ESSENTIAL STANDING COMMITTEES

Essential Standing Committees of the Section include the following:

Education Committee - The Education Committee shall identify needs of Section members for education programs in plastics or related fields and strive to provide opportunities to fulfill these needs. The Committee shall cooperate with educational institutions in the area to serve the plastics industry by instituting or improving appropriate programs. The Education Committee may be responsible for securing speakers on careers in the plastics industry to make presentations at area educational institutions. The Committee may select seminars appropriate for Section members and make arrangements for their presentation. The Committee may select candidates for scholarships or other educational awards offered by the Section. This Committee has the responsibility for initiating development of Student Chapters of SPE at institutions within their geographical area and maintaining contact once such Chapters are established. Communications should be established with the Society’s Education Committee, which runs the annual Section Education Award Contest. This Committee is responsible for the Student Chapter activity during the GGS Tech Fair and for the running of the annual Lou Temesvary Scholarship.

Budget Committee - The Budget Committee shall prepare the annual budget for consideration by the Board of Directors. In June, the Board shall adopt the budget for the ensuing fiscal year. The Budget Committee shall make recommendations to the Board concerning the investment of funds not required for current operations. The Committee may make recommendations to the Board concerning the disposition of surplus funds, as in the form of grants, awards, or scholarships. The Section Treasurer shall be a member of the Finance Committee as well as the Past Presidents of the Section.

House Committee - The House Committee shall select a suitable facility and menu for each regular Section meeting, subject to any constraints stipulated or voted by the Board. The House Committee shall be responsible for the sale of dinner tickets at regular meetings, at a price set by the Board; all moneys collected shall be turned over to the Section Treasurer who is responsible for payment of all bills. The House Committee may be responsible for the procurement and awarding of door prizes. All Section awards, plaques, videos, and other Section owned property is to be catalogued and maintained by the House Committee for display at meetings and other Section events.

Membership Committee - The Membership Committee shall strive to recruit new members of SPE and retain present members. The Committee shall have a supply of membership application forms available at all regular Section meetings, seminars, technical conferences, etc. The Membership Committee shall be responsible for personal contact with each delinquent member to request that he become a member in good standing again by payment of dues; at least one contact per delinquent should be made prior to October 1st (the first RAM deadline is October 31st). The Membership Committee may be responsible for welcoming all new Section members and inviting them to participate actively in Section functions. The Committee is responsible for maintaining the Section’s membership list. The Committee should study the manual on Section membership activities available from the Membership Promotion Manager of the Society. The Committee shall maintain regular contact with the Society’s Membership Committee.

Newsletter Committee - In order to communicate properly with the membership on all Section activities and on the international level, a newsletter is vital. The Newsletter Committee shall publish notices of forthcoming regular Section meetings, other technical meetings and social functions. Other significant news should be included, such as election results, appointments, and actions of the Board, recognition of accomplishments of Section members, lists of new members and the annual financial report. The newsletter should be mailed to all Section members so as to be received seven to 14 days prior to the meeting announced. The Newsletter Committee shall cooperate with the Section Secretary or Membership Committee (as applicable) to keep the Section mailing list current and accurate. Responsibility for entering the annual Newsletter Award Contest rests with this committee also.

Program Committee - The Program Committee shall be responsible for securing suitable speakers for all regular Section meetings, considering the technical interests of the Section members in making its selections. The SPE Section/Division Matrix, which indicates the Division membership distribution of the Section, is a useful guide. SPE publishes a Speakers List, two copies of which are sent to Section Presidents in May of each year. This list contains the names, addresses and topic areas of persons willing to speak at Section meetings, and can prove to be a valuable source for speakers. Determination of the equipment requirements of each speaker and arrangements to secure the equipment are the responsibility of the Program Committee. Detailed information on the program for the forthcoming meeting must be provided to the Newsletter and Public Interest (Publicity) Committees. The Committee shall be responsible for the proper introduction of all speakers at meetings. Most Sections hold eight regular meetings each year in September, October, November, January, February, March, April and May.