A successful meeting is very important to keeping and growing your membership. Your meeting should have a point, encourage discussion and critical thinking, and should be used to get your members involved in your club. The meeting should also be relatively short—35 minutes to 1 hour are ideal. It should never be longer than 1 hour. The following are items/topics of which a meeting might consist:

• Welcome Address: Chair

• Pledge of Allegiance

• Invocation: If your club decides to have an opening prayer, it is best to keep it as generic as possible in order to be respectful to members of different denominations/religions/faiths.

• Ice Breakers: Doing some form of an icebreaker is a great way for members to become familiar with each other and comfortable during the meeting. Something as simple as each person introducing themselves and answering a question can be done. If your club is more than a few dozen members, it might be a good idea to have only the new members and the officers introduce themselves for the sake of time. Here are some other ideas:

• What is your major?

• Who is your favorite Republican/Conservative?

• Who is the hottest Republican?

• Which Democrat/Liberal do you dislike the most?

• When did you become a Republican?

• What is your Favorite/Hottest Fox news reporter?

• What is your favorite Movie?

• What is your favorite band/album?

• What is your hobby?

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• Trivia: Pick a President or some other well known political figure and ask trivia questions about them. Or you could read off a quote and have your members identify the political figure. And be sure to keep it fun by giving out small prizes, such as candy, t-shirts, posters, or other small prizes.

• Special Guest/Speaker: It is always a good idea to try to have a speaker at your meetings. As a general rule, the special guest’s speech should be limited to 10 to 15 minuets. In general, it is also a good idea to have your guest speaker speak early in your meeting. They might need to leave after they are done speaking; plus, it immediately engages the membership. Some ideas for speakers include:
  
  

• Republican Elected Officials from the State Assembly, Senate, Congress, City Council, School Board, etc. Ask them to speak on interesting issues that are relevant to students.
  
  

• Republican Staffers: They will be able to speak about getting involved with the party and how students can make a difference.
  
  

• Republican Party officials: They can discuss the importance of youth involvement, campaigns, and the general direction of the Republican Party.
  
  

• Teachers and Faculty: They can discuss issues that are present at your particular school. Depending on your individual school, it may be hard to find professors or administrators that are willing to speak at your meeting.
  
  

• CCR State Officials: They can update you on what CCR is doing to help you, what is going on at the state level, events that are taking place across the state, how to get involved statewide, and more. Your Regional Vice-Chair should come and speak to your club at least once per their term.