2000 Minutes of the Interpersonal Communication Division Business Meeting
Thursday, March 30, Gallier Salon
Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, Louisiana
Division Chair Bill Edwards called the meeting to order at 2:00. Twenty members were in attendance.
OLD BUSINESS:
Minutes: Minutes from the 1999 business meeting in St. Louis, Missouri were approved .
NEW BUSINESS:
Chair's Report: Bill Edwards reported on the Executive Council meeting. It has been a long time since SSCA membership dues were increased, and the vote to approve the increase in dues will take place at 7:30 am on Friday, March 31. It is likely that a dues increase of $15.00 for all membership categories, except lifetime, will be approved. The likely increase for lifetime membership will be a $200.00 increase. The changes in membership dues will take place on September 30, 2000. Other possible changes include a merging of record keeping the NCA, however, this proposed change, if approved, would not be implemented sooner than one year from now.
Following this convention, the Executive Director position moves to Georgia Southern University. The changes will be reflected on the website and will become effective on August 1, 2000. Members were encouraged to express their gratitude to Richard Ranta for his years of service to the association as Executive Director, as Hal Fulmer becomes the Executive Director.
Membership in the division has continued to increase to a current total of 195 members. Association membership has also grown to just over 1100 members.
Tom Socha previewed upcoming convention sites as the Chair of the Time & Place Committee. The 2001 convention will be in Lexington, KY with the University of Kentucky hosting. The 2002 convention will be in Winston Salem, North Carolina with Wake Forrest hosting. The 2003 convention will be in Gulf Port - Biloxi with the University of Southern Mississippi hosting and Chuck Tardy chairing the Local Arrangements Committee. Tom reported the likelihood of securing the Grand Casino Hotel for the 2003 convention.
Ken Cissna encouraged members to submit their best manuscripts for the Southern Communication Journal. Future issues will spotlight guest editors Richard Conville for an issue on service learning, Gail Whitchurch for an issue on marital communication, and Rita Kirk-Whillock for an issue on uncivil discourse.
Vice-Chair Report: Judy Carter reported that the division had 1 panel and 25 papers submitted, which resulted in 7 panels at the conference in addition to the business meeting. Judy thanked this year's paper readers. The Top Paper Award went to Sean Limon and Betty LaFrance. The other authors of the other top papers were also acknowledged.
Vice Chair Elect: Jerry Hale led a discussion for panel ideas for SSCA's 2001 convention in Lexington, KY. The convention will take place at the Radisson Hotel and the convention theme is "Narratives We Live By: Redefining the Power of Communication". A motion was passed to group the top papers and request specific time slots from SSCA's vice president and program planner. Members suggested including family communication, applied, and group communication issues in the call for papers. It was suggested that because the central region is close to Lexington, that perhaps scholars from that region would like to combine efforts on panels. Members noted a desire to continue a tradition of single scholar spotlight panels have typically been well received and attended. Other suggestions included special panels that would feature faculty-student co-authored work.
Elections: James D. Ragsdale was elected as vice-chair elect. The membership approved the following list of persons who volunteered their services as paper readers: Kenzie Cameron, Kelby Halone, Tamara Bollis-Pecci, Judi Truitt, David Jaffe, Sean Limon, Victoria Orrego, and Tom Socha. The Vice-Chair will select paper readers from this list as needed. A list of members who noted willingness to also serve in the capacity of panel chairs and/or respondents will be forwarded to the Vice-Chair. Richard Conville was elected to the association nominating committee, with his two-year service to begin in 2001. Christa Arnold, Carl Thameling, and J.D. Ragsdale were elected to serve on the division nominating committee. J.D. Ragsdale will chair the committee.
2000-2001 Officers:
The officers for 2000-2001 are:
Chair: Judy Carter, Amarillo College
Vice Chair: Jerold Hale, University of Georgia at Athens
Vice Chair Elect: James Ragsdale, Sam Houston State
Secretary: Tamara Bollis-Pecci, Columbus State University
SSCA Nominating: Richard Conville, University of Southern Mississippi
Web Administrator: Jim Rogier, University of Arkansas, Monticello
ADJOURN:
With no other business on the agenda, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 3:10 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Tamara Bollis-Pecci, Secretary
