Committees

GUIDELINES FOR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS & COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS

• President
• President-Elect
• Secretary-Treasurer
• Directors
• Executive Committee
• Program Planning Committee
• Membership and Rules Committee
• Public Relations Committee
• Research and Education Committee
• Regulatory and Legislative Committee
• Scholarship Committee
• Nominating Committee
• Allied Industry Liaison Committee
• Boll Weevil Eradication Committee
• Grievance Committee
• Steering Committee
• All Committees

GUIDELINESFOR PRESIDENT

1. Preside over all official functions of the Mississippi Agricultural Consultants Association.
2. Appoint all committee chairmen and committees—except the Executive Committee—with the assistance of the committee chairman, at the beginning of his presidential term. Charge the committees with their duties for the year as deemed necessary.
3. Serve as Chairman of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors.
4. Represent and promote MACA and general agriculture to the public.
5. Serve as ex-officio member of all committees.
6. Keep all officers and committee chairmen abreast of activities relating to their area of responsibility. In so doing, all correspondence to and between committees and the President should be carbon-copied to MACA’s President-elect and to the Secretary-Treasurer for file maintenance.

GUIDELINES FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT

1. Serve on Executive Committee.
2. Preside over all presidential functions in the absence of the President.
3. Organize the luncheon at the annual conference.
4. Serve as Chairman of Program Planning Committee for the annual conference.
5. It is important that the President-elect be as involved as possible in the activities of the President so that he may learn what the duties are and be prepared for the office of President.

GUIDELINES FOR SECRETARY-TREASURER

1. Serve on Executive Committee.
2. Keep and maintain minutes of all official meetings of the MACA.
3. Collect and keep record of all monies collected and disbursed by the association.
4. Prepare a detailed annual financial report.
5. Maintain a record of the Voting Membership and the status of all members.
6. Help maintain a file of all official correspondence by the MACA.
7. Send annual dues notices to members not attending the annual meeting.
8. Maintain Sustaining Membership list and annually solicit new Sustaining Members.
9. Collect and publish all annual committee reports.

GUIDELINES FOR DIRECTORS

1. Prepare items of business to bring before the association.
2. Assist in planning and preparing the program for the annual MACA conference.

GUIDELINES FOR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

1. The committee shall be made up of the elected Officers and Directors including the immediate past President as an ex-officio member.
2. Act as the governing body of MACA.
3. Serve as the guiding and decision-making entity to other committees when swift action on behalf of the association is necessary.
4. Assist the President in guiding the MACA.

GUIDELINES FOR PROGRAM PLANNING COMMITTEE

1. The President-elect will chair this committee.
2. Organize the program for the annual conference with the Chairman developing the program from suggestions of the entire committee.
3. The Chairman will contact meeting speaker/meeting participants for final approval of their part prior to publication of the printed program.
4. The Chairman will present the final program to the Bureau of Plant Industry for license renewal approval and to NAICC and the state CCA Board for CEU credit designation.
5. As this is a primary function of the association each year, the operation of this committee becomes the backbone of MACA’s existence. Each member of the MACA is entitled to have input into program content and should be solicited for input on numerous occasions during the year. This committee traditionally meets in the late summer to begin planning the program for the conference.

GUIDELINES FOR MEMBERSHIP AND RULES COMMITTEE

1. Solicit new members in MACA; review and recommend approval or disapproval of all new membership applicants.
2. Nominate Honorary Members for final approval by the membership at the annual business meeting.
3. Review annually the By-laws, Code of Ethics, and The Guidelines of Officers, Directors, and Committee Chairpersons; propose new rules and changes.
4. Members of this committee shall consist of two Directors plus three other Voting Members.
5. Examine periodically the eligibility and classification of all members.
6. Help gather material regarding new or retiring members for the newsletter.

GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE

1. Solicit MACA news and useful information from the membership to be included in the association newsletter.
2. Issue news releases to news media in cooperation with the Officers of the MACA.
3. Update and develop media contacts and use these to promote the association as described above and to provide television, pictorial and printed news coverage of speakers, Officers, and award winners at the annual meeting and to promote other MACA functions and member accomplishments.
4. Educate growers to help them understand the role of independent crop consultants through the use of media contacts and other public outlets recommended by this committee.
5. Assist scholarship chairman to poll the membership for candidates for awards.
6. Promote good will and understanding among all persons with interests in agricultural consulting and related fields and seek ways to promote agriculture among the general public.
7. Make recommendations and suggestions for improvement of the public relations for the MACA.
8. Solicit concerns of growers and relay to membership along with suggested modes of action.

The Public Relations Committee is one of the most important of the MACA. It provides impetus to keep the membership interested in MACA activity throughout the year. The chair must be carefully selected and then must carefully select members who will understand that the annual success of the MACA in large part depends on their contributing to the success of their committee.

GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE

1. Work with MSU, MAFES, MCES, USDA, and others to identify areas of current research needed and act as a representative body of the MACA to relay these needs.
2. Serves as a communication forum between consultants and those working on solving problems in related fields (plant pathology, weed science, soil fertility, etc).
3. Aid in securing public and private funds along with the necessary support and authorization for needed research.
4. Promote the presentation of all available research information to the membership and public.
5. Act as a clearinghouse for new information and present periodic reports in the newsletter on current conditions, advances, and needs of the agricultural community.
6. Develop innovative educational, extension and research programs in agricultural fields to benefit the membership and public.
7. Promote good will and cooperation between agricultural agencies such as the Bureau of Plant Industry, Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and MACA.
8. Plan and meet annually with state and federal cotton entomology and plant pathology research workers at the Lake Tiak-O’Khata Resort in Louisville, Mississippi.

GUIDELINES FOR REGULATORY AND LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE

1. Keep membership informed on all state and federal legislative and regulatory issues including such agencies as BPI, Dept of Agriculture and Commerce, and EPA and seek to get MACA representatives on advisory committees of these agencies.
2. Work with Allied Industry Liaison Committee and industry to assist them in resolving labeling problems.
3. Represent MACA in promoting desirable legislation concerning agriculture and related fields of interests.
4. Act as legislative watchdog to keep the association informed about laws which will affect MACA’s membership and/or Mississippi’s producers; report to the association on disposition of the same.
5. This committee is very important and should maintain a close working relationship with the MACA leadership.

GUIDELINES FOR SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE

1. Solicit and screen qualified and deserving individuals for the MACA scholarship available to pest management students from all universities in Mississippi.
2. Coordinate presentations of the scholarship with the President at the MACA annual luncheon.
3. Make recommendations and suggestions for improvement of the scholarship awards program for the MACA and revise published guidelines for scholarship when needed.
4. Work with Officers and staff in preparation for memorials during MACA annual meeting and to gather material regarding deceased members for newsletters.
5. Work with Officers and staff to send memorials.

This committee should meet in the spring to get organized and make sure that members understand their responsibilities in regards to their duties involving student scholarships. A nomination deadline should be set at this time; the deadline should be prior to the beginning of the fall semester.

A second committee meeting should be held after the nomination deadline to assess candidates for awards. Awards should be made during the fall semester of each year.Subsequent meetings are at the discretion of the Chairman. The Secretary-Treasurer must have notification of awards by 30 days prior to annual meeting of MACA.

GUIDELINES FOR NOMINATING COMMITTEE

1. One member will be a past President.
2. Select Nominees for open Officer and Director positions. Notify the Executive Committee of these nominees at least 45 days prior to the annual meeting.

GUIDELINES FOR ALLIED INDUSTRY LIAISON COMMITTEE

1. Develop communications between industry and MACA.
2. Work with Secretary-Treasurer and staff to secure Sustaining Memberships.
3. Coordinate efforts between industry and MACA to avoid conflicts of interest.
4. Make recommendations to officers and staff in regard to educational meetings arranged for both groups.
5. Support research on university level.
6. Membership of committee to consist of four MACA voting members and four sustaining members’ company representatives appointed by president.

GUIDELINES FOR BOLL WEEVIL ERADICATION COMMITTEE

1. Attend all boll weevil meetings called by state and federal agencies or grower groups and to keep MACA membership informed of actions taken.
2. Report status of boll weevil eradication programs to MACA.

GUIDELINES FOR GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE

1. Review any grievances against fellow members and make membership cancellation recommendations to the Membership and Rules and the Executive Committees.
2. Investigate and report alleged violations of any aspect of agricultural consulting that may affect members of MACA.
3. Work closely with Bureau of Plant Industry concerning any of these matters of concern.

GUIDELINES FOR STEERING COMMITTEE

1. Members of this committee shall consist of the past Presidents of the association who have maintained continuous membership and good standing in the association and who wish to serve.
2. The duties of this committee shall be to review the operations, direction and purpose of the association and make specific recommendations annually to the current Executive Body for improvement and adherence to the original purposes of the association.

ALL COMMITTEES SHOULD DO THE FOLLOWING:

1. Make recommendations to improve the function of their respective committees for the future and coordinate committee efforts with the Officers and staff.
2. Write and submit a report of their activities to the Secretary-Treasurer for presentation at the MACA annual meeting. These reports are due to the Secretary-Treasurer 30 days prior to the annual meeting.