MDSSAR Constitution
MARYLAND SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION CONSTITUTION
Approved April 14, 2012
ARTICLE I Name
The name of this Society shall be the “MARYLAND SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.”
ARTICLE II Objects
The objects of this Society shall be to perpetuate the memory of the men and women who, by their services or sacrifices during the War of the American Revolution (1775-1783) achieved the independence of the American people; to unite and promote fellowship among their descendants; to inspire them and the community at large with a more profound reverence for the principles of government founded by our forefathers; to encourage historical research in relation to the American Revolution; to acquire, preserve and publish the records of the individual services of the patriots of the War, as well as documents concerning the same; to conserve relics and landmarks; to mark the scenes of the Revolution by appropriate memorials; to celebrate the anniversaries of the prominent events of the War; to foster true patriotism, and to maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom.
ARTICLE III Membership
Any male person who has met the requirements for membership in the National Society and elected by a majority vote of the Officers and Board of Managers of the Maryland Society, Sons of the American Revolution.
ARTICLE IV Officers and Managers
The Officers of the Society shall be a President, a First Vice-President, a Second Vice-President, a Third-Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Registrar, a Historian, an Organizing Secretary, a Genealogist, a Chancellor, a Chaplain, a Surgeon, a Webmaster, a Trustee of the National Society, an Alternate Trustee of the National Society, any or all of the Assistant Officer positions (as deemed necessary and approved by the Board of Officers and Managers in a given year), who together with the Past Presidents and the current Presidents of the Chapters of the Society and fifteen Managers, shall constitute the Board of Officers and Managers. They shall have charge of the affairs of the Society and shall be chosen by the ballots, if called for, of a majority of the members present at the annual meeting of the Society.
The Board of Officers and Managers shall consist of the officers above named and fifteen Managers. The Officers will be elected annually as required by the National bylaws. The Managers shall be arranged in three classes of five members each (with a representative from each of the chapters whenever possible), and each class will serve three years with the most senior class retiring each year and a new class elected. At the expiration of any term of three years no Manager shall be eligible for re-election for the space of one year. Chapter Presidents shall serve on the board for the duration of their chapter incumbency.
The Officers and Managers shall comply with all guidelines outlined in the National and State Constitutions, Bylaws and approved Policies and Procedures Manuals.
ARTICLE V Quorum and Proxies
A quorum of the Society, for the transaction of business, shall consist of fifteen members, and of the Board of Officers and Managers - five members; but a less number may adjourn.
Proxies shall not be voted at any meeting of the Society or of its Board of Officers and Managers.
ARTICLE VI Headquarters
The Headquarters of the Society shall be the residence of the State Secretary, but meetings shall be held at such other place or places within the Sate as may be designated by the Board of Officers and Managers or by a vote of the Society.
ARTICLE VII Insignia
The insignia of the Society shall comprise (1) a cross surmounted by an eagle; (2) a rosette.
Section 1. The Cross shall be of silver, with four arms, covered with white enamel and eight gold points, same size as the Chevaliers’ Cross of the Legion of Honor of France, with a gold medallion in the center, bearing on the obverse a bust of George Washington in profile, and on the reverse, the figure of a Minuteman, surrounded by a ribbon enameled blue with the motto “Libertas et Patria” on the obverse, and the legend, “SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION” on the reverse, both in letters of gold. The cross shall be surmounted by an eagle in gold, and the whole decoration suspended from a ring of gold by a ribbon of deep blue with white and buff edges, and may be worn by any member of the Society on ceremonial occasions only, and shall be carried on the left breast, or at the collar, the active or past officers general of the National Society, by the active or past Presidents of the State Society, and by the active or past Presidents of a local Chapter. Active and past Chapter Presidents and State Presidents may wear the membership insignia suspended from a neck ribbon as approved by National Protocols outlined in the SAR Handbook.
Section 2. The rosette shall be seven-sixteenths of an inch in diameter or the size available and approved by the National Society, of usual pattern, displaying the colors of the Society, and may be worn by all members at their discretion in the upper left hand lapel of the coat, except on formal wear.
ARTICLE VIII Seal
The Seal of the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution shall be the Calvert and Crossland Coat of Arms, quartered, as in the Maryland State flag, surrounded by a belt, inscribed with the words “Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution”. Superimposed over the seal is the Minuteman representing the “Maryland 400”.
ARTICLE IX Amendments
This Constitution may be altered or amended at any meeting of the Society by a vote of three-fourths of the members present; provided a copy or the substance of such proposed alteration or amendment shall be sent by mail to each member at least ten days in advance of the meeting at which it is to be acted upon.
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