CTAM Constitution

CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMUNICATION AND THEATER ASSOCIATION OF MINNESOTA (CTAM)

ARTICLE I: NAME AND PURPOSE

A. The name of the organization is the Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota (CTAM).

B. Its purpose is to coordinate, advocate, and serve communication/theater/debate education, educators, and professionals in the state of Minnesota. The Association serves as an umbrella for the following: Minnesota Debate Teachers' Association, Minnesota Speech Coaches' Association, Minnesota Educational Theatre Association, Minnesota Collegiate Forensics Association, and other speech/debate/ theater/communication-related interest groups. The Association is a non-profit organization existing for educational and literary purposes with no revenues to be used for private benefit.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

Membership is open to those accepting the purpose of the organization. The membership year runs from one annual convention to the next. Types of membership are:A. Regular Members are persons or agencies who have paid the regular membership dues. These members shall have voting privileges, shall be eligible to hold office, and shall receive all publications and privileges of membership.

B. Student Members are students who pay the student membership dues. They shall enjoy all the rights of membership except the right to hold office.

C. Special Membership categories may be designated by the Board of Governors, subject to annual review.

ARTICLE III: OFFICERS, NOMINATIONS, AND ELECTIONS

A. The officers of the organization shall be:1. The President shall preside at all the meetings, be responsible for the normal activities of the organization, shall see that policies of the Constitution and the governing bodies are followed, and shall be the official representative of the Association.

2. The President-Elect shall take the place of the President whenever the President is unable to act, and the President-Elect is also in charge of the planning of the annual Convention.

3. The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings, shall aid publications editors with their mailings, and shall conduct all mail ballots authorized by the Association.

4. The Treasurer shall collect all dues and fees, maintain an up to date list of members and addresses, present an annual financial report, deposit all monies in an insured bank, supervise the paying from Association fundsof all bills, keep financial records and, at the end of office, transfer all funds to the bank selected by the successor.

5. The Historian shall be the archivist and recorder of the history of the association. The Historian shall be responsible for maintaining and making available when requested all public records of the association. Historians shall be appointed by the Executive Council for terms of three years, eligible for reappointment, upon recommendation of the President.

B. A nominating committee chaired and designated by the president shall be responsible for presenting a slate of candidates for President-Elect, Secretary, or Treasurer to the membership at the annual Convention.

C. Candidates for the office of President-Elect shall be selected alternately from K-12 schools and from colleges or non-school affiliations.

D. The President-Elect shall succeed the President for a one year term of office, and shall complete the term of the President if that becomes necessary.

E. The offices of the President and President-Elect shall be for a oneyear term. The offices of the Secretary and Treasurer will be for two-year terms and are eligible for re- election. The Secretary shall be elected in odd numbered years and the Treasurer shall be elected in even numbered years.

F. The Executive Council shall fill any vacancies that may occur during the normal terms of office of the Executive Council members.

G. After the Executive Council has presented its slate of candidates, and nominations from the floor have been invited, the election shall take place during the annual Convention. Secret ballot shall be used.

ARTICLE IV: EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

A. The Executive Council shall consist of the President, Immediate Past-President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer. The Editor of the Newsletter, and the Historian serve on the Council in an ex-officio capacity.

B. The Executive Council shall (1) approve expenditures, (2) approve the appointments of the Editor of the Newsletter, Editor of the Journal, WWWebmaster, CTAM Foundation Board, and other Ad Hoc Councils, (3) approve the plan for the Annual Conference, and (4) perform other duties necessary to the running of the Association.

ARTICLE V: BOARD OF GOVERNORS

A. The Board of Governors shall consist of the members of the Executive Council, plus the Journal Editor and one member from each of the following organizations to be appointed by the Executive Council to represent the Minnesota Educational Theater Association, the Minnesota Speech Coaches' Association, the Minnesota Debate Teachers' Association, Minnesota Collegiate Forensics Association, college, university and community college departments, high school classroom teachers, middle and elementary school educators, NCA/CSCA States Advisory, the seven county metro area (i.e., Anoka, Ramsey, Washington, Dakota, Scott, Carver, Hennepin) and each geographic quadrant of the state, plus new interest groups as they develop.  (See attached map for specific regional representation)

B. The Board of Governors shall be an advisory council, meeting at least twice a year, to serve as a liaison between the members they represent and the Association. Members' terms shall be two years and members shall be eligible for re-appointment.

ARTICLE VI: STANDING COMMITTEES

A. LICENSURE COMMITTEE

1. The Licensure Committee shall consist of five members licensed to teach speech and/or theater arts by the Minnesota Department of Education plus two members currently working in speech and/or theater arts in Minnesota colleges or universities. These members, appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Council, shall serve two year terms and may be re-appointed.

2. This Committee shall meet at least once a year and shall serve as liaison between the licensing agencies and the Association in matters of teaching and other professional licensure.

B. PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE

1. The Public Relations Committee shall consist of at least three members appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Council, who will research, plan, and coordinate programs to promote speech/theater/communication/debate education in Minnesota.C. NOMINATING COMMITTEE1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of the Past President and at least four other members who represent varied interests in the organization. Appointed by the President, and approved by the Executive Council, they shall approve slates of candidates for all CTAM elections and shall conduct CTAM elections.

ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS

A. The annual convention, which will include the annual business meeting, will be held at a time and place determined by the Executive Council. Those members present and voting shall constitute a quorum.

B. The President, the Executive Council, or the Board of Governors may call meetings as necessary with at least one week notice to all members.

C. A quorum on the Exec. Council or the Board of Governors shall be a majority of members.

D. The authority on questions of parliamentary procedure shall be Robert's Rules of Order (most recent edition).

ARTICLE VIII: PUBLICATIONS

A. CTAM shall publish, annually, one or more issues of a newsletter, one issue of a journal, a directory of members, and the Constitution.

B. Editors shall be appointed by the Executive Council for terms of two years, eligible for re-appointment, upon recommendation of the President. They may seek assistance from other members in the completion of these publications.

ARTICLE IX: AMENDMENTS

A. An amendment to the Constitution may be initiated by any member of the Board of Governors or by a petition of ten members of the Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota.

B. Amendments will be adopted if approved by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting at an annual meeting or by two-thirds of those voting by mail. 

Attachment A: MISSION STATEMENT

The Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota coordinates, advocates, and serves speech communication/theater/debate education, educators and professionals in the state of Minnesota. This mission is accomplished by:

1. Helping to develop, assess, promote, and integrate curricular and co-curricular activities in speech communication, theater, and debate.a. Integration of high school/college curricula.

b. Introduction of a stronger thread of speech communication and theater training from kindergarten up.

c. Inclusion of theory, criticism, and appreciation of the spoken word in curricula.

d. Appreciation of the need for "communication across the curriculum."

2. Recognizing and supporting the communication discipline in its various forms and contexts.

a. public speaking

b. interpersonal communication

c. small group communication

d. organizational communication

e. cross cultural communication

f. mass media

g. rhetoric and rhetorical analysis

h. forensics (individual events and debate)

3. Providing a unified and strong liaison, consulting, and lobbying body for various regulatory agencies of speech communication/theater/debate.

a. Licensure update

b. Curriculum requirements

c. Curriculum standards

d. Contact with the Department of Education, HECB (higher education), MSBA (school boards)4. Providing cohesiveness through formal and informal networking across the disciplines and levels of education.

a. Newsletter and interest group mailings

b. Utilizing talents, expertise of other members

c. Job connections

d. Social gatherings

5. Providing education and professional development of the association membership through an annual conference and other educational opportunities.

a. Journal

b. Theater practicum (convention workshops)

c. Certification update

d. Judging workshops

e. Educational in-service

f. Seminars

6. Developing and disseminating promotional materials for the discipline.

a. Developing packets for school districts.

b. Providing school board in-service.

c. Utilizing various resources: NCA materials, money for dissemination.7. Responding to current concerns of the membership through research, fact-finding, and ad hoc task forces.a. Identifying/targeting issues for yearly goals of the organization.

b. Utilizing the journal in part as a forum for discussion of important issues affecting the curriculum.

8. Strengthening existing interest groups while addressing common goals of the association.a. Maintaining the "umbrella" concept of CTAM with interest groups beneath superstructure.

b. Convention planning with interest groups in mind.

9. Connecting with other related professional and community organizations who can assist us in our overall mission.

10. Ensuring, promoting, and acknowledging responsible and excellent education and educators in the discipline.

a. Continue recognition of outstanding work in the discipline

b. Begin work on communication competencies

GENERAL NOTES

The organization is an "umbrella" organization with strong support of the various interest groups (debate, theater, coaches, higher education, administrators, etc.)

1. Need for interest groups to all feel part of the parent organization and not fragment.

2. Should be no domination of a single interest group in any aspect of structure.

3. Should emphasize our sense of shared mission as EDUCATION.

4. Members of the state association could also opt to become members of interest groups. We felt the need for numbers for lobbying strength and to demonstrate representation of both individual professionals and professional organizations.

(a) We recognize groups with a separate dues structure:

(1) MN Speech Coaches Association

(2) MN Debate Teachers Association

(3) MN Educational Theatre Association

(b) Other groups reflect common interests of the general membership (non-fee):

(1) College/university chairpersons and other administrators

(2) College/university/community college professors

(3) High school/middle school/elementary educators

(4) Professionals

(5) Student groups

(6) Retirees

(c) The structure of the state association should serve the needs of the above groups. It is feasible that the totality of "educators" could evolve into a separate dues- paying group if organized. It is hoped that the groups listed under (b) above could be organized so benefits accrue from membership in the interest group.

BYLAWS

ARTICLE I: REPRESENTATIVES AND DELEGATES

A. The Speech, Debate, and One Act Play Representative to the Minnesota State High School League Board of Directors shall serve for four years (not eligible for reappointment), must be the Designated Speech Representative of their school, and shall be selected in the following manner:1. The current representative uses a MSHSL mailing to send a letter to the Designated Speech Representative of every MSHSL school to announce the election, describe the election process, and the position's responsibilities. This letter will serve as a call for candidates. Candidates must submit a written statement of candidacy, along with written approval from their building principal for this candidacy, to the current representative, and be willing to commit to a four-year term of office. Additional nominations will be sought, if necessary, to achieve a reasonable balance of gender and A/AA schools. This process should take place in March-April of the year of election.

2. A ballot will be prepared and mailed to each of the Designated Speech Representatives by the current representative in late April-early May of the year of the election. The candidate receiving a plurality of the votes will be elected. If there are five or more candidates, a second ballot containing the top three vote-getters will be sent to all Designated Speech Representatives in May.

3. The current representative collects the ballots, and forwards them to the President of CTAM. Votes will be tabulated by a committee appointed by the CTAM President, who will inform the MSHSL and announce the election of the new representative by the end of May. It is recognized that CTAM accepts no financial responsibility for the representative.

4. If the current representative cannot fulfill the term of office, an emergency election will be conducted using this same procedure to fill the position.

B. Speech Representatives (one "A"; one "AA") to the Representative Assembly of the Minnesota State High School League shall serve two year terms, which expire in alternating years. ("A" in even-numbered years. "AA" in odd-numbered years). These positions shall be filled at the annual CTAM conference business meeting. The CTAM Executive Council reserves the privilege of forwarding a nominee. Additional nominations shall be taken from the floor. Voting is limited to high school speech representatives, where "A" teachers shall vote for "A" representatives; "AA" teachers shall vote for "AA" representatives. No members school shall cast more than one vote.

C. The One Act Advisory Committee of the MSHSL has four positions for high school one act play directors (two "A" and two "AA"). These positions are to be appointed by the CTAM Executive Council in consultation with the Minnesota Educational Theater Association. The selections will ensure regional representation and gender equity. The CTAM Executive Council shall fill any vacancies created by a person being unable to fulfill their term.

D. CTAM will have a representative at CSCA and NCA consisting of either the president or a designee.

(One individual can serve as representative to both the CSCA States Advisory Committee and the NCA States Advisory Council.)