A.   Administer the John Randall Memorial Scholarship Fund (here-in-after referred to as the “Fund”.

B.    Solicit donations and conduct fund raising drives for the Fund.

C.    Using the Fund, administer a program that awards Educational Assistance Grants for attendance at colleges, universities and other  post-high school educational and vocational training institutions to legal dependents of members in good standing of any Department of Pacific Areas Posts, Auxiliaries, Members-at-Large (MAL) or the Grand Pup Tent of Pacific Areas Pup Tents.

A.   Eligibility: Any member in good standing of any Post or Pup Tent in the Department or Grand, other than the Commander, Senior Vice Commander or Junior Vice Commander shall be eligible for election as a Committee member. Any member, except noted above, currently holding another elected office in then Department or Grand may be elected and serve as a Committee person.

B.   Three (3) Trustees consisting of a Trustee – 3 year, Trustee – 2 year and Trustee – 1 year shall be elected by the Department Convention and each Trustee shall continue to hold office for the period for which elected unless the office is vacated by resignation or removal for cause.

C.   Two (2) Trustees consisting of a Trustee – 12 year and Trustee – 1 year shall be elected  by the Grand Scratch and each Trustee shall continue to hold office for the period for which elected unless the office is vacated by resignation or removal for cause.

D.   The Department Quartermaster and Grand Quartermaster shall be non-voting members of the committee and shall serve as advisors to the Committee.

E.    Committee Officers:

1.      Each year, upon assuming office, The Department Commander shall appoint one of the five elected Trustees to serve as Committee Chairperson.

2.      Each year the incoming Grand Commander shall appoint one of the five elected Trustees to serve as Committee Vice Chairman.

3.      The Committee shall elect one of its members as the Fund Treasurer.

F.    The names of the elected (and continuing) Trustees and the designation of the appointed Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be published annually in the respective Department and Grand General Orders.

G.   Vacancies:

1.      An elected Committee member may resign his position by submitting his resignation in writing to the Department or Grand Commander, as applicable.

2.      An elected Trustee may be removed, for cause, by the Department or Grand Commander as applicable.

      Any vacancy created by resignation or removal, for cause, may be filled by a temporary appointment to the position vacated by the appropriate Department or Grand Commander provided, however, that such temporary appointment shall expire at the close of the term during  which the appointment was made. The vacancy shall then be filled by election as provided in Section III, B and C herein.

A.   The Committee shall meet at least once annually during the Department Convention. Other meetings may be held at the call of the Chairman.

B.    Quorum: A quorum for a Committee meeting shall consist of not less than three (3) elected If the Chairman or Vice Chairman is not present at the annual meeting, the Trustees present shall elect a Chairman pro tem to preside at that meeting only. In the event less than three (3) elected Trustees are present at the annual meeting to consider grants, the Department Commander shall appoint a temporary Trustee for that meeting only so that pending applications may be considered and acted upon.

C.    Matters brought before the Committee shall be decided by a majority vote of the Trustees present.

A.     The Fund Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining, safeguarding and accounting for all monetary transactions in the Fund. As a minimum, a person or persons appointed by the Committee shall audit annually the books and records of the Treasurer. The results of the audit shall be reported to the Department Convention and Grand Scratch in June each year. The Treasurer shall at all times maintain a Surety Bond in an amount at least equal to the value of the Fund.

1.      The Treasurer shall maintain all funds in a bank account(s) and/or Investment account(s)/Fund(s) approved by the Committee.

2.      All monies and securities in the Trust Fund are a separate entity and are not considered as assets of the Department of Pacific Areas or the Grand Pup Tent of Pacific Areas.

3.      The Fund Treasurer, the Chairman and the Vice Chairman shall have signatory authority/access over the fund.

      Funds donated to and/or raised through fund raising activities shall be used exclusively for educational assistance grants or Committee operation/administrative expenses.

B.    Fund Sources:

1.      Funds required to support and maintain this program shall be raised through solicitation of donations from Districts, Posts, Auxiliaries, Pup Tents, Comrades, Sisters and Cooties in the Department and Grand and from any outside organizations or individuals. The Committee may conduct other fund raisers that are not otherwise prohibited by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U. S., the Department of Pacific Areas, Military order of the Cootie of the United States, or Grand of the Pacific.

   Each year following the Department Convention and Grand Scratch, the Department of Pacific Areas shall contribute $600.00 and the Grand Pup Tent of Pacific Areas shall contribute $400.00 to be used to help defray the operational and administrative costs of the Committee. At the close of each term, any of these donated funds not used for operational or administrative expenses shall be transferred to the educational assistance fund.

C.    Educational Assistance Grants: Since it is not feasible for the Committee to accurately assess the financial situation of the applicant’s sponsors nor to closely monitor the scholastic progress of the students, monies awarded under this program shall be considered as Educational assistance Grants (not scholarships).

1.      The Committee shall prepare an application form to be used in applying for grants. These forms shall be distributed to all Districts, Posts and any other interested member to ensure access by all Department members and to all Pup Tents to ensure access to all Cooties.

2.      For the purpose of this program dependents shall be interpreted as children (including legally adopted children), spouses and any other legal dependents of Department or Auxiliary members of the Pacific in good standing.

3.      The Committee shall meet annually during the Department Convention to consider applications received for educational assistance grants. Grants will be based on the eligibility and other criteria established by the Committee and the availability of funds.

4.      In General, the Committee will consider grants in the amount of $1,000.00. In cases where the applicant will attend school in a foreign country and the annual tuition is normally less than $1,000.00, the applicant shall specify and verify the amount required for one year’s tuition. Grants of less than $1,000.00 may be awarded due to limitation of available funds and the number of applications received. Grants over $1,000.00 may be awarded in special cases.

5.      If an applicant has been accepted into a college, university or other authorized school, the scholastic standing of that applicant will neither enhance nor preclude a grant. However, when the number of applicants exceeds the funds available for standard grants, the applicant’s scholastic standing as well as other contributing factors may influence the approval and/or the amount of the grant. If this criteria is used to determine the awarding and/or the amount of any specific grant, it shall be documented and made available to the applicant and/or the applicant’s sponsor.

6.      Only applications received prior to the Committee meeting during the Department Convention shall be considered. Applications received after that time shall be returned to the applicant with a letter advising that the applicant may re-apply for consideration the following year.

7.      After approval of an educational assistance grant. A check for the approved amount shall be sent to the applicant as soon as all required documentation has been received from that applicant.

8.      If, after approval of the grant, the applicant fails to submit the required documentation by 1 December of the year the grant was approved, the grant shall be forfeited. The applicant may re-apply the following year.

      It shall be the responsibility of each Post, Auxiliary and Pup tent to publicize this program to its members and to provide application forms to interested candidates.

A.   The Committee shall serve as a standing committee until this Charter is revoked.

B.   This Charter may be revoked only by a two-thirds vote of delegates present at both the Department Convention and Grand Scratch provided, however, that written notice of a proposal to revoke the charter is submitted in writing to all Districts, Posts, Auxiliaries, Pup tents and Department and Grand Council Members at least thirty (30) days in advance of the Department Convention and Grand Scratch.

C.    If the Charter is revoked under the provisions contained herein, all monies, funds and other property  remaining in the fund at the time of revocation shall continue to be disbursed in the manner prescribed  herein and the Scholarship Committee shall continue to exist and operate as  prescribed herein until all remaining monetary assets of the fund have been depleted. From the date of revocation of the Charter, the Committee is no longer empowered to solicit donations or conduct fund raisers in the name of the Fund. The annual donations from the Department and Grand shall cease as of the date of revocation.

D.    When all monetary assets of the Fund have been expended and a final accounting thereof is submitted by the Committee, the Committee shall be discharged and relieved of all its duties and responsibilities.