ARTICLE I - Name

The organization shall be known as the Virginia Chapter of 4-H All Stars and shall be associated with the 4-H Program of Virginia Cooperative Extension of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Virginia State University.

ARTICLE II - Object

The object of this Chapter shall be to encourage service through both individual and cooperative efforts.

ARTICLE III - Membership

The membership of the Virginia 4-H All Star Chapter shall include both active and honorary members without regard to race, color, sex, creed, religion, national origin, socio-economic condition, disability, or political affiliation.

ARTICLE IV - Officers and Election

Section 1 - Officers

The officers of this chapter shall be Big Chief, Lesser Chief, Recording Scribe, Corresponding Scribe, Scout, and Treasurer.

Section 2 - Election

The officers shall be elected at the Summer Meeting. They may serve two consecutive terms in the same office, if elected, or until their successors are duly qualified and elected, except for the Treasurer.  The Treasurer may succeed himself for any number of years in office. In the event that an unusual situation should prevent the holding of the summer meeting, the elected officers shall serve until the next summer meeting is held.

ARTICLE V - Meetings

Meetings of the chapter shall be held at such time and place as determined by the Executive committee. Notification shall be sent to active members at least 15 days before the meeting. The planned business to be conducted at the meeting shall be stated in the notice. A meeting shall consist of one or more sessions.

ARTICLE VI - Amendment

This constitution may be amended at any meeting by three-fourths (3/4) vote of the members in attendance, provided that the proposed amendment shall have been reviewed by the Executive Committee and published with the meeting notification.

BYLAWS

ARTICLE I

Section I - Nomination for Membership

1. Criteria for Membership
1. Nominees shall:
1. Have completed at least three (3) years of work as a 4-H member.
2. Be at least 15 years of age by January 1 of the initiation year.
3. Be an active 4-H member and no more than 19 years of age as of January 1 of the initiation year, or, have been an active 4-H member and no more than 19 years of age as of January 1 of the preceding year.
2. Nominees shall also display the following qualities:
1. Leadership ability.
2. Integrity of character, such as high moral standards, high goals, and positive attitudes.
3. Outstanding achievement in both project and service activities, ability to work with others, interest in the 4-H program, and an interest in other organizations and activities for youth development.
2. 4-H'ers to be nominated
1. Each year, unit All Stars and the Extension staff, in a joint meeting, may nominate for membership in Virginia Chapter of 4-H All Stars those 4-H'ers who meet the qualifications outlined previously in the nomination form and who are the most outstanding and deserving 4-H'ers in that unit. The nominees shall be chosen by a majority vote of the All Stars present and voting.
2. If a brother, sister, mother, father, wife, husband, son, or daughter of a candidate for membership is present at the time of discussion for membership he/she shall be retired from the room during the discussion of such candidate if requested by one or more members.
3. The nomination forms of unit nominees shall be submitted to the District Membership Committee for review and approval.
4. Any problems or controversy arising from the time of nomination by the Unit All Stars shall be considered by the State Executive Committee prior to the Consecration Ceremony.

Section 2 - Selection and Induction Into Membership

1. Each nominee shall be voted on by secret ballot. Nominees who receive ten (10) or more negative votes shall be discussed by the membership and voted on a second time by secret ballot. A one-fifth (1/5) negative vote by the membership present and voting shall then be required for the nominee not to be accepted.
2. The 4-H All Star Nominees selected to membership shall participate in a consecration ceremony in order to be official members of the chapter.

Section 3 - Active Members

1. Active members are those who have paid the dues as specified in Article II of the bylaws.
2. Active members, in addition to all privileges that may be derived from the organization, may make nominations, make motions, vote, and hold office according to the other pertinent articles contained in the Constitution and Bylaws.

Section 4 - Honorary Members

1. The State 4-H Staff may nominate a maximum of six (6) unit Extension staff and four (4) state or district Extension personnel for Honorary membership. These nominees shall have rendered outstanding service to the 4-H program for at least seven years, two of which shall have been in Virginia.
2. The unit membership committee may annually nominate three (3) adult volunteer leaders for honorary membership into the Virginia Chapter of 4-H All Stars. A maximum of eighteen (18) adult leaders may be inducted annually into membership. A nominee must have rendered outstanding service to the 4-H program for at least seven (7) years, two of which shall have been in Virginia.
3. At any regular meeting, the Chapter may elect to Honorary Membership;
1. Any person from a foreign country who has rendered outstanding service to 4-H or similar youth work in his/her country.
2. Any representative from a donor organization who has rendered outstanding service to the 4-H program.
3. Any person not otherwise eligible who has rendered outstanding service to the 4-H program.
4. An affirmative two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present and voting is required for election to honorary membership. To be initiated to membership, said honorary nominee must attend a Consecration Ceremony.
5. Honorary members may become active members by payment of dues as specified in Article II of the Bylaws. See Article I, Section 3B for definition of active membership.

ARTICLE II Dues

The amount of annual and life membership dues shall be established by the membership. Any member failing to pay dues will be deprived of the privileges of active membership. Full privileges of such members shall be restored upon the payment of dues for the immediate past year and the current year, or life membership dues.

ARTICLE III Duties of Officers

Section I - State Officers

1. Big Chief shall:
1. Make arrangements for meetings.
2. Preside over meetings.
3. Appoint committees as needed.
4. Cast deciding vote in case of tie.
5. Be familiar with duties of other officers and committees and see that their duties are performed.
6. Serve as chair of the Executive Committee and ex-official member of all other committees.
2. Lesser Chief shall:
1. Be familiar with duties of the Big Chief and, in the absence of the Big Chief, be prepared to assume duties.
2. Coordinate committee activities and be responsible for committee instruction and reports.
3. Recording Scribe shall:
1. Keep record of minutes of all meetings.
2. See that copies of minutes are filed after each session with the appropriate state and district officers and Extension personnel.
4. Corresponding Scribe shall:
1. Direct correspondence of Chapter.
2. Serve as chair of Resolutions Committee
3. Serve as historian and file an annual history with the State 4-H All Star records.
5. Scout shall:
1. Advise the Ceremonial Committee.
2. Select and instruct scouts.
6. Treasurer shall:
1. Receive and disburse all funds of the organization.
2. Keep funds in a bank account entitled "Virginia Chapter of 4-H All Stars" and, insofar as possible, pay all bills by check.
3. Have authority to select the banking institution.
4. Make a detailed financial report at business meetings.
5. Have the right to appoint, with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, an assistant Treasurer.

Section 2 - District and Unit Officers

District and unit 4-H All Star organizations shall have duly elected officers of Chief, Scribe, Treasurer, and other officers as deemed necessary. The duties of these officers shall be similar to those for the state officers.

ARTICLE IV Standing Committees
The standing committees of this organization shall be Executive, Membership, Future Plans, Ceremonial, Resolutions, Auditing, Budget, Nominating and Conference. These committees shall be appointed annually by the Big Chief, except when otherwise stated in the Bylaws.

Section 1 - Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall be composed members - Big Chief, Lesser Chief, Recording Scribe, Corresponding Scribe, Scout, Treasurer, retiring Big Chief, District Chiefs, and one person from the State 4-H Department to be named by the Director, 4-H Programs. It shall be the duty of this committee to:

1. Conduct the executive and financial business of the Chapter.
2. Consider amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws proposed by the Future Plans Committee, and make recommendations concerning them to the Chapter.
3. Investigate and conduct all cases concerning disciplinary action and resignation.
4. Hold a meeting when necessary to transact and carry out the authorized business of the organization.
5. Meet regularly when called by the Big Chief or upon written request of at least four members of the committee.

Section 2 - Membership Committee

1. The unit Membership Committee shall be composed of all interested All Stars tapped from or living within the unit and Extension faculty working with the 4-H program. The duty of the All Stars present shall be to consider the candidates and to determine which candidates shall be nominated and submitted to the district Membership Committee.
2. The district Membership Committee shall be composed of the district officers and the District Program Director. The duties of this committee shall be to receive, review, organize and submit the qualified nominees to the state Membership Committee.
3. The State Membership Committee shall be composed of three or more members. The primary duty of this committee shall be to receive the qualified nominees submitted by the district Membership Committees and make available a list of the qualified nominees to the state Chapter no later than the first session of the meeting at which the membership vote is to be taken. It shall also make recommendations to the future Plans Committee concerning nomination and tapping procedures.

Section 3 - Future Plans Committee

The Future Plans Committee shall be composed of seven or more members, including at least one past Big Chief, and shall include the Big Chief and two advisors. The duties of this committee shall be to:

1. Make recommendations concerning the plans and policies of the organization.
2. Formulate and refer to the Executive Committee such amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws as it deems necessary.

Section 4 - Ceremonial Committee

The Ceremonial Committee shall be composed of three or more members and shall include the Scout. It shall be the duty of this committee to make all arrangements for the Consecration Ceremony.

Section 5 - Resolutions Committee

The Resolutions Committee shall be composed of three or more members. The Corresponding Scribe shall be the Chairman. It shall be the duty of this committee to see that proper resolutions are made and that memorial cards are sent to families of those recognized at the Memorial Service.

Section 6 - Audit Committee

The Audit Committee shall be composed of three or more members. It shall be the duty of this committee to review the books of the Treasurer annually and submit a report to the membership.

Section 7 - Budget Committee

The Budget Committee shall be composed of three or more members. The Treasurer shall be the Chairman. It shall be the duty of this committee to submit a budget to the Executive Committee.

Section 8 - Nominating Committee
The nominating committee shall be composed of five or more members and one advisor. The duty of this committee shall be to present a slate of nominees for officers to the membership.

Section 9 – Conference Committee

The conference Committee shall be composed of at least the district chiefs or their designee’s and one advisor.  The duty of this committee shall be to plan the State Summer Conference and the State Mid-winter Conference.

ARTICLE V Election of Officers

Officers shall be elected at the Summer Meeting. No more than two officers may be employees of Virginia Cooperative Extension at the time of election.

ARTICLE VI Disciplinary Action and Resignation

Section 1 - Disciplinary Action

The State Chapter shall have the right to discipline members for conduct inconsistent with the qualities for membership or the purpose of this organization.
All charges must be brought by a fellow All Star and must be submitted in writing to the Executive Committee. Said committee shall examine the charges and determine if there is sufficient substance to the charges to warrant further action. Should further action be warranted, the Executive Committee may pursue one of the following courses of action:

1. A letter of reprimand may be sent to the All Star in question, who may then respond.
2. The All Star may be suspended for a maximum of one (1) year. Prior to end of the suspension period, the member will be notified that in order to be reinstated, said member must make written request to the Executive Committee for reinstatement.
3. Charges may be referred to the Chapter for a vote on expulsion. A nine-tenths vote of the membership present at the next duly convened business meeting is necessary for a member to be expelled.

Prior to suspension or expulsion proceedings, the member in question must be notified in writing of the charges. The member has 30 days from receipt of charges to request to be heard by the Executive Committee. The member and/or his counsel will then be heard at a mutually agreed upon time and place, time not to exceed a period of ninety (90) days from receipt of the member's request.

Section 2 - Resignation

Any member desiring to voluntarily resign may do so by written request to the Executive Committee. Any dues paid are forfeited upon resignation.

ARTICLE VII Quorum

Twenty-five members in good standing present at any meeting shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE VII Rules of Order

Robert's Rules of Order (latest edition) shall be followed in conducting all business of the organization except where specifically stated otherwise in the Constitution or Bylaws.

ARTICLE IX Amendment

These Bylaws may be amended at any meeting by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the members in attendance, provided that the proposed amendment shall have been reviewed by the Executive Committee, and published with the meeting notification.