National Teen Age Republicans is the youth wing of the United States Republican Party. It is mainly aimed at 16 to 18 year olds but some children age 14 to 15 are also able to join. Its aim is to provide support to the party and its candidates. Members work to perform community service, and learn about the political processes at local, state and national level. TARs have a presence in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, with membership in the tens of thousands. The oldest recorded TAR group is in South Dakota, which was formed in 1960. TARs are one of the three official "youth wings" of the Republican National Committee along with Young Republican National Federation and College Republicans.
Organization
TAR is organized in chapters across the United States. The National TAR office provides information on existing clubs, and provides resources and advice on starting a club in areas that do not already have one. It also organizes the annual national Teenage Republican Leadership Conference and awards ceremony. Similar to the Republican Party, the majority of TAR activity takes place on the National & State level. State and National TAR federations sometimes receive some financial support from their state Party. Most have an elected executive board with its own constitution, and organize statewide events such as summer camps, mock legislative sessions, among other events. County and Local Clubs are subordinate to state organizations, and are formed at county, city or school level, with similar structure and activities to state federations. Although State Chapters for the organization and idea existed long beforehand, the Teenage Republicans School itself was founded in December 1966, by Barby Wells. The Teenage Republicans is headed by an Executive Board, consisting of 5 National Officers, and a National Committee consisting of two representatives from individual states, territories, and the District of Columbia. The Executive Board also employs a group of volunteer staff, ranging from Financial Directors to Political Advisors. The organization is involved in a number of projects. Both projects are aimed at inspiring political discourse and offering members the opportunity to voice their opinions on important civic issues in a highly-visible setting. The organization was involved in several campaigns across the country, including the election of Charlie Baker to become governor of Massachusetts as well as the endorsement of the notable presidency election of Mitt Romney in 2012 The organization has taken stances on important issues throughout the political spectrum, but has been recently focused on student loan reform, immigration reform, and gun policies.
Teenage Republican Leadership Conference
Since the 1970s, National TARs has hosted an annual Teen Age Republican Leader Conference where TAR members can meet members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, learn club and federation development, and meet members from other states. During TLC, National TARs also hosts an annual awards ceremony where members can win awards such as "Rising Star", and "Outstanding TAR In the Nation", "Outstanding TAR Club in the Nation".
