Meeting of the New Jersey Communication Association Executive Committee

June 13, 2003
12:00 - 2:00pm
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey
DRAFT Minutes

 
Present:

Mark Aakus (Rutgers University)
Danielle Marie Calcagrio (Fairleigh Dickinson University)
Chad Dell (Monmouth University)
Angela DiMartini (Rutgers University)
James Irwin (Ernst & Young)
Anastacia Kurylo (Rutgers University)
Corey Liberman (Rutgers University)
Harty Mokros (Rutgers University)
Eleanor Novek (Monmouth University)
Pamela Poe (Temple University)
John Pollock (College of New Jersey)
Marie L. Radford (Pratt Institute)
Gary P. Radford (Fairleigh Dickinson University)
Penny Silletti (NJ Legislature/RU SCILS Alumni Association)
Maureen Taylor (Rutgers University)
Sherry Wien (Monmouth University)

1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 12:00pm.

2. NJCA President's Report and Election Results. J. Pollock gave a report on the 2003 Conference held at the College of New Jersey, April 5, 2003. He also reported on the election of new officers for positions, which were vacant after the business meeting and election at the conference on April 5th. The following people were elected unanimously:

2nd Vice President Maureen Taylor (Rutgers University)

New Media Director Anastacia Kurylo (Rutgers University)

Public Relations Director Penny Silletti (NJ Legislature)

He also reported that the question of adding two individuals to positions of Officer-at-Large and Student Representative was approved as written and the following people were elected by a strong majority of the votes:

Officer-At-Large Barbara Reed (Rutgers University)

Graduate Student Representative Pamela Poe (Temple University)

Pollock congratulated the new officers and representative and thanked them for their willingness to serve.

3. NJJC Editor's Report. G. P. Radford presented the NJJC Editor's report. He updated the group on the progress on initiating the change of the NJJC to the Atlantic Journal of Communication (AJC). If all goes as expected, the last issue of NJJC will be in November of 2003 and the first issue of the AJC will be in March or 2004. In order to make the name change and to restructure the AJC as being the journal for both the NJCA and the New York State Communication Association (NYSCA) changes will have to be made to the NJCA constitution. These changes include: 1) changing the name, 2) adopting the AJC as the official journal of the NJCA, and 3) stipulating that NJCA has the right to 25% of the Editorial Board membership seats. These changes will be drafted for vote of the membership at the spring 2004 business meeting at Rutgers. M. Radford moved for Executive Board approval to proceed with drafting the constitutional changes and bringing them forward to the membership, C. Dell seconded. Passed unanimously.

4. Membership Report. S. Wien distributed a printout of members past and present, noting that many past members are no longer dues payers. According to her records, we have 38 regular members, 42 student members and 95 not current members. She reported that NJCA needs a way to recruit members through the Web. She also said that NJCA must be able to give officers access to the membership database and label database. She wants to promote membership growth and noted that corporate and K-12 membership numbers must be increased if the organization is to be inclusive. A sub-committee (M. Aakus, S. Wien, and A. Kurylo) will work together on membership issues and will suggest necessary changes in the bylaws as appropriate.

5. Treasurer’s Report. M. Aakus reported that NJCA now has a checking account with First Union bank as a non-profit organization. J. Millen will coordinate with M. Aakus to gather up all the NJCA funds that are in University accounts where previous conferences were held and put them all in one account. Online banking option will be explored. A full Treasurer’s Report is forthcoming.

6. New Media Director Report. A. Kurylo presented a written report on issues to consider regarding the NJCA Web site, online membership application and credit card payments. There was a discussion on the points she raised, including the possibility of an online membership application. Different options for NJCA membership list are available, but there are substantial differences in cost. Pay Pal is reasonably priced and has many desirable features including a way for members to automatically renew their memberships. A. Kurylo will explore Pay Pal in more depth. She also distributed a lengthy report on issues to consider regarding the NJCA Web site, online membership application and credit card payments.

7. NJCA 1st Vice-President's Report. H. Mokros reported that the theme of the 2004 NJCA conference to be held at Rutgers University is “Communication and All That Jazz. ”A Call for Papers is being prepared for distribution in the early fall. He asked about the possibility of institutional memberships and what the benefits and fee would be. There was also a discussion about how to increase corporate participation. One suggestion was that corporate members be encouraged to submit “White Papers” for panel presentation. The idea of targeted awards was also discussed. A subcommittee (M. Taylor, P. Silletti, J. Irwin, and D. Calcagrio was formed to develop an award structure for a professional achievement award. J. Pollock and M. Radford will explore the development of a consulting/speakers/mentors directory, which would be an important membership benefit. Another subcommittee E. Novek, C. Dell , H. Mokros, and S. Wien will work on a membership directory and institutional membership.

8. Adjournment. J. Pollock thanked H. Mokros for hosting the meeting and all for attending. The meeting adjourned at 2:30pm

Respectfully submitted,
Marie L. Radford, Secretary

This web site was created and is maintained by Anastacia Kurylo with invaluable assistance in its original construction from Gary Radford. This site was last updated on 11/25/04.