CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 

Revised 2020 

OKLAHOMA SPEECH THEATRE COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION 

CONSTITUTION OF THE 

OKLAHOMA SPEECH THEATRE COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION 

Article I - Name

The name of the Association shall be the Oklahoma Speech Theatre Communication Association.

Article II - Purposes

Section 1 - The purposes of the organization shall be: to provide the organizational structure to meet the varying needs of various constituencies of the Association; to make the Oklahoma speech, theatre, and communication programs a vital education force; to integrate the efforts, interests, and abilities of teachers, school administrators, and professionals in applied communication toward the betterment of speech, theatre and communication education programs; and to act as a clearinghouse for state, regional, and national speech, theatre, and communication education programs.

Section 2 - The purpose of this organization shall be exclusively educational within the intention of section 501c3 of the United States Internal Revenue Code operating as a non-profit-making organization under the laws of the state of Oklahoma.

Section 3 - To meet these purposes, OSTCA is structured in divisions of communication, forensics, theatre and mass communication:

A.      Each division shall be generally governed by its own operating procedures.

B.        The Executive Council of OSTCA shall have authority to adjust

divisional procedures which are inconsistent with the Constitution and By-Laws of OSTCA.

Article III - Membership

Section 1- Membership in this association shall be open to any teacher of communication and theatre, students and graduate students interested in the fields of communication and theatre, institutions interested in the promotion of communication and theatre education, and anyone receiving an honorary membership.

Section 2 - Individual membership in OSTCA shall be required for membership in any division, participation at the conference, and voting at the annual business meeting of the Association.

Section 3 - Honorary Membership and Permanent Honorary Membership may be designated by the Executive Council.

Article IV - Officers

Section 1 - All officers shall be elected for a three-year term, except as noted in (Section 2). All division chairpersons shall be elected by the members of the respective division. Terms of office shall commence immediately after the adjournment of the annual business meeting, which is held at the yearly conference. At the conclusion of the annual convention, the Vice President shall become President, the Vice President-Elect shall become the Vice President.

Section 2 - A list of nominees for all offices listed in Article IV, Section 3 (except the President, Vice President, and Division Chairpersons) shall be prepared by a Nominating Committee and presented at the annual business meeting.

Section 3 -The elected officers of the organization shall be:

A.        Elected by total membership:

1.         President (This is the final year of a three-year term, which began as Vice President-Elect.);

2.         Vice President (This is the second year of a three-year term, which began as Vice President-Elect.);

3.         Vice President-Elect (to serve a three-year term, which includes one-year as Vice President-Elect, one-year as Vice-President, and then one-year as President.);

4.       Secretary (to serve a three-year term);

5.       Treasurer (to serve a three-year term);

6.       Executive Director (This is an optional officer position. If OSTCA comes to a point where public relations and fund raising needs arise to ensure the expansion of the organization, an Executive Director may be appointed by the Executive Council to serve a three-year term.).

B.        Elected by each division:

1.       Chairperson (to serve a two-year term);

2.       Other officers within the divisions as needed (to serve a two- year term);

Section 4 - The following appointed officers shall be appointed from the membership by the elected officers, or if necessary, these positions may be filled by elected officers:

A.        Historian (Indefinite term);

B.        Web Master (Three-year term);

C.        Parliamentarian (Indefinite term);

D.        NCA/CSCA Representative(s) (Three-year terms);

E.         SWTA Representative(s) (Three-year terms).

Article V - The Executive Council

Section 1 - The membership of the Executive Council shall be composed of the elected and appointed officers and the two most recent past presidents,

provided they are active members. All shall serve without pay.

Section 2 - Duties of the Executive Council shall be set forth in the By-Laws.

Section 3 - Each member of the Executive Council shall have one vote in the deliberations of the Council.

Article VI - Divisional Organization

Section 1 - The Association shall be divided into four Divisions:

A.           Communication;

B.           Forensics;

C.        Theatre;

D.        Mass Communication.

Section 2 - A chairperson shall be elected for a two-year term by each Division. Chairs are responsible for planning special meetings, workshops, and conference panels appropriate for the annual meeting.

Section 3 - A person affiliated with the educational profession shall automatically become a member of the appropriate Division with current membership status. Members whose professional interests and responsibilities overlap may choose more than one Division.

Section 4 - Persons or groups interested in forming a new Division shall obtain the signatures of 10 members and present them to the Executive Council for action.

Section 5 - The Division shall encourage worthwhile activities and shall recommend to the Executive Council considerations or proposals as needed.

Section 6 - Each Division may adopt its own constitution and by-laws in harmony with the OSTCA Constitution and By-Laws.

Article VII - Publications

Section 1 - The Oklahoma Speech Theatre Communication Association shall have one website, one online journal, and a social media presence.

A.           The website: http://www.ostca.org;

B.         The Oklahoma Communication Journal (linked to the website).

Section 2 - Publication shall be as set forth in the By-Laws.

Article VIII - Committees

Section 1 - The Association shall have two standing committees:

A.        A Nominating Committee;

B.         An Awards Committee.

Section 2 - Other committees may be created by the Executive Council as needed.

Article IX - Amendments

Section 1 - Amendments may be initiated by:

A.        The Executive Council;

B.         Upon petition signed by ten members of the Executive Council, which shall submit such amendments to the membership for a vote.

Section 2 - A two-thirds approval by those voting is required for adoption.

Section 3 - An amendment shall be submitted to a vote of a duly called Association meeting, by email, or by mailed ballot. If voting is by email, the ballot must be returned within 7 days of the date sent or if by mailed ballot, ballot must be received within 21 days of mailing postmark to be counted. The vote of any proposed amendment shall be published on the OSTCA website.

Section 4 - An amendment shall take effect immediately upon adoption.

BY-LAWS OF THE OKLAHOMA SPEECH THEATRE COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION

Article I - Membership

Section 1 – Except for the Permanent Honorary membership and the

Honorary membership, all memberships must be renewed each year. Membership categories shall consist of:

A.           Faculty/Supporters;

B.           Student/Graduate Student;

C.           Institutional;

D.           Permanent Honorary;

E.            Honorary.

Section 2 – Faculty/Supporters Membership

A.         Shall be open to anyone teaching or interested in the promotion of communication and theatre education;

B.        Shall be eligible to hold office;

C.        Shall have voting privileges;

D.      Shall have access to the Oklahoma Communication Journal.

Section 3 – Student/Graduate Student Membership

A.        Shall be open to any undergraduate student who is carrying a minimum of 9 hours;

B.           Shall be open to any graduate student who is carrying a minimum of 6 hours;

C.           Shall have access to the Oklahoma Communication Journal.

Section 4 – Institutional membership

A.           Shall be open to any institution interested in the promotion of communication and theatre education;

B.        Shall allow one professional and one student to act as members at the conference;

C.           Shall have access for the institution’s library to the Oklahoma Communication Journal.

Section 5 - Honorary Permanent Membership

A.           May be conferred upon anyone who has been a member for 15 years;

B.           Is retired;

C.           Is no longer active in the profession;

D.           Shall be eligible to hold office;

E.            Shall have voting privileges;

F.            Shall have access to the Oklahoma Communication Journal.

Section 6. - Honorary Membership

A.           Shall be conferred by the Executive Council;

B.            Shall have access to the Oklahoma Communication Journal.

Section 7 - The membership year of this association shall be September 1 to August 31.

Article II - Dues and Fees

Section 1 - Annual membership dues shall be established by the Executive Council.

Section 2 - Honorary and Honorary Permanent Members hold such membership without payment of dues.

Section 3 - Conference fees may be established by the Executive Council or by any Division hosting an event.

Section 4 – Anyone listed as a presenter on the official program of the yearly conference must be a member of OSTCA and pay membership dues and conference fees. Only the keynote speaker for the yearly conference will be exempt from being a member and paying dues and fees.

Article III - Duties of Officers

Section 1 - The duties of the President shall be to:

A.        Preside at all meetings of the Association;

B.         Call and chair regular or special meetings of the Executive Council;

C.         Submit an agenda for any meeting called;

D.        Appoint standing or special committees according to the provisions of the By-Laws;

E.         Fulfill other responsibilities, which may be set forth in the By-Laws.

Section 2 - The Vice President shall:

A.           Be responsible for appointing and chairing a Planning Committee for the purpose of scheduling programs, including the yearly conference, for the Association;

B.            Be responsible for working with the Nomination Chair and the Awards Chair to announce elections and awards;

C.            Preside in the absence of the President. Section 3 - The Vice President-Elect shall:

A.           Be responsible for membership growth;

B.            Keep contact and correspondence with institutions and individuals for the purpose of growing the membership, using the information received from the Secretary;

C.            Preside in the absence of both the President and First Vice President.

Section 4 – The Secretary shall:

A.        Keep an up to date list of the membership and the registrants of the conference, by using the information received from the Treasurer;

B.           Report membership information to the Vice President;

C.           Take minutes during all meetings;

D.           Transcribe the minutes and provide a copy to all members of the Executive Council within two weeks of the meeting;

E.            Send correspondence (by mail or email) as needed to the

Executive Council, the membership, and to those needing a letter of appreciation.

Section 5 – The Treasurer shall:

A.         Collect the dues and conference fees;

B.          Report dues and registration fees received to the Secretary, to assist the Secretary in maintaining a current membership list or conference registration list;

C.          Prepare an annual Treasurer’s report for the Yearly Business Meeting;

D.         Prepare a short Treasurer’s update report for all Executive Board Meetings;

E.           Maintain financial records to meet the requirements of section 501c3 of the United States Internal Revenue Code operating as a non-profit-making organization under the laws of the state of Oklahoma;

F.        Prepare and send a yearly N990 form to the Internal Revenue Service and may procure the assistance of a Certified Public Accountant at the expense of OSTCA;

G.         Pay all bills approved by the Executive Council;

H.         Obtain a second signature from an official signer on the bank account for every check distributed from OSTCA.

Section 6 - The Executive Director shall, when the Executive Council deems it necessary to appoint an Executive Director (see Section 3. A. 6.):

A.        Conduct the necessary correspondence of the organization to increase exposure of the Association;

B.         Meet with entities with interest in supporting the mission of OSTCA;

C.         Plan and execute fund-raising events;

D.        Serve at the pleasure of the Executive Council. Section 7 – The Chairperson for each of the Division shall be:

A.           A member of the Executive Council;

B.            Responsible for representing the interests and needs of the respective Division;

C.            Responsible for calling and chairing meetings of the respective Division;

D.           Responsible for reporting information to the Executive Council. Section 8 - The Historian shall:

A.           Keep appropriate records concerning the history of OSTCA;

B.         Work with the Web Master to transfer said records to appropriate media to extend the life of the historical records.

Section 9 – The Web Master shall:

A.        Keep the information on OSTCA’s website, social media sites, and the Oklahoma Communication Journal up to date;

B.           Keep OSTCA’s website functioning correctly, providing updates and

repairs as needed;

C.           Notify the Executive Council when updates or repairs require payment;

D.           Assist the Historian in transferring historical records to appropriate media to extend the life of the historical records.

Section 10 – The Parliamentarian shall be responsible for advising the President during all meetings, so the meetings are conducted according to the proper parliamentary rules, in accordance with the currently selected rules of parliamentary procedure.

Section 11 – A Conference Representative(s) shall:

A.           Report on and vote on behalf of OSTCA, as required;

B.           Have staggered terms if more than one representative is serving, so that no two new members serve at the same time;

C.           Report to the Executive Council pertinent information from the conference(s).

Article IV - The Executive Council

The Executive Council shall:

A.           Call an annual meeting of the Association;

B.            Serve in an advisory capacity in regard to recommendations for action on proposed amendments;

C.            Conduct the routine business of the Association;

D.           Have powers of interim action on matters of urgency, which cannot be held over until the next yearly business meeting for sanction;

E.            Appoint the following positions,

1.     Historian;

2.     Web Master;

3.     Parliamentarian;

4.     NCA/CSCA Representative(s);

5.     SWTA Representative(s).

F.             Approve Presidential Appointments of standing and ad hoc Committees;

G.           Consider and approve new awards;

H.           Fill vacancies in elected office to serve until the next election;

I.               Consider for permanent membership those members who are eligible according to Article 1, Section 5 & 6 of the By-Laws;

J.              Authorize payment for expenses incurred for the organization and the yearly Conference and Business Meeting;

K.           Arrange for financing if needed;

L.            Be reimbursed for expenses necessary for the Association business or annual conference;

M.         Authorize partial payment of expenses for an OSTCA Representative(s) to attend Regional or National meetings.

Article V - Committees

Section 1 - Members of Standing Committees shall be appointed for three-year periods by the President, with the consent of the Executive Council. Membership in the two standing

committees shall be composed of one member from each division with one new member being appointed each year. The member with committee seniority will serve as Chairperson.

A.            The Nominating Committee shall:

1.     Be responsible for selecting the slate of elected officers, one for each office, to be presented to the membership for election or appointment;

2.     Accept other nominations made by the membership at the yearly Business Meeting;

3.     Have the objective of presenting a slate of nominees that appropriately represents each Division of OSTCA.

B.            The Awards Committee shall be responsible for recommending to the Executive Council candidates for the awards. Specific procedures and qualifications for determining these awards shall be determined by the Awards Committee with the consent and approval of the Executive Council.

C.            The following awards below may be given each year:

OUTSTANDING YOUNG HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER AWARD: Created in 1987. Limited to no more than seven years of teaching.

H.B. MITCHELL OUTSTANDING HIGH SCHOOL FORENSICS COACH AWARD: Created in 1987. Mitchell was a member of the Debate Coach Hall of Fame. Coached 13 consecutive state high school championship debate teams at Seminole High School. Former superintendent of Seminole Public Schools and president of Seminole Jr. College.

RUTH ARRINGTON OUTSTANDING COLLEGE THEATRE AWARD: Established in 1987 in honor of Ruth Arrington, long-time theatre professor at Northeastern State University; Arrington also created the Native American Studies program at NSU.

C.W. MANGRUM OUTSTANDING YOUNG COLLEGE TEACHER AWARD: Created in 1987 as the OUTSTANDING YOUNG COLLEGE TEACHER AWARD, and then in 2013 OSTCA chose to rename this award to honor C.W. Mangrum. C.W. Mangrum’s career spanned 38 years (1970 – 2008) at Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU) as debate coach, faculty and administrator. Southeastern awarded him the “Distinguished Former Faculty Award” and the Regional

University System of Oklahoma (RUSO) bestowed upon him the honorary title of “Dean

Emeritus, School of Arts and Sciences” and “Professor of Communication of Theatre Emeritus.”

C.W. Mangrum knew the value of teaching and spent many years teaching future teachers. Nominees for this award are limited to no more than seven years of teaching.

D.J. NABORS OUTSTANDING COLLEGE FORENSICS COACH AWARD: Established in 1989. Nabors was an Honorary Permanent Member of OSTCA. Conducted college level speech tournaments for decades at East Central. As a participant in the Oklahoma State Teachers Conventions in 1928, 1929, and 1930, he was a founder of what became the Oklahoma Speech Association.

Served Pi Kappa Delta as national secretary-treasurer for 10 years. Dr. Nabors was the first Communication Department Chair at East Central and attended every speech association meeting until his retirement in 1972.

FRED TEWELL OUTSTANDING COLLEGE COMMUNICATION EDUCATOR AWARD: Established in

1987; named after Fred Tewell in 1993. Tewell was a long-time professor of communication at Oklahoma State University, where he taught and coached debate for 25 years.

TERRY CLARK OUTSTANDING MASS COMMUNICATION EDUCATOR AWARD: Established in

2018, Clark was a long-term professor of journalism and mass media at the University of Central Oklahoma. A member of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, Clark received lifetime achievement awards from the Oklahoma Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the UCO College of Liberal Arts.

JOSH LEE SERVICE AWARD: Created in 1965 and changed in 1987 to Outstanding Service Award; again, changed in 1988 to the Josh Lee Service Award. Named for the Oklahoma teacher/statesman, college debate champion, professor of speech at the University of Oklahoma, U. S. Representative and U. S. Senator. Lee was head of the Speech Department at OU for several years. His book, Public Speaking Manual, served as the text for many speech and theatre classes.

Section 2 - Ad Hoc Committees may be appointed by the Executive Council and shall serve until their report is accepted by the Executive Council.

Section 3 - No Committee may incur expenses without the approval of the Executive Council. Neither may any Committee nor its individual members speak for OSTCA or use the organization’s name without approval by the Executive Council or the President.

Article VI - Meetings

Section 1 - Business meetings may be called by the President with the consent of the Executive Council.

Section 2 - The annual business meeting shall be held each year at a time and place to be determined by the Executive Council.

Section 3 - Conferences, conventions, workshops, and other meetings may be scheduled by the Executive Council or by any Division of the Association.

Section 4 - The Executive Council shall meet at least two times a year. These meetings may be in person or online.

Article VII - Quorum

Section 1 - Two-thirds of the membership registered for a conference, convention, or meeting where a regular business meeting has been announced to the membership shall be considered

a quorum for the purpose of conducting such business.

Section 2 - In a mail ballot, a quorum shall be those ballots received for the mail ballot.

Section 3 - A quorum required to conduct business during a meeting of the Executive Council shall consist of a minimum of eleven officers.

Article VIII - Parliamentary Authority

The latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order or any other appropriate authority selected by the

President shall be the parliamentary authority.

Article IX - Other Organizations

The Oklahoma Speech Theatre Communication Association shall encourage its members to affiliate with other state, regional, and national speech, theatre, and communication associations.

Article X - Amendments to By-Laws

The OSTCA By-Laws may be amended by a majority vote of those present and voting at a regular association meeting, by email, or by mailed ballot. If voting is by email, the ballot must be returned within 7 days of the date sent or if by mailed ballot, ballot must be received within 21 days of mailing postmark to be counted. The vote of any proposed amendment shall be published on the OSTCA website.

Article XIV - Dissolution

In the event that the Oklahoma Speech Theatre Communication Association (OSTCA) should decide to dissolve, the Executive Council shall, after paying all liabilities, dispose of the remaining assets as follows: (1) donate them to Central States Communication Association, which is an exempt organization under Section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, or, in the event that the organization no longer exists, (2) donate them to some other educational organization, which qualifies under Section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and is concerned primarily with the field of communication.

Adopted, 1983

Amended, 1987

Amended, 1991

Amended, 2002

Amended, 2007

Amended, 2017

Amended, 2020