be appointed annually by the State Chairs.
Section 4 - The three Area Sponsors shall be appointed by the State Chairs. There shall be one Sponsor from each of the grand divisions of the state. The term of office for each of the Area Sponsors shall be three years. An Area Sponsor may be reappointed.
Section 5 - The elected student officers of this organization shall be a President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Parliamentarian, Communications Coordinator, Editor, and Historian.
Section 6 - Candidates for President and Second Vice-President must have attended at least one TJCL and one NJCL convention to be eligible to run for office.
Section 7 - The term of office for each student officer shall be from the time of his/her election at an annual state convention until a successor is chosen at the next year's state convention. An officer may not succeed himself or herself in the same office to which he or she was elected. A President may not be from the same chapter as the President whom he/she succeeds.
Section 8 - Vacancies: Should the office of President become vacant, the First Vice-President shall assume the office, and a new First Vice-President shall be appointed by the Executive Board. Should a mid-term vacancy occur among the other elected officers, the Executive Board shall name a replacement to fill the remainder of the term.
Section 9 - Upon election to an office in the National Junior Classical League, an officer of the TJCL must resign his or her position in the TJCL.
Section 10 - The immediate past State Chairs shall serve a tenure of one year, subsequent to their term as State Chairs, in which they shall be voting members of the Executive Board.
Article IV: Elections and Voting Section 1 - Nominations Committee: Candidates for office shall be nominated by a committee that shall consist of one member from each chapter attending the annual state convention. The TJCL Parliamentarian shall preside over the meeting of this committee, the purpose of which is to select two candidates for each office to be filled. The Nominations Committee shall meet prior to the general elections. A candidate shall be nominated only by the delegate from his or her chapter, and only with the written approval of his or her sponsor. No chapter may nominate more than two candidates.
Section 2 - State of Emergency: If any office to be filled has fewer than two nominated candidates, the Parliamentarian shall declare a state of emergency, under which certain clauses in Article III, Section 8 and Article IV, Section 1 shall become void. These clauses are: a) "An officer may not succeed himself in the same office to which he or she was elected"; b) "A President may not be from the same chapter as the President whom he or she succeeds"; c) "A candidate shall be nominated only by the delegate from his or her chapter"; d) "No chapter may nominate more than two candidates".
Section 3 - Qualifications: A candidate may qualify if his or her chapter is in good standing, he or she has paid his or her dues, and his or her sponsor approves the nomination. Members-at-large may also qualify for candidacy if he or she has paid his or her dues. An officer must be enrolled in a Latin, Greek or classical humanities course for at least half of the term of his or her office, or he or she must have completed all Latin, Greek and classical humanities courses available at his or her school. The President and the 2nd VP are required to attend the national convention immediately following their election, and all other officers are strongly urged to attend. All candidates for state office must have previously attended at least one state convention. Persons who would graduate from school during their term shall be ineligible to run.
Section 4 - Voting: Voting shall be by secret ballot. In general voting, each chapter present that is in good standing shall be allowed to cast two votes, provided that a delegate from that chapter was present at the Nominations Committee meeting; if not, then that chapter shall be allowed to cast only one vote. Schools not in good standing shall be allowed only one vote. The majority rule shall apply, and abstentions will be counted toward the total in determining what constitutes a majority. In the event of a tie, the President shall cast the deciding vote.
Section 5 - Quorum: TJCL voting shall be conducted by the quorum rule. A quorum shall consist of at least one-half of the chapters in good standing that have registered for and are present at the convention. If a quorum does not exist, then the Parliamentarian, with the guidance of the State Chairs, shall determine the voting procedures.
Section 6 - Proxies: If a chapter that is registered at the convention is unable to be present during voting, it may deposit a sealed proxy vote with the Parliamentarian.
Section 7 - Campaigning: No TJCL Executive Board member may promote a candidate for election. A student member of the TJCL Executive Board may run for election to a different position at the conclusion of his or her term, provided that he or she meets all the qualifications in Article IV, Section 3. No campaigning of any sort is permitted prior to the close of the Nominations Committee meeting. Each nominee will make a speech of no more than one minutes in length. In a designated assembly, each candidate will make a campaign speech of no more than two minutes in length. Candidates may begin campaigning when authorized by the TJCL Parliamentarian, and materials shall be displayed in designated areas only. Materials deemed inappropriate by TJCL Executive Board members will be removed. All materials must be taken down and disposed of following the election. The TJCL Parliamentarian, with the consent of the Executive Board, shall set each year the limit on campaign expenses, shall publish this information in TJCL campaign information, and shall disseminate it to the nominees for office. The TJCL Parliamentarian shall collect receipts from each nominee at the Nominations Committee. Failure to abide by the expense limit will eliminate a nominee from the election.
Article V: Impeachment Section 1 - If any officer of this organization should fail to perform his or her duties as outlined in the TJCL Bylaws, or should behave in a manner unbecoming to a fellow officer of this organization, he or she shall be subject to impeachment. Any member of the Executive Board may file a bill of impeachment with a State Chair describing the reasons for the bill. The Executive Board shall serve as a jury with the power to remove from office by majority vote.
Article VI: Amendments Section 1 - Proposed amendments to this constitution must be submitted in writing to the Parliamentarian at least one month before the annual state convention. Copies of the amendments shall be sent out to all chapters to study two weeks before the state convention. These amendments shall be read at the first session of the general assembly at the annual state convention, if the Parliamentarian deems it necessary, and voted upon at the final session. A two-thirds majority shall be necessary for adoption. Each chapter present at the state convention may cast one vote.
Article VII: Bylaws Section 1 - Bylaws: Bylaws not contrary to any provisions of this constitution may be established.
Section 2 - Bylaws Procedures: Bylaws may be established, amended, or repealed by a majority vote of the Executive Board.
Bylaws
I. Dues Chapters shall pay annual dues of ten (10) dollars. Individual dues shall be five (5) dollars annually per student (or one dollar per Long Distance Learner), paid to the TJCL on or before the deadline established by the Executive Board.
II. Conventions The time of the annual state convention to be held in the spring shall be fixed to suit the availability of suitable host facilities. Convention sites shall be selected by the Executive Board. Whenever possible, the site of the convention should rotate annually so as to cover each of the three grand divisions of the state. The time and location of the state convention should be announced by the preceding fall. Whenever possible all members of the Executive Board will room at the same hotel during state convention. Student elected officers are required to stay at the same hotel as his/her Executive Board mentor or State Chair(s).
III. The State Chairs A. Qualifications
1. A State Chair must meet at least one of the following requirements:
a) Must currently be a secondary school teacher. b) Must have taught on the secondary level for at least two years. c) Must have been a member of JCL and SCL.
2. A State Chair must be a member of the American Classical League. 3. The term of office will be three years, after which he or she may be reelected. 4. During the term of office, the State Chair(s) or their designee must attend the NJCL Convention.
B. Duties
1. To administer the business of the TJCL. 2. To send out membership letters and applications to all prospective chapters in the fall. 3. To divide the financial duties such that one chair handles accounts receivable and the other handles accounts payable. 4. To report the organization's income and expenses to the Treasurer thirty days before the fall planning meeting. 5. To assign duties to all state officers and work with them throughout the year. 6. To assist the editor with the publication of the Torch. 7. To appoint a Publicity Chair with whom he or she will set guidelines. 8. To select three Area Sponsors and determine their duties of office. 9. To be responsible for the following mailings:
a) In September, information and applications for membership. b) In November, materials for all TJCL chapters. c) Convention registration materials. d) Convention information and last minute details; convention results.
10. To be in charge of the annual state convention. 11. To organize and preside over (with the President) the fall planning session, which will be attended by the Executive Board, and at which time the following shall be determined:
a) The site of the annual state convention. b) The date of the annual state convention. c) Convention dues. d) Convention schedule. e) Convention rules and regulations for various contests.
12. To order all materials needed for the convention (trophies, answer sheets, etc.). 13. To send out and receive registration forms. 14. To oversee the selection of judges and proctors for all events. 15. To organize the contests with the people in charge. 16. To work with the Academic Contest Chair on obtaining and printing the tests. 17. To perform the following duties at the convention:
a) Being in charge of registration. b) Introduction and welcome at the first general assembly.
c) Overseeing the convention. d) Setting up penalties for any infractions.
18. To make arrangements for the state delegation attending the national convention. 19. To help select a committee for the selection of all certamen teams to represent TJCL at the national convention. 20. To be compensated for the following:
a) Postage, supplies, and phone calls for TJCL.
b) Expenses to and from all meetings regarding TJCL at which he/she shall represent TJCL (unless the school at which he or she teaches pays for them).
c) Membership in organizations pertaining to JCL (unless paid for by his or her school).
IV. The Academic Contest Chair A) Duties
1. To be responsible for having the tests written according to the guidelines of the TJCL Executive Board. 2. To be responsible for the proofreading and correcting of all tests. 3. To be responsible for copying and collating the tests. 4. To be in attendance at the state convention during the testing period in order to supervise the administration and grading of the tests. 5. To submit the results of the top winners of each contest to the State Chairs for the final assembly. 6. To be responsible for compiling a list of all academic contest results to be sent out after the state convention and before the school year is over. 7. To submit a list of expenses to the State Chairs for reimbursement.
V. The Area Sponsor 1. There will be three Area Sponsors: one from East Tennessee, one from Middle Tennessee, and one from West Tennessee. 2. Each sponsor will serve three years and may be reappointed. 3. Sponsors must attend the fall planning session for the coming year. 4. Each sponsor should send in information from his or specific area to the Torch and the State Chairs. 5. One sponsor shall be in charge of the registration and organization of the Olympika events at the convention. 6. One sponsor shall be in charge of receiving the material and appointing judges for the essay and poetry contests at the convention. 7. The sponsor in charge of the essay and poetry contests shall also be in charge of all creative and graphic arts at the convention including the following: a) Art registration. b) The judging of projects. c) Security for projects. d) Listing winners for all categories. e) Appointment of a person to receive skit material. 8. One sponsor shall be in charge of obtaining certamen questions, and organizing the certamen competition and judging for all certamen rounds. 9. A sponsor shall be compensated for the following: a) Postage and supplies in connection with the convention. b) Telephone calls pertaining to the business of the TJCL. c) Mileage to and from the fall planning session. d) Room and board for one night while attending the fall planning session. 10. The three Area sponsors shall determine the recipient of the TJCL scholarship for the national convention. 11. Area Sponsors will serve as mentors to state officers elected from his/her region. As a mentor, the Area Sponsor will keep in contact with said student officer monthly, assist him/her in the fulfillment of the duties of his/her elected office, approve officer expenses before submitting them to the State Chair(s) for reimbursement, and any other assistance needed by the student for the successful completion of his/her term.
VI. The Publicity Chair 1. The Publicity Chair will serve for one year and may be reappointed.
2. Using the guidelines of the Publicity Contest, he/she will receive and tally all entries to the contest and will report these results to the State Chair(s) prior to the convention.
VII. The Treasurer
There shall be a Treasurer appointed by the State Chairs and approved by a majority of the Area Sponsors to oversee the financial operation of the organization.
The Treasurer will serve three years and may be reappointed.
The Treasurer will be responsible for annual registration and expenditures necessary for maintaining both TJCL’s status as an organization and any physical facilities or online presence. These include, but are not limited to, registration with the State of Tennessee as a non-profit organization, filing a 990-N with the IRS, and maintaining online services. All such expenditures shall be reported to the State Chairs in a timely fashion.
The Treasurer shall file a report of all financial matters to the executive board at the time of the fall planning meeting.
VIII. The Officers
A. President
1. To attend the national convention immediately following his or her election and to preside over all delegation meetings. 2. To respond to all NJCL correspondence. 3. To set up the fall planning session. 4. To contact all officers several times during the year. 5. To be responsible for the program cover for the state convention. 6. To preside over the general assembly at the state convention on Friday and the first session of the general assembly on Saturday. 7. To see that all other officers are performing their duties. 8. To be responsible for the JCL office at the state convention. 9. To file with the State Chairs a written report summarizing his or her official TJCL activities during his or her term of office. 10. Reimbursement for all TJCL related registration fees, travel expenses, and miscellaneous expenses required in the completion of these duties may be made upon: a) The submission of all receipts acquired.
b) The recognition of the officer's mentor and/or the State Chair(s) that the student has successfully completed all the duties of this office.
11. Reimbursements may be applied for by the officer: a) At the conclusion of the NJCL Convention. b) After the close of state convention.
B. First Vice-President
1. To be in charge of membership as follows:
a) To contact former chapters which are not current members. b) To contact schools who have never joined TJCL. c) To provide results of his or her membership drive.
3. To perform any duties in the absence of the President. 4. To assume the office of the President in the event of death, illness, or inability to serve. 5. To file with the State Chairs a written report summarizing his or her official TJCL activities during his or her term of office. 6. To collect community service reports from all participating TJCL chapters. elaborate
C. Second Vice-President
1. To attend the national convention immediately following his or her election and serve as the Spirit Leader for the Tennessee delegation. 2. To oversee the Spirit Contest at the state convention. 3. To file with the State Chairs a written report summarizing his or her official TJCL activities during his or her term of office. 4. Reimbursement for all TJCL related registration fees, travel expenses, and miscellaneous expenses required in the completion of these duties may be made upon: a) The submission of all receipts acquired.
b) The recognition of the officer's mentor and/or the State Chair(s) that the student has successfully completed all the duties of this office.
5. Reimbursements may be applied for by the officer: c) At the conclusion of the NJCL Convention. d) After the close of state convention.
D. Parliamentarian
1. To maintain orderly conduct at all meetings and sessions according to Robert's Rules of Order. 2. To send out to all chapters two weeks prior to the convention any proposed amendments to the Constitution. 3. To receive nominations for each office by the deadline indicated and then to notify each candidate of his or her status. 4. To submit a list of candidates to the State Chairs no later than two weeks prior to the convention. 5. To preside over the Nominations Committee meeting. 6. To preside over the elections and balloting at the final session of the general assembly. 7. To prepare an official ballot for the election. 8. To file with the State Chairs a written report summarizing his or her official TJCL activities during his or her term of office. 9. To provide a revised and dated copy of the TJCL Constitution incorporating all changes approved at the state convention.
E. Communications Coordinator
1. To take minutes of NJCL delegation meetings and send a copy to each Board member. 2. To take minutes of the fall planning session and send a copy to each Board member. 3. To take minutes of the general assemblies at the state convention and send a copy to all Board members plus the new TJCL President and Secretary. 4. To take minutes of the Nominations Committee meeting at the state convention. 5. To keep an active file to be added to previous files and to give all files to the new Communications Coordinator. 6. To file with the State Chairs a written report summarizing his or her official TJCL activities during his or her term of office. 7. To collect and manage TJCL audio-visual and electronic data, which includes, but is not limited to:
a) Keep an updated TJCL Constitution on TJCL website. b) Have contact information of Executive Board members available. c) Oversee the TJCL online forum. d) Update the site with results from the annual TJCL convention. e) Post editions of the Tennessee Torch as they are made available. f) Work with the 1st Vice President and the State Chair(s) in having required membership documents online.
F. Historian
1. To attend the national convention immediately following his or her election. 2. To acquire material for the scrapbook from as many chapters as possible during the year. 3. To submit an outline and theme of the scrapbook to the President and State Chairs prior to the state convention. 4. To report on the scrapbook at the state convention. 5. To acquire a picture of each chapter attending the state convention. 6. To be responsible for entering the scrapbook into competition at the national convention and to give the State Chairs receipts for expenses to be reimbursed. 7. To give the scrapbook to the State Chairs after the national convention for storage. 8. To file with the State Chairs a written report summarizing his or her official TJCL activities during his or her term of office.
G. Torch Editor
1. To attend the national convention immediately following his or her election and take pictures for the Torch and for the scrapbook. 2. To write a letter to all chapters in the fall indicating Torch deadlines and regulations for articles. 3. To keep a file of all material sent to the editor and material used for each Torch. 4. To keep a file of purchases and expenses for the Torch and for pictures. 5. To be responsible for compiling and proofreading each issue of the Torch, which is published three times during the year, in November, February, and May. 6. To be responsible for getting all material to the printer by the designated time. 7. To be responsible for assembling the issues of the Torch and mailing them to each chapter. 8. To take pictures at the fall planning session and at the state convention for the Torch and for the scrapbook. 9. To submit a report at the state convention that includes the number of mailed issues of each Torch and the cost of printing and mailing each issue. 10. To submit three copies of each issue to the national convention Publications contest by the deadline indicated. 11. To hand over all files, pictures, extra issues of the Torch, materials, etc., to the State Chair by June 15. 12. To file with the State Chairs a written report summarizing his or her official TJCL activities during his or her term of office.
IX. Travel Reimbursement
TJCL shall reimburse board members for travel expenses incurred in connection with board meetings as follows. TJCL shall pay mileage to those traveling between cities at a rate of the number of miles traveled divided by an average of 20 miles per gallon multiplied by the average per gallon price of gasoline plus $25 for wear and tear. The price of gasoline shall be the highest rate in a city en route as published on fueleconomy.gov or their sponsored sites. Meals shall be reimbursed at a flat rate of $15 per claimed lunch and $25 per claimed dinner. Lodging shall be reimbursed at actual cost.