BYLAWS

ARTICLE I—PURPOSE

Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the Health Communication Interest Group of the Western States Communication Association.

Section 2. The authority of this organization shall be derived from the Bylaws of the Western States Communication Association, and its powers and procedures are those prescribed therein.

Section 3. The basic purpose of the Health Communication Interest Group is to advance the understanding of communication issues regarding health maintenance and promotion, and illness prevention. Pursuant to that goal, the Interest Group will exercise a major role in the program planning of the annual WSCA convention; conduct activities as determined by the membership of the Interest Group, and represent the interests of the Interest Group membership in the Legislative Council of WSCA.

ARTICLE II—MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Membership in this Interest Group is open to any member of the association who is interested in promoting the Interest Group's purposes.

Section 2. The full membership of the Interest Group shall be those individuals who are members in good standing of WSCA and who indicate their wish to be affiliated with the Interest Group on their WSCA membership application or renewal, and/or so advise the Executive Secretary of the Western States Communication Association.

ARTICLE III—MEETINGS

An annual business meeting shall be held at the time and place of the annual convention of the WSCA annual convention.

ARTICLE IV—OFFICERS/ELECTED COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Section 1. The officers of the Division shall be a Chair, Chair-Elect, and Secretary. The Nominating Committee is the Standing Committee.

Section 2. Upon election by the Interest Group at its annual meeting, the Chair-Elect will serve a one-year term and then succeed to the office of Chair. The Chair-Elect shall represent the Interest Group at WSCA Legislative Assembly during the year of election to the office and attend convention-planning meetings during the convention in the subsequent year. The Chair-Elect shall also serve as chair of the Interest Group nominating committee.

Section 3. The Chair-Elect shall become Chair after the completion of the business meeting in the year that follows his/her year as Chair-Elect. The Chair shall serve for one year. This officer shall promote the opportunity to submit program ideas and/or competitive papers to the Interest Group, coordinate the review process for competitive papers and panels, and plan the Interest Group's program for the next annual WSCA convention. The Chair shall be responsible for planning and conducting the next annual business meeting, presenting such competitive awards as may be authorized by the Interest Group at the annual meeting, and ensuring that the work of the Interest Group (including preparing annual reports and budget requests) is completed. The Chair shall also serve as a representative of the Interest Group on the WSCA Legislative Council.

Section 4. The Secretary shall serve a two-year term, which will begin at the end of the business meeting in which he or she is elected. The Secretary is responsible for preparing and distributing minutes of the business meetings.

Section 5. In the event an officer is unable to fulfill his/her responsibilities for whatever reason, the remaining officers of the Interest Group shall appoint a replacement until a replacement can be duly elected.

Section 6. In addition to the Chair-Elect, two individuals shall be elected for a one-year term to the Interest Group Nominating Committee at the annual meeting. The Nominating Committee shall be responsible for soliciting nominations and recruiting nominees for offices that shall become vacant at the subsequent business meeting. Such offices include Chair-Elect (annually), Nominating Committee members (annually), and Secretary (bi-annually).

ARTICLE V—ELECTIONS

Section 1. The election of all officers and Nominating Committee members shall be conducted at the Interest Group's annual meeting. The Nominating Committee will coordinate nominations, and additional nominations will be accepted from the floor.

Section 2. Balloting shall be conducted at the annual Interest Group meeting with ballots counted by the Chair-Elect and Secretary, and results will be announced at that time.

Section 3. A majority vote of those members in attendance at the annual Interest Group meeting at the WSCA annual convention shall be sufficient to elect officers/committee members for vacant positions.

ARTICLE VI—COMMITTEES

In addition to the Nominating Committee, special committees may be formed by the Chair, or by a majority vote of the Interest Group. Special committees shall be given specific duties and a specific date for a final report.

ARTICLE VII—PAPER AND PANEL REVIEW PROCESS

Section 1. The Chair selects at least four reviewers from a list circulated at the annual business meeting asking for volunteers and from the general Interest Group membership.

Section 2. Papers are assigned to eliminate institutional bias and provide random readership. Papers are evaluated by a blind review process.

Section 3. Reviewers shall be responsible for reviewing competitive paper and panel submissions and for responding about the quality of submissions in a timely manner to the Chair.

ARTICLE VIII—AWARDS

Section 1. At the annual WSCA meeting, the Interest Group will recognize the Top Student Paper, the Top Debut Paper, and the Top Three/Four papers in the Interest Group, as determined by their rankings in the competitive paper submission process.

Section 2. The Top Student Paper award recipient shall receive a monetary award from the Interest Group, and the remainder of the award recipients shall receive certificates from the Interest Group.

ARTICLE IX—PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

All meetings of the Interest Group, its committees or other subsidiary bodies shall be governed by the parliamentary rules and usages contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

ARTICLE X—WEBSPINNER/WEBSITE

Section 1. The Interest Group shall maintain a website that promotes the interests, activities, and membership of the Interest Group.

Section 2. The Chair shall be responsible for appointing a volunteer to maintain and update the website (i.e., a "webspinner"). A Webspinner may serve multiple terms; however, each term shall consist of two years.

Section 3. The Webspinner shall be responsible for updating information on the Website, for soliciting information that could be useful to the membership on the Website, and for developing valuable links to other health-related websites from the Interest Group Website.

Section 4. The Webspinner shall be responsible for contacting the Interest Group membership about any address change for the website.

ARTICLE XI—AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Amendments to these Bylaws may be initiated by a majority of the officers, by a majority of the Interest Group membership at the annual Interest Group meeting, or by a petition addressed to the Chair and signed by twenty-five members of the Interest Group.

Section 2. Proposed amendments shall be submitted to a ballot of members present at the annual Interest Group meeting.

Section 3. These Bylaws shall become effective after ratification by a majority vote of the Interest Group at the annual Interest Group meeting.

Approved February 25, 2001.