Western States Communication Association

Western States Communication Association Executive Club UNAPPROVED BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES San Diego, CA Sunday, February 28, 2016

2015-2016 Past President Sara Hayden, University of Montana 2016-2017 President Teresa Bergman, University of the Pacific 2017-2018 President-Elect Harry Heines, Montclair State University 2015-2018 Secretary Melissa A. Tafoya, La Sierra University

I. The Executive Club business meeting called to order: 11:30 a.m. in Pacific Room. Attendees: Harry Haines, Betsy Bach, Sue Pendell, Patricia O’Keefe, Sara Hayden, Heather Hundley, Teresa Bergman, Robert Avery, Bill Eadie, Jan Andersen, Melissa Tafoya, and Ken Frandsen

II. Reports 1. Financial Report

a. 2016 Welcome Reception co-sponsorship and social event

i. Club paid $500.00 for drink tickets to co-host the Welcome Reception with Mark Bergstrom. Toward the end of the welcome reception, the Executive Club social event (for past and current members) was held at the beach. Thirty-three people attended the bonfire. The cost of the social event was $256.86 and we made $400.

ii. Jan Andersen did a lot of work buying the food and setting everything up. Jan thanked Sara Hayden for all of her help.

2. President’s Report – membership drive

a. Sara Hayden looked at the list of executive club members over a 10-year period. From that list, 26 new members were invited to join.

b. Challenges to club membership: Databases are old – can’t get emails from old databases; the past presidents are retired

c. We have a new tool that we can use to email entire group members at once. We need to continue to update email/member list

III. Action Items

1. Plaque for debut award – Heather Hundley paid $20.00 for plaque. Betsy Bach moved to continue with this process. The members attending the meeting agreed.

2. Nominations were given to invite non-Executive Council members to join Executive Club a. Deanna Dannels and Ann Darling were nominated to be invited to join the executive club

3. Annual Event for 2017

a. Teresa Bergstrom will be the president of E.C. next year in Salt Lake City. Teresa has been asking for suggestions about where to hold the annual social event. The Red Iguana was mentioned. Bob Avery suggested the Blue Iguana and Squatters Brew Club. Bill Eadie mentioned the Pub Crawl on the Light Rail. Sue Pendell stated that this would only cost $10 per person. Lambs Grill was also suggested as a potential place.

b. It was noted that the 2017 convention is being held at the Little American hotel, which is also known for having great food. Staying in house may be the best option, since we can request a private room for the event. It was stated that Megan McFarlane is one of the co-hosts for Utah.

4. Proposed Constitution/Policies and Procedures Manual changes

a. Thanks were given to Heather for moving everything online.

b. It was stated that the co-sponsorship of the kick-off event worked and benefitted the club

IV. Discussion Items

1. Fund raising activities

a. Ken Frandsen voiced his concern by money that is being spent vs. brought in.

b. Teresa Bergman will update the excel spreadsheet of the Executive Club budget. She will add a column to include the overall money available in the club’s bank account.

2. Welcome reception (Kick-off event) co-sponsorship

a. Discussion: Sue Pendell did not think $500 should be spent for the kick-off event. Teresa would like to continue to co-host the Welcome Reception and proposed that the club contribute $100 instead of $500. Sue stated that we shouldn’t count on contributing an exact amount each year to co-host the kickoff. state exact amounts as we can’t always count on it.

3. Awards and scholar support

a. Sara Hayden stated that $250 was given for the debut award.

b. Sue asked about our involvement with the undergraduate research conference. Sara stated that she looked into it, but it was too complex and there are issues with giving to the conference. Sue asked about a mentoring fund. Sara said there is little in it.

c. Ken stated that the identity of the club was growing the profession. We should sponsor something with that idea.

d. Teresa suggested that we could expand the debut awards to 3 people. Sue stated that the new scholars/mentoring fund was supposed to be for travel and asked if the club could take over the mentoring fund. $5-$10 per year for fund is a tiny amount.

e. The Altman Memorial fund was discussed. Ken mentioned that we could do fundraising for the endowment to connect the associations organizational model. This fund has x number of dollars. We need a mechanism. WSCA needs to get away from current business model.

i. Deans are not paying for service to the discipline (i.e., for editorship). How do we donate? How can we pay for this? We won’t exist without it.

f. Sue agreed with the idea of getting plaques for top 3 debut papers. She also stated that we should co-sponsor the kick off event again next year and give away drink tickets.

4. Silent Auction during the no-host

a. Patty suggested we hold a silent auction. It could be a tax write-off for those who donate and/or purchase items.

i. Suggestions: Party in a box, Utah shirt, game tickets, spa treatment, volunteer to edit a paper, can sit and talk with a student. It is a win-win.

ii. We are going to try the auction this year. We will email members and ask for donations. Patty stated that the email should remind members that this event is intended to raise funding for students.

5. Tabled for next year

a. Bill Eadie asked that we table the discussion about 3 vs. 1 award. He is worried about costs. The proposal to purchase 3 awards will require spending most of the funds that the club has available in the bank. The conversation was tabled for next year

V. Elections

1. Teresa Bergman was confirmed as President of the club. Harry Haines was nominated for President-elect. He accepted the position. Nominations were closed. VI. Meeting adjourned: 12:21 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Melissa A. Tafoya, Executive Social Club Secretary, 2015-2018 Associate Professor, La Sierra University