Bylaws Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

Ann Shofner '27 (chair)
Cindi Timmons '26
Joanna Hickey '27
Kathy Owens '27
Brian Alford '27

From the bylaws Article VIII, Section 1. a:

The Bylaws committee shall propose revisions and amendments to the Bylaws. The Bylaws Chairperson shall attend each Executive Committee Executive Council meeting during the year.

College and University

2024-25 Committee Members

Justin Blacklock '26 (Chair)
Sarah Contreras '26
Andre Favors '25
Mary Anna Kidd '25
Randall Fowler '25
Trey Guinn '25
Casey Garcia '27
Angela Amina-Korang '27
Kate Mead '27

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. b:

Committee on Educator Training

2024-25 Committee Members

Barb Ixba '27 (Chair)
Greg Arp '26
Vicki Beard '26
Leslie Rodriguez '25
Shauna Punch '27
Heather Stringer '27
Hayley Harp '27
David Serna '27

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. c:

The Educator Training Committee shall produce educational materials for the TSCA website, introductory materials, and training sessions. This committee shall act as mentors for new members and shall recruit experienced speech educators to assist in serving as mentors for new members. Additionally, they will attend convention to meet new members and provide guidance. The chair of the Committee on Educator Training shall update the TSCA Persident by December 1 and March 1 of each year regarding the progress, successes, and concerns of mentor educators working with first year members. The Committee shall be composed of seven members with representation from middle school, high school, and higher education with geographic representation when possible.

Committee to Nominate the Nominating Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

Heather Huffman
Julie Welker
Sara Jane Barno
Davy Holmes
Christine Beard
Madi Gackenbach

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1, c:

The Committee to Nominate the Nominating Committee will consist of six members and they will select 12 members based on equitable distribution of teaching level and District representation to be candidates for the Nominating Committee. See Section 3 for details on the process.

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 3:

At the general session at each convention, the twelve candidates selected by the Committee to Nominate the Nominating Committee shall be announced and each delegate will vote by ballot for two nominees. The person receiving the highest number of votes will serve as chairperson and the next five highest will complete the committee. The person receiving the second highest number of votes shall assume the chair of the committee should the chair be unable to complete the term of office. Any member who has served on the Nominating Committee within the previous three years shall be ineligible to serve on the Nominating Committee.

Members who have served on the Nominating Committee recently are listed below:

2024 Nominating Committee Members: Joe Uhler (Chair), Kim Falco, Shannon LaBove, Lindsey Petropoulos, Miranda Villaneueva, Kelsey Vincent

2023 Nominating Committee Members: Sarah Contreras (Chair), Coby Evers, George Tennison, Julie Welker, Joshua Wimberly, Shelby Zarro

2022 Nominating Committee Members: Noah Recker (Chair), Heather Soltero, Kelsey Vincent, Andrew Barrett, Fiker TesFaye, Amberly Tanner

2021 Nominating Committee Members: Tasha Jones (Chair), Matthew Stewart, Sara Jane Barno, Liana Hinajosa, Jake Cosio, Preston Stolte

Your Charge:

present a slate of 12 members who have agreed to run for Nominating Committee. The slate must be regionally diverse and representative of all teaching levels

Educator of the Year Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

Kari McKenzie '27 (Chair)
Eva Margarita '26
Brian Eanes '26
George Tennison '27
Shannon LaBove '27
Franz Hill '27
Amy Jones '27

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. d:

The Educator of the Year Awards Committee shall select an individual in accordance with the established regulations for that award. That committee shall have seven members with two being from the middle school, two from high school and three from college/university. The chairperson shall receive packets from all Educator of the Year nominees by August 1st. The committee shall report the nominees to the Executive Committee by August 15th. Recipients will be announced at convention.

Criteria for Award

1. Members of the Committee to select the Educator may not be nominees.
2. Nominees shall be active at the education level from which they are nominated.
3. Nominee shall be an active member of TSCA for the past 5 years.
4. Nominee shall have significant service to TSCA.
5. Nominee shall show a high level of excellence in teaching as evidenced by students and supervisors.

Basic information of the nomination should be given to the chairperson of the committee before May 1^st to facilitate informing the Executive Council by the Spring retreat. This information should include

1. Name of Nominee
2. Level of Nominee
3. Email of Nominee
4. Responsible party for nomination information
5. Email of responsible party
6. Phone numbers of responsible party

Nomination portfolios should be e-mailed to the chairperson of the committee by no later than August 1^st. Click here to download a Nomination Form.

According to the bylaws, article 8, section b: The Educator of the Year Awards Committee shall select an individual in accordance with the established regulations for that award.

District Chairs should submit an electronic portfolio for educators in their districts they wish to place in nomination for these awards. All submissions should be made to the current chair. The committee chair will oversee the distribution of the portfolios to each of the committee members. During the year, the chair of this committee should place notices in the newsletter and contact all district chairs to be sure all nominations meet the deadlines for consideration by this committee.

Your Charge:

Solicit nominees through the newsletters and via electronic communication with district chairs. Judge the portfolios and award the various educator awards at the next convention.

Fiscal Review Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

Brent Hinkle '27 (Chair)
Neal White '25
Wayne Kraemer '26

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. g:

A Fiscal Review Committee of three members, at least one of whom shall be a former TSCA Comptroller of Accounts or Executive Secretary, shall be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Executive Committee at the annual meeting. This committee shall publish a report of the Comptroller of Accounts and the Executive Secretary annually.

The Fiscal Review Committee has been charged to review the previous year's financial records for the association and develop a budget for the next year's operations. Both findings should be reported to the Executive Council and to the membership during the first general session of the convention. Please coordinate with the Comptroller to complete this task prior to committee meetings.

Governmental Affairs Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

Ryan Lovell '26 (Chair)
Max Vanderheyden '26
Joshua Wimberly '27
Andrew Gibson '27
Nicole Cornish '27
Linda Alderson '27
Kelsey Abele '27
Monique Wallace '27

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. h:

Local Arrangements

2024-25 Committee Members

Hanna Rodriguez (Chair)
Hayley Harp
Skyler Walker

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. i:

The Local Arrangements Committee shall make arrangements for amenities and details related to the annual convention, including the selection of the recipient of the Communicator of the Year.. The President will name the Local Arrangements Chair(s) who will select committee members from the area of the next convention. The chair shall serve for one year and serve as an ex officio member of the committee the following year.

Nominating Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

Yolanda Silva (chair)
Michael Merritte
Victoria Beard
Reggie Chapman
Evan Margarita
Brian Alford
Brett Howard
Andre Favors

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. j:

The Nominating Committee shall propose a slate of officers of the Association to be placed in nomination at the general meeting.

From the bylaws, Article III, Section 2. c:

c. A list of nominees for all offices listed in Article III, Section 1 (except the President and Vice President) shall be prepared by a Nominating Committee and presented at the mid-year officers' retreat and submitted to the membership in the summer edition of the newsletter.

1. The Nominating Committee shall recommend candidates for each office to be elected in a given year. The Nominating Committee shall receive from each candidate these documents:

(a) a vita with pertinent activities of the candidate

(b) a review of service by the candidate to TSCA and the field of speech in the state

(c) a letter by the candidate accepting the nomination and including the candidate's perspective for furthering the goals of the Association; and

(d) a letter from the candidate's immediate supervisor, if applicable, indicating support.

2. At least two candidates shall be offered for Vice President Elect. Candidates shall be from the K-12 membership on even years and from the College and University or Community College membership on odd years. Each candidate must be an active member of TSCA for five years and have served in a leadership position (including other association officer positions, district chairs, interest group chairs or committee chairs).

** The report of the Nominating Committee shall be made to the membership on the TSCA website and will include the candidates' vitas and perspective for furthering the goals of the Association. The nominating committee shall conduct an election during the general session. A majority vote shall be necessary to elect. Anyone nominated from the floor shall follow guidelines in c. 1.

d. In the event no candidate receives a majority, a run-off shall be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes.

Public Relations Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

Michael Merritte '26 (Chair)
Peter Dubrule '26
Bekka Berryhill '27
Hannah Rodriguez '27
Melonie Menefee '27

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. l:

The Public Relations Committee shall publicize the work of TSCA, and seek appropriate ways to improve the public image of TSCA, and to recruit members.

Resolutions Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

Kelsey Vincent '25 (chair)
Courtney Plotts '26
Eric Mears '26
Wendy Curran-Meyer '27
Lindsey Petropoulos '27
Gina Lozano '27

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. m:

The Resolutions Committee shall prepare and present to the general meeting appropriate resolutions pertaining to the annual meeting.

This committee shall solicit from other officers and chairs the resolutions needed for the current convention.

Special Awards Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

Wade Hescht '25 (Chair)
Ralph Long '27
Connie McKee '27
M'Liss Hindman '27
Aimee Kasprzyk '27

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. n:

The Committee on Special Awards shall consist of five former officers of TSCA. The committee shall select those individuals eligible to receive the TSCA Outstanding Service Award, and recommend Emeritus member(s) to the Executive Council. The Rising Star Award will recognize up and coming members who show potential for leadership. They must have been a member for five years or less and participated on committees, interest groups, region groups and/or programs. Emeritus members must have been retired for three years or have twenty-five years service in the organization and maintain active membership and participation in TSCA. Recipient(s) will be announced at the annual convention.

Your Charge:

We have several nominees from the districts. Please advise the district chairs of all their responsibilities for turning complete nomination packets to you so you can determine if any special awards will be given during this convention.

Speech and Theatre in Public Schools Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

JP Fugler '26 (chair)
Andrew Eddy '25
Amberley Tanner '25
Ross DeLeon '26
Cassandra De La Vina '27
Kyle Borne '27
Branson Cobb '27
Dillon Rogers '27

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. n:

The Committee on Speech and Theatre in Public Schools shall encourage and improve instruction in speech and drama in our public schools.

UIL Advisory Committee

2024-25 Committee Members

Yolanda Silva '27 (chair)
Heath Martin '26
Reggie Chapman '25
Meredith McLeod '26
Kristi Bogy '26
Salena Pereida '27
Brian Darby '27
Will Honea '27
Melissa Witt '27

From the bylaws, Article VIII, Section 1. o:

The Interscholastic League Advisory Committee shall encourage Interscholastic contests and propose improvements.

Your Charge:

to review current UIL contest activities, solicit information from participating coaches and students, and prepare a list of proposals to be presented at the annual Convention.