CTAM Board of Governors’ Meeting Minutes

Thursday, September 14, 2006, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Minneapolis North

Present: Dan Cronn-Mills (President), Sandy Nieland (President Elect), Jill Lofald (Past President), Larry Schnoor (Treasurer), Cynthia Carver (Historian), Sarah Wolter, Newsletter Editor), Karen P. Wilson (Secretary), Dave Warne (College/University Rep.), Michele Neaton (Community College Rep.), Cheryl Neidt (High School Classroom Rep.), Gregg Sawyer (MN Education Theater Assoc. Rep), Myles Wagner (MN Debate Teachers Assoc. Rep.), Mark Quinlan (MN Speech Coaches Assoc. Rep.), Cindy Larson-Casselton (MN College Forensics Assoc. Rep.), Mark Grant (Technical Colleges Rep.), Rebecca Meyer-Larson (NW Geographic Rep.), Cliff Janke (SW Geographic Rep.), Scott Durocher (Metro Geographic Rep.), Jody Saxton West (SE Geographic Rep.), Kathy Ebnet (NE Geographic Rep.)

Meeting was called to order at 7:25 p.m. Minutes from January 15, 2006 were approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Larry reported that 260 people had pre-registered for the convention and 50-75 walk-ins are expected. CTAM is in good financial condition with approximately $20,000 in the account (bills for the convention and the journal are not included in this total). Last year there were 338 members. At the business meeting on Saturday, Larry will discuss audio-visual costs and specific conference expenses so the membership can be more informed. Discussion followed about the differences between costs when the conference is at colleges/universities or at hotels. The membership clearly prefers a hotel location. Question was raised about increasing the costs of convention or membership fees (discussion to be continued at a later meeting). Special thanks to Concordia, Bethany Lutheran, MNSU-Mankato, St. Olaf, MSCA, META and Graphics Edge for hospitality contributions and to Gustavus for providing conference folders.

Past President’s Report: Jill has been active with the Arts Consortium and has been attending these meetings at the Perpich Center (meets the first Wednesday of every month). This is a grass roots group that includes the president of the art teachers’ organization, the president of the dance association, several Perpich Center teachers, a media arts board member and a large contingency of music representatives. The group’s work included hiring a lobbyist to focus on keeping the arts viable in K-12. This year they are creating school guidelines for fulfilling the arts requirement.

Presidents Report: Dan reported that Concordia is the 2006 Recipient of Rex Mix Award for Small College Program of Excellence. Congratulations were extended.

New appointments to the BOG were announced:

NCA/CSCA SAC Rep. is Diana Rehling.
Journal Editor is Dr. Aileen Buslig.

Discussion of the cost of the journal followed. Recommendation was made that the journal be put on-line in two formats (html and pdf). Discussion of access followed. Does everyone have easy access to the internet? On the CTAM membership form there should be a check-off box and a charge to allow members to pay for and receive a hard copy. Discussion followed about procedure. Postcards could be sent out to bring this to the attention of the membership and this should also be announced in the next newsletter. Three motions were made, seconded and passed:

-The Journal will move to an on-line format.

-There will be a small monetary amount offered to the institution that prints off any requested hard copies (so journal access is ensured to all members).

-The executive Council can determine specific details and procedures.

President Elect’s Report: Sandy offered a toast to Larry, Dan and Karen for all their work and assistance. Appreciation was made to the BOG for great camaraderie, a great conference, and for being great colleagues. The problem of people not responding soon enough with requests for audio-visual support was raised. The same problem occurs with people who do not send in conference registration until after the deadline.

Historian’s Report: Cindy reported that the archives still exist and are in the corner of her new office. Reported that she in the process of writing a history of the CTAM organization to be submitted to the next journal (by March).

Journal Editor’s Report: It was announced that the new journal is in the mail. Aileen Beslig is new Journal Editor. Request was made to Dan to be sure he connects with new Journal editor to clarify the starting date.

Newsletter Editor’s Report: Sarah reported that the last newsletter went out in August. Process went smoothly. Next deadline for submissions: Oct. 15. Dan thanked Sarah for her willingness to step up and jump in as the new Newsletter Editor.

Webmaster’s Report: Everything is on line including forms, pictures, etc.

BOG Member Reports:

Cheryl is thinking about new workshops and conference sessions to be offered.

Myles reported that the MN debate teams have been doing outstanding work.

Mark is conducting his first wedding ceremony on Saturday so will not be at the general

business meeting.

Michele received an interesting email from someone who is going on sabbatical next

year and is interested in doing a specific workshop. Michele will follow up.

Mark Q. will be unveiling a new website tomorrow that may help membership. Watch

for upcoming changes that require coaches to use a check list to be sure that everyone is truly eligible to compete in the MSHSL Staffing changes at MSHSL were raised and discussed. Larry asked about the change in membership fee to MSCA as he had never received notification of the change from $10 to $15.

Rebecca raised the issue of CTAM sending letters to administrators of schools for BOG

members and award recipients. This is helpful and requests that this procedure

continue. Collecting the names and contact information of administrators from

each presenter facilitates this process (even putting a stack of these forms at the registration desk works well). Can CTAM help garner administrative support for conference and meeting attendance? Consensus was that this is an excellent staff development issue and CTAM should provide this letter. Jill will forward a copy

of the letter to Sandy. Anything we can do to bring in the northern drama

teachers would be appreciated.

Mark asked if there was any Communication Arts Literature licensing standardization

between colleges and universities. Dave responded that the Board of Teaching is asking for college syllabi to be lined up with standards and objectives and to describe an assessment rubric. College teachers are graduating without adequate preparation and knowledge in communication.

Gregg reported that META sponsored Eyes Ears and Voices #2 at the Perpich Center and

it has depleted the META account. May 5, 2007 is the next scheduled forum. CTAM and META are well represented. Virginia McFerran and Gregg want to pass on the torch to other planners. The Perpich Center remains an invaluable resource to CTAM and in the State. Could we ever use the Perpich Center for a CTAM conference? Gregg also reported that he has five members of his staff

who are supported to attend this conference- this is contractual- and he is amazed

that a small private school can do this and public schools cannot. Thanks to Holy Angels! Jill followed up by asking if there could be a mini-CTAM conference at

the Perpich Center. Gregg mentioned that this is why Eyes Ears and Voices came into existence (for theater educators). Discussion followed about CTAM on The Road.

Mark Q. mentioned the wonderful Scholars of Distinction Program in Theater. The

funding for this program has been approved for this coming year and Alice

Seagren supports this and hopes this program becomes permanently funded.

Scott is presenting tomorrow on characterization and he is excited about it and is thrilled

to be a BOG member. Encourages everyone to attend Eyes, Ears and Voices and

encourages everyone to make use of the great resource of the Perpich Center. It would be good for the High School League to write a letter of support for attendance at CTAM- most athletic coaches receive funding to attend coaching clinics and CTAM provides coaching clinics. Would like to see a letter that encourages administrations to support attendance at CTAM especially since qualified judges are always needed.

Jody mentioned that booster clubs (described as being outside the school, booster clubs

cannot be affiliated with the school) sponsoring speech or theater can be helpful – suggests that this be a session at next year’s CTAM conference.

Cliff reported that he would like CTAM to get behind this issue and encourage people to

attend CTAM conferences. He supports including a session at next year’s CTAM conference on how to work with administrators to support attendance at this conference. Support from the Department of Education would also be useful.

Jody reported that she has started a formal mentoring program, working with Chris at

the MSHSL to help match experienced speech coaches with newer coaches, and

she described the process. Consensus was that this is a great idea- thanks!

Cindy is looking for more ways to connect with the high school program and is putting

together a website that lists all the college programs, travel schedules, events, etc. Look for information in your convention packets.

Dave mentioned that he is working with a group of students who are going to NY in

April and is looking for good suggestion s for places to stay, etc.

Outstanding Individual Awards to be awarded tomorrow:
Jodene Wartman, Joe Dowling, Cheryl Neidt, Gail Sarff

Outstanding Service to CTAM award to be given tomorrow: Kathy Steiner

Elections:

President Elect: Exec Board forwards Michelle Neaton

Treasurer: Exec. Board forwards Larry Schnoor

Floor will be open on Saturday for nominations.

BOG Vacancies: No vacancies at present.

Jill offered a toast to thank everyone for her many years on CTAM BOG. It has been great. Applause followed.

Sandy clarified that terms for the BOG shall be two years and members can be reappointed. The executive council will look back at the list and minutes and discuss this issue. General consensus was to keep encouraging others to serve on the CTAM BOG.

CTAM Foundation Update: Larry reported that $350 in donations has been received so far this year and it is the interest on the endowment that is used. Eyes, Ear’s and Voices at the Perpich Center and the Playwrights Center have been funded previously. Approx. 25 college students (and a few high school students) have been funded to attend this year’s conference. There will be money available following the next quarterly report and, depending on the final costs of the convention, there may be money left in this budget as well.

Larry announced that, during the first weekend of April 2007, the AFA-NIET MN national forensics individual events convention will be held in MN and approx 100 schools will be represented. Look for more information in the next CTAM newsletter.

Mark mentioned that CTAM may want to look at a bill that passed which forgives the sales tax on high school state tournaments. Half of those funds are required to go toward students who cannot afford the participation costs. This will free up about $200,000 a year and CTAM should consider applying for some of these funds.

CTAM 2007: A call went out on the CTAM listserve seeking bids for the 2007 conference site. The Exec Board offers the recommendation to have the CTAM 2007 conference in Rochester. Motion made, seconded and passed. Discussion followed. A motion was made, seconded and passed to stay committed to moving to various sites/locations for the annual CTAM conference. People need to be encouraged to carry through with bids for conference site locations. The executive council is asked to follow the general guideline to accept the best bid possible while still considering diverse locations.

Larry requested assistance at the registration table tomorrow morning.

The Playwrights Center has requested funds to support the New Plays on Campus program. Motion was made for the executive committee to approve some money depending on the final costs of the conference. Seconded and passed.

Dan raised the possibility of splitting Speech from Communication Arts Literature. Discussion followed. This will be put on the January agenda and people are encouraged to continue this discussion informally.

Next meeting:

Sunday January 7, 2007, 11:30—2:00, possibly in St. Cloud at the Ground Round.

CTAM 2007: September 13,14,15, 2007 in Rochester, MN

Meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Karen P. Wilson Secretary