Madison County has a newly established group of politically-minded citizens - of the teenaged variety.
The Madison County Teenage Republicans (TARS) has established a local chapter and has been "federated" by the national chapter as a "fully-fledged club," according to Shana Holt, the club's advisor and sponsor.
Holt is also the secretary of the Madison County Republican Party.
To be federated, the students had to complete an application process that included electing officers and creating bylaws. Everything became final in February of this year, Holt said.
The group has about 15 active members, with anywhere from 20 to 25 people attending their monthly meetings, according to Holt.
"We've had a pretty consistent turnout with our teen-agers each month at the meetings," said Holt.
Students come from schools such as Madison-Ridgeland Academy, Madison Central, Ridgeland High School, and Jackson Prep, according to Rob Taggart, a senior at Madison Central and vice president of the Madison County TARS.
The students meet the first Thursday of every month, where local officials come and speak about leadership in the Republican Party.
One of their first speakers was Jim Herring, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party. Another recent speaker at TARS was Madison County District 2 Supervisor Tim Johnson, Taggart said.
The two leaders of the group have very strong and very public GOP roots. Johnson's daughter, Mary Margaret Johnson, is the president of TARS, while Taggart himself is the son of Board President and District 3 Supervisor Andy Taggart.
To help spread these strong roots, TARS is working to get established chapters in all of the Madison County schools.
"Currently, Ridgeland, Madison Central and Madison-Ridgeland Academy have working chapters," Holt said. "We're trying to find some contacts at St. Joseph. The group is gradually trying to get interest at individual schools to gain more members."
Meanwhile, TARS is busy planning the state convention of teen-age Republicans from October 3-4.
"The goal of the convention is to get students pumped up about the Republican Party," said Johnson. "We also want to teach students about government and politics."
"We've booked the Regency Hotel in Jackson and are inviting chapters from all over the state to participate," said Taggart.
Taggart says they are working to raise funds for the convention hotel costs. Other groups are responsible for paying their way to the state convention.
Holt said the group is working on community service projects, Republican campaigns, and with the Madison County Republicans and the Madison County Republicans Women's organization on projects. The group is also working on its website.
Johnson said that the officers (herself and Taggart) have to remain neutral in terms of candidate support until after the Republican primary election.
"After that, we are going all out working on campaigns," she said.
The other officers are Mary Margaret Rich, treasurer, and Katie Smith, secretary. Both students are juniors at MRA.
The Madison County TARS group will meet Thursday, May 10 at the Madison Library. To learn more about the Madison County Teenage Republicans, visit their website at www.madisoncountytars.org, or e-mail Johnson at mmjohnson91@yahoo.com.
