Constitution of the Mississippi Communication Association

ARTICLE I -  NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Mississippi Communication Association.

ARTICLE II -  PURPOSE
The purpose of this organization shall be to unite those persons of Mississippi with an academic or professional interest in the field of speech and communication for the promotion of their mutual interests and the advancement of their common field.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP
  • Section 1 – Honorary Life Membership
Honorary Life Membership may be voted by the association to any member who is deemed to have made outstanding contributions to the association over a period of years.  Honorary Life Membership carries all the privileges of Regular Membership but without the payment of dues.
  • Section 2 – Life Membership
Life Membership shall be available to any person interested in the purpose of this organization upon payment of one hundred dollars ($100.00) (effective February 1994).  This sum shall be deposited in the association’s savings account.  Life Membership carries all the privileges of Regular Membership.
  • Section 3 – Regular Membership
Regular Membership shall be available to any person interested in the purpose of this organization upon payment of the current annual dues of ten dollars ($10.00) (effective June 1989).  Regular members shall have voting power, shall be eligible to hold office, and shall exercise the other privileges currently accruing to regular members.
  • Section 4 – Student Membership
College students may obtain Student Membership for the payment of annual dues of one dollar ($1.00).
  • Section 5 – Departmental Membership
Any college or university in the state may obtain Departmental Membership for annual dues of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) (effective February 1994). 
  • Section 6 – Membership Dues (Amended at the 2010 Convention)
Dues for the incoming year are normally paid at the annual convention.  (Individuals must register for the annual convention and pay membership fees) (Amended at the 2011 convention.)

ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS
  • Section 1 – Officers
The officers of this association shall be:
President
Vice-President
Executive Secretary
Executive Director (Amended at the 2010 Convention)
(Duties of officers are defined in the by-laws.)
  • Section 2 – Election
Officers shall be elected in the business meeting at the annual convention or by mail ballot of a majority of eligible voting member in year when no convention is held.  A committee of three, appointed by the President at least three months before the convention, shall make nominations.  At least two of the number shall not have been a member of the committee the previous year.  The President shall designate the chairman of the committee.  After securing the consent of each nominee, the nomination committee shall propose one or more names for each office to be filled.  Nominations from the floor shall be called for before voting takes place.  In case of more than one nominee for an office, a secret ballot or ballots shall be taken until one nominated receives a majority of all votes cast.
  • Section 3 – Tenure
Officers (except Executive Secretary and Executive Director) are elected to serve one year, from March 1 to the last day of February.  The Vice-President will normally succeed the President in office.  The Executive Secretary is elected for a two-year term on even years.   The Executive Director is elected for a four-year term. (Amended at the 2011 Convention.)

ARTICLE V - EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
  • Section 1 – The Executive Council
The Executive Council shall consist of the elective officers of the Association, namely:  the President, the Vice-President, the Executive Secretary, the immediate past President, and the chairs of the committees.
  • Section 2 – Duties
The President shall be empowered to convene the Executive Council, which shall conduct the business of the Association in the interim between conventions.

ARTICLE VI - ANNUAL CONVENTION
  • Section 1 – Time
The time and place of the annual meeting of this Association shall be determined by the membership at the annual business meeting.
  • Section 2 – Business
The parliamentary authority of this Association shall be Robert’s Rules of Order: Revised Edition.

ARTICLE VII - AMENDMENTS
This constitution may be amended at any business meeting of the Association by a two-thirds majority of the voting members present at the meeting.

By-Laws of the Mississippi Communication Association

ARTICLE 1 – OFFICERS
The President shall preside at all business meetings of the Association, implement the work of the other officers of the various committees, and actively promote the Association’s public relations.  The President shall prepare a file of activities to turn over to the elected successor.

The Vice-President is primarily responsible for the planning and coordination of the convention program.  The Vice-President shall assist the President in actively promoting the Association’s public relations and shall assume the full duties of the President when the latter officer is prevented from fulfilling them by reason of absence, illness, or death.

The Executive Secretary shall keep the records of the annual convention, including a record of convention attendance and the minutes of all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Council, collect or receive all membership dues and convention fees, issue all membership receipts and cards, maintain an official membership file, submit an annual financial report, and distribute the Association’s notices.  The Executive Secretary shall be required to circulate to all members within six weeks after the annual convention a copy of the latest revised constitution and a copy of the minutes of the last convention session.  The Executive Secretary shall be custodian of all records.  The Executive Secretary shall be empowered to require, if necessary, of any chair an audit of any funds, which shall have passed through the chair’s hands during the term of office.  The duly elected secretary shall issue to the duly elected Director of the Youth Congress, on the request of the latter, at any time following the annual meeting, a sum of fifty-dollars ($50.00) as a petty cash fund for promotion and operation of the Youth Congress for the following year.  All funds must be accounted for and these funds will be considered a part of the maximum accidentally incurred deficit by the association.

The Executive Director shall be in charge of maintaining the organization’s website, maintaining a current email membership list, promoting the organization through advertising, and serving as the repository for the associations documents, including past financial statements. (Amended at the  2011 Convention)

ARTICLE 2 – CHAIRS
  • Section 1
(Amended at the 2010 Convention)
  • Section 2
No member of the Mississippi Communication Association shall be elected or appointed Director of the Mississippi Youth Congress who has not attended at least one full session of the Youth Congress.
  • Section 3
Each committee except the one for the Youth Congress is encouraged to hold a workshop or conference in its particular professional area in a place of its own selection and with a program of its own choice an/or sponsor a program at the annual convention.  Each committee is charged with obtaining workshop members and meeting its own expenses.
  • Section 4
Each committee must submit a proposed budget for financing its workshop to the executive committee and the budget be approved by said committee before the association will assume any financial responsibility for an accidentally incurred deficit and the maximum financial responsibility assumed shall not exceed fifty-dollars ($50.00).
  • Section 5
Each committee shall report the results of its workshop or congress to the annual meeting.
  • Section 6
The Executive Committee shall name the above chairs for the year 1950-51.  After this year, they shall be duly elected.
  • Section 7
An audit shall be conducted by the President and Vice-President at the end of each fiscal year to audit and account for the funds of the association.  Their findings shall be reported to the membership at the convention and a written statement of their findings shall be filed with the permanent records annually.