This organization shall be known as the Southern Conference Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Auxiliary, hereinafter referred to as the “Conference.”

2.1 Organized in 1948, the Conference objectives are as follows:

1. To promote, recommend and work for the good and welfare of the Member Departments.
2. To promote open discussions and guidance, thereby providing a Conference of value to every Member Department.
3. To promote unity among the Member Departments in the Conference.
4. To foster the exchange of ideas, promote the National Programs, training, discussions and social activities.
5. To aid and assist the Member Departments and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

3.1 Elected Officers of the Conference are President, Vice President, Chaplain and Treasurer.

3.2 The Conference President shall appoint a Secretary, Conductress, Guard and any other Officers or Committees the President determines are needed.

3.3 Election and installation shall be held at the Fall Conference Meeting.

3.4 Except as provided in Section 3.5, an elected Officer may not succeed to the same Office, with the exception of the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall not hold that Office for more than three (3) consecutive years.

3.5 A Department is not entitled to more than one elective Officer, except the Treasurer. The Secretary will be appointed by the Conference President and may belong to any Member Department. The Treasurer may belong to any Member Department.

3.6 If the Conference is unable to hold an in-person meeting at which elections and installation are to be held, the Conference may, by majority vote, authorize all or part of the Conference Officers and appointees to carry over for the next year in an electronic meeting.

3.7 The Conference Secretary shall send communications via Email or U.S. Mail to Department Secretaries and to all members of the Conference entitled to vote, with the exception of the Delegates from each Department.

4.1 The Officer Election Rotation Plan began at the 1977 summer meeting to enable each Department to have an opportunity to have a Conference President on a rotating basis. At that 1977 summer meeting, the officer election rotation plan was implemented and a candidate from the Department of Kentucky was elected Chaplain. At the Fall Conference in 2021, the candidate from the Department of Mississippi was elected Chaplain.

4.2 The candidate for Chaplain will be elected according to the rotation plan, in the following order (moving down a column and then to next column):

4.3 It is the duty of the Conference President immediately after the Fall Meeting (no later than December 31st of the current year) to notify in writing the Department President and the Department Secretary of the next Department in line for Chaplain (according to the Officer Election Rotation Plan) that their Department is in line for a candidate for the Office of Chaplain.

The Department President of the Department in line for Chaplain shall notify the Auxiliaries in that Department of the position of Conference Chaplain becoming available. The Department President shall also notify the Conference President in writing whether or not that Department will submit a candidate to the Conference for Chaplain. If no candidate from a Department is submitted by July 1 of the current year, the next Department in line is to be contacted prior to the National Convention.

4.4 At the Fall Meeting of the Conference, it shall be the duty of the newly installed Chaplain to appoint the Conference Chairman from the Department hosting the Conference meeting wherein the Chaplain will preside as President.

4.5 If an unexpected vacancy occurs for any elected Office, the Officer’s Department shall hold an election to fill the vacated Office. Candidates shall be nominated from any Auxiliary throughout that Department. This election shall be held at a regular or called meeting of the Department Council of Administration.

5.1 Regular Meetings – Regular meetings of the Conference are the Fall Conference hosted by a Member Department, the VFW Auxiliary National Convention Conference meeting, and as set by the Southern Conference Veterans of Foreign Wars. In the event the Conference cannot hold an in-person meeting, the President may call an electronic meeting. The Conference President shall set the manner, procedures and agenda of a regular meeting.

5.2 Special Meetings – The Conference President or three Member Department Presidents may call for a special meeting in writing. The purpose(s) of a special meeting shall be stated in the call. A written notice of a special or called meeting shall be issued specifying the purpose(s). The Conference President shall set the manner, procedures and agenda of a special meeting.

5.3 Emergency Meetings – If the Conference President or three Member Department Presidents determine circumstances constitute an emergency, they may call for an emergency meeting. A written notice specifying the reasons constituting the emergency and the purpose(s) of the emergency meeting shall be issued as soon as practicable prior to the meeting. The Conference President shall set the manner, procedures and agenda of an emergency meeting.

5.4 Electronic Meetings – An electronic meeting must use at least one (1) technology platform allowing all participants to hear each other at the same time. The preferred electronic meeting includes video conferencing technology. A regular, special or emergency meeting may be held as an electronic meeting. The Conference President shall determine the method and procedures for electronic meetings unless otherwise determined by a majority of the Member Departments. The Conference President shall set the manner, operational procedures and agenda of an electronic meeting.

5.5 Quorum – Attendance of at least one (1) one voting member (President or Delegate) of a majority of the Departments in the Conference shall constitute a quorum.

5.6 Parliamentary Procedure – The Conference shall use Robert’s Rules of Order in conducting its meetings. The order of precedence shall be these Bylaws and then Robert’s Rules of Order.

5.7 Times for Meetings – The times for the meetings and agenda shall be set in consultation with the President.

5.8 Notice – With the exception of emergency meetings, written notice of every meeting shall be sent by the Conference Secretary no less than two weeks prior to the meeting with the date, time, location and agenda via Email or U.S. Mail to the President and Secretary of each Conference Department and all members of the Conference entitled to vote, with the exception of the Delegates from each Department.

5.9 Fall Meetings Rotation – The Conference annually meets for its Fall Meeting in conjunction with the Southern Conference of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which established a rotation plan that may change as it determines.

6.1 Members of the Conference entitled to vote are:

8. Past Conference Presidents (must be a member within the Conference)
9. Past National Presidents in the Conference
10. National District Council Members in the Conference
11. National Elected Officers in the Conference
12. President of each Member Department
13. Two (2) Delegates from each Member Department

6.2 At the discretion of the current Department President, Delegates for a Department shall be elected by that Department or appointed by the President of that Department. When a different Department President assumes office, the Delegates may be elected again or appointed by the current Department President.

6.3 Each Delegate shall be entitled to one (1) vote. In no case shall a member or Delegate be entitled to more than one vote.

6.4 In the absence of the Department President, the Department Sr. Vice President, or in their absence, the Department Jr. Vice President, may cast the President’s vote.

6.5 The names of two (2) Delegates from each Department shall be sent in writing to the Conference Secretary by July 1st of each year. The Department may substitute a Delegate upon written notice to the Conference Secretary.

6.6 The Department President may cast his or her vote and the votes of the two (2) Delegates for that Department together at the time of the voting in a composite, unless there is an objection from any of the Delegates at the time of the election, in which case each Delegate may cast his or her own vote.

7.1 Departments within the Conference shall pay annual dues of $200.00 before the National Convention Meeting. Any Member Department in arrears shall be deprived of representation and participation in the Conference. All rights shall be restored promptly upon receipt of dues. There shall be no fund raising.

7.2 Only the signature of the Treasurer or the President is required on checks.

7.3 An annual budget shall be prepared to cover the ordinary expenses of the Conference and voted on at the Fall meeting. The annual budget shall cover expenses from the close of the Fall Meeting through the close of the following Fall Meeting.

7.4 The annual budget shall include $25.00 to be escrowed for the love gift of each National President from the Southern Conference. The President shall determine when to present the love gift.

7.5 Any expenses not included in the Conference budget shall be paid only by the majority vote of the Conference.

7.6 Conference checks shall contain a statement “VOID AFTER 90 DAYS” on their face.

8.1 The slogan of the Conference shall be:

9.1 These Bylaws may be amended by two-thirds vote of the voting body of the Conference during a Conference meeting, provided due written notice of the changes are (a) submitted at the previous Conference meeting or (b) sent at least two (2) weeks prior to the Conference Meeting by the Conference Secretary via Email or U.S. Mail to the President and Secretary of each Conference Department and all members of the Conference entitled to vote, with the exception of the Delegates from each Department.

9.2 These Bylaws may be suspended in whole or in part by majority vote of the voting body of the Conference during a Conference meeting.

These Bylaws, as amended, were approved at the November 4, 2023, meeting of the Southern Conference Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary.