Archives West Finding Aid

State officers for the Young Democratic Club of Montana were first elected in 1933. The organization was affiliated with the Young Democratic Clubs of America. The purpose of the organization was to contribute to the growth and influence of the Democratic Party, to develop leadership, and to maintain and promote harmony within the party ranks. The membership was organized in county clubs of Young Democrats chartered by the Executive Committee of the Young Democratic Club of Montana. Officers were elected for one year by a majority vote of delegates to the annual state convention. Elected officers included a president, a vice-president, a secretary, and a treasurer. Members in good standing of any chartered club were eligible to hold state offices provided they were over twenty-one and under thirty-five years of age. The State Executive Committee was composed of two state committeemen and two state committeewomen elected by county clubs from each congressional district, the elected officers of the organization, and the state's representatives ("national committeeman and committeewoman") appointed to attend the annual convention of the Young Democratic Clubs of America. State and national annual conventions were governed by votes of members of chartered clubs. The major activity of the state organization between 1936 and 1938 was to promote memberships in local county chartered clubs. County clubs held meetings and sponsored social events to raise funds to defray the cost of charter membership to the Young Democratic Club of Montana. In 1936 Gail Meagher Brown of Helena became secretary of the Young Democratic Club of Montana. In 1937 she was appointed committeewoman to the national organization, as Montana's representative. In 1938 Gail Brown also served as director of the Young Democratic Clubs of America's Region Ten, which included Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. In addition, she produced and edited the state club's newsletter, Montana Young Democrat.