We, the students of the Blue Ridge Region of the Lutheran Student Movement, in order to affirm or reaffirm our faith to God as confessed by the Lutheran churches, draft this Constitution to organize ourselves into a more effective body through which the hope and joy bestowed upon us by God's word can be spread throughout our communities and strengthened within us all.

Article I - Membership and Affiliation

The Blue Ridge Region of the Lutheran Student Movement, hereinafter referred to as BRLSM, will include students of higher education from the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia who wish to participate in the activities of the Lutheran Student Movement in the United States of America, hereinafter referred to as LSM-USA. BRLSM will be governed by the LSM-USA Constitution, as will this document, the BRLSM Constitution. LSM-USA and BRLSM are pan-Lutheran organizations which encourage participation from Lutheran students from any and all Lutheran synods.

Article II - Purposes

The purposes of the BRLSM shall be:

• A. To strengthen and develop the faith of its members through participation in worship services conducted by BRLSM;
• B. To provide a forum for discussion on the issues of the day and how one's faith can affect their outlook on these issues;
• C. To encourage active participation in individual Lutheran churches both at one's university and home;
• D. To foster active participation at the Lutheran Student Movement national level;
• E. To promote Lutheran unity in every possible way;
• F. To interact with Christians of other denominations and non-Christians to spread the word of Christ's love as well as to learn about the varying beliefs of peoples of all faiths; and
• G. To have fun.

Article III - Retreats

Section I. BRLSM shall hold a Regional Retreat twice each academic year, one during the Fall semester and one during the Spring semester. The purposes of these Regional Retreats shall be fellowship, worship, and to conduct regional business. Since the Regional Retreat is an excellent opportunity to spread the Good News to all peoples, attendance at these retreats shall not be limited to Lutherans, nor shall it be limited to Christians in general.

Section 2. A Regional Retreat Service Project shall be planned into each Fall Regional Retreat whenever possible. The Service Project's objective should be to aid a person or group of persons who have fallen victim to events outside of their own control. Planning Service Projects into the Spring Retreat is encouraged, but not required.

Section 3. Individual states are highly encouraged to hold State Retreats whenever they are deemed appropriate. Attendance at these functions need not be limited to schools within the state.

Article IV - Office of the Regional

Section 1. Elections for the office of BRLSM Regional Representative shall be held at each Fall Retreat. Each candidate must be nominated by a person in attendance at the Fall Retreat. The nomination must be seconded by a different person within the present assembly. Every candidate for the office of Regional Representative shall give a brief speech to the electors. Each person present at the Fall Retreat shall have one (1) vote. The Regional Representative must be elected by a majority. In the case that no candidate has a majority, the two candidates who received the highest number of votes shall be listed and will be voted on again. The candidate with the highest number of votes from this new election will become the Regional Representative. The Regional Representative shall be installed at the LSM-USA National Gathering directly following their election.

Section 2. The Regional Representative for BRLSM will be directly responsible for representing the region and its interests on the LSM-USA National Council. In order to execute this responsibility, the Regional Representative shall attend the two LSM-USA National Council meetings. They shall also attend both the LSM-USA National Gathering of their installment and the LSM-USA National Gathering of their successor's installment.

Section 3. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America's Department of Higher Education shall reimburse the Regional Representative for their travel expenses to and from the first National Council meeting of the Representative's term. BRLSM shall repay to the Regional Representative their travel expenses for the latter National Council meeting of their term. The Regional Representative shall pay as much as is feasible towards their own travel to the National Gathering. The balance needed shall be paid for by BRLSM.

Section 4. The Regional Representative shall also act as the President of BRLSM for all regional functions. In this capacity, the Regional Representative shall:

• A. Plan and preside over all Regional Officer Meetings;
• B. Keep the officers appointed under them informed of all decisions made at National Council meetings and motivated to perform their various functions to the best of their respective abilities;
• C. Keep the Blue Ridge Region at large informed of all decisions made at National Council and Regional Officer Meetings using the various methods available to them;
• D. Ensure that the Regional Secretary/Treasurer has prepared region's budget in the proper form to be delivered to the National Council before the first of March each year;
• E. Act as the Grand Poobah at all Regional Retreats; and
• F. Assign any tasks or responsibilities not established in this constitution to various officers and members of BRLSM.

Article V - Office of Regional Secretary/Treasurer

Section 1. Elections for the office of BRLSM Regional Secretary/Treasurer shall be held at each Fall Retreat. Any candidate for Regional Representative who was not elected to that office shall automatically be entered into the candidacy for Secretary/Treasurer, with the consent of that candidate. All other candidates must be nominated by a person present at the Fall Retreat. This nomination must be seconded by a different person within the present assembly. Every candidate for the office of Regional Secretary/Treasurer shall give a brief speech to the electors. Each person present at the Fall Retreat shall have one (1) vote. The Regional Secretary/Treasurer must be elected by a majority. In the case that no candidate has a majority, the two candidates who received the highest number of votes shall be listed and will be voted on again. The candidate with the highest number of votes from this new election will become the Regional Secretary/Treasurer.

Section 2. The Secretary/Treasurer shall:

• A. Complete an annual budget statement to be presented to the LSM-USA National Council using the standardized form provided by LSM-USA;
• B. Ensure that the annual budget statement is presented to the LSM-USA National Council no later than I March of each year;
• C. Record the minutes from each BRLSM Regional Officers' meeting;
• D. Record the minutes from each Regional Retreat business meeting;
• E. Devise, organize and execute any fundraising strategy deemed appropriate and plausible to the Regional Council;
• F. Oversee the collection of fees assessed BRLSM members associated with the Regional Retreat;
• G. Keep a current mailing and e-mailing list of BRLSM members available at all times;
• H. Act as the Regional Historian; and
• I. In the absence of the Regional Representative, act as the Master of Ceremonies at any function where this is appropriate.

Article VI - Office of the Regional Outreach

Section I. Elections for the office of BRLSM Regional Outreach shall be held at each Fall Retreat. Any candidate for Regional Representative or Secretary/Treasurer who was not elected to either of those offices shall automatically be entered into the candidacy for Regional Outreach, with the consent of that candidate. All other candidates must be nominated by a person present at the Fall Retreat. This nomination must be seconded by a different person within the present assembly. Every candidate for the office of Regional Outreach shall give a brief speech to the electors. Each person present at the Fall Retreat shall have one (1) vote. The Regional Outreach must be elected by a majority. In the case that no candidate has a majority, the two candidates who received the highest number of votes shall be listed and will be voted on again. The candidate with the highest number of votes from this new election will become the Regional Outreach.

Section 2. The Regional Outreach shall:

• A. Contact schools who are not currently active or are not currently members of LSM-USA to encourage their involvement in BRLSM functions.
• B. Act as an assistant to the State Representatives;
• C. In the absence of one or more State Representative, assume all responsibilities of the absent representative(s) at that particular function;
• D. Be responsible for the collection of information regarding the National Service Project from LSM-USA and the distribution of this information to the Blue Ridge Region; and
• E. Aid the Retreat Coordinator in the planning and execution of the Regional Retreat Service Project in whatever respect the Retreat Coordinator.
• F. Aid the Retreat Coordinator in the planning and execution of the Regional Retreat Service Project in whatever respect the Retreat Coordinator deems appropriate.
• G. Update the BRLSM web site whenever new information or new pictures of BRLSM events are available; and
• H. Act as the Regional Secretary of International and Multicultural Concerns (SIMC) by working with the National SIMC in promoting a broader understanding and awareness of multicultural issues and concerns facing BRLSM and LSM-USA.




Article VII - Office of the Regional Newsletter Editor




Section I. Elections for the office of BRLSM Regional Newsletter Editor shall be held at each Fall Retreat. Any candidate for Regional Representative, Secretary/Treasurer or Outreach who was not elected to any of these offices shall automatically be entered into the candidacy for Regional Newsletter Editor, with the consent of that candidate. All other candidates must be nominated by a person present at the Fall Retreat. This nomination must be seconded by a different person within the present assembly. Every candidate for the office of Regional Newsletter Editor shall give a brief speech to the electors. Each person present at the Fall Retreat shall have one (1) vote. The Regional Newsletter Editor must be elected by a majority. In the case that no candidate has a majority, the two candidates who received the highest number of votes shall be listed and will be voted on again. The candidate with the highest number of votes from this new election will become the Regional Newsletter Editor.

Section 2. The Regional Newsletter Editor shall:

• A. Edit all articles for the regional newsletter, entitled the "Ridgeline";
• B. Design the layout for the "Ridgeline";
• C. Collect articles from each of the other regional officers for printing in the newsletter;
• D. Assign articles to be printed in the "Ridgeline" to any member of BRLSM whom they choose;
• E. Ensure that the "Ridgeline" is published at least biannually.
• F. Publish and distribute the "Ridgeline."




Article VIII- Regional Retreat Coordination




Section 1. During each Regional Retreat, a campus ministry shall be selected to plan and coordinate the Regional Retreat which will take place one year from the current retreat, i.e., the Fall Retreat coordinator for one year will be selected at the Fall Retreat from the previous year. The campus ministry selected should be one which has not planned a Regional Retreat for quite some time. The campus ministry should also have attended at least one (1) Regional Retreat previous to the one where they are selected.

Section 2. The campus ministry selected shall elect a leader from within their group, who will be the Regional Retreat Coordinator. This person will be responsible for directing the group and for reporting to the Regional Representative on any problems, concerns, and on the campus ministry's progress.





Article IX - State Representatives




Section I. Elections for the office of State Representative shall be held at each Fall Retreat. Each state (North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) shall have a State Representative, who must be a student within that state. For the purposes of this election, the Region will divide up by state.

Section 2. Any person who had been nominated for Regional Representative, Secretary/Treasurer, Outreach, or Newsletter Editor who were not elected to any of these offices will automatically be entered into candidacy for representative of the state of their origin, with the consent of that candidate. All other candidates must be nominated by a person present at the Fall Retreat from the same state. The nomination must be seconded by a different person from that state within the present assembly. Every candidate for the office of State Representative shall give a brief speech to the electors. Each person present from the candidate's state shall have one (1) vote. The State Representative must be elected by a majority. In the case that no candidate has a majority, the two candidates who received the highest number of votes shall be listed and will be voted on again. The candidate with the highest number of votes from this new election will become the State Representative.

Section 3. In cases where it is not feasible to have an election for a State Representative for a given state at a Fall Retreat, the Regional Representative shall appoint a State Representative for that state. The Regional Representative shall also have the option of leaving any State Representative seat unfilled should it be determined unfeasible to fill the seat. Feasibility shall be determined through a vote by the entire region.

Section 4. The State Representatives shall:

• A. Work closely with the Regional Representative in regards to dispersing information to their respective states;
• B. Represent the interests of their states at all Regional Officers' meetings;
• C. Impart any proposed amendments to this Constitution to their regions prior to the Regional Retreat here the vote will take place;
• D. Act as the Big Cheese at any State Retreats; and
• E. Assume any responsibilities deemed appropriate to their state.




Article X - Dissolution




BRLSM may only be dissolved through the dissolution of LSM-USA. In this event, proper procedure outlined in Article VIII of the LSM-USA Constitution shall be adhered to.





Article XI - Amendments




Amendments to this Constitution can be proposed by any member of BRLSM. Any amendment shall be formally proposed and voted on during a Regional Retreat. The assembly present at that retreat will ratify the amendment only through a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the majority. The amendment must be presented in writing to each of the Regional Officers as well as the BRLSM contact from each individual school no later than thirty (30) days before the Retreat.