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Military Audiology Association Bylaws

These bylaws are current as of November 2009.

Article I – Name

The name of the association shall be the Military Audiology Association (hereinafter referred to as MAA).

Article II – Purpose

The purposes of the association shall be to:

1. Advance the profession of audiology within the Department of Defense (DoD) by dissemination of knowledge and information.
2. Promote quality hearing health care and protect and maintain the hearing sensitivity of those exposed to hazardous levels of noise.
3. Bring into our organization audiologists and other allied professionals to further professional growth and social contact.
4. Establish and maintain cooperation among medical, biological, engineering and other sciences associated with the profession of audiology.

Article III – Membership

1. Regular Member. All DoD civilian or military audiologists are automatically members through their association with the DoD.
2. Associate Member. Any DoD civilian or military professional working in a related discipline with interest in the purposes set forth by this Association.
3. Emeritus Members. All retired DoD civilian or military audiologists are automatically an Emeritus Member upon retirement.
4. Student Members. Any student enrolled in an Audiology Doctoral University Program with interest in the purposes set forth by this Association.
5. There are no application or dues requirements for membership. Conferences held by MAA to promote professional growth will have registration fees associated which members must pay to attend. Fees charged may vary with membership status.
6. Audiology Service Consultants will maintain a roster of all military and civilian DoD audiologists and information will be disseminated through these channels.
7. Regular and Emeritus Members as described above will have voting privileges and can nominate other members for awards.

Article IV – Officers

The elected officers of MAA, hereinafter referred to as the Executive Board, shall consist of the following:

1. President
2. President-Elect
3. Treasurer
4. Secretary
5. Past President (Non-Voting)

Representation on the Executive Board shall consist of at least one member from the Air Force, Army, Navy, and a Member-At-Large drawn from any service. The respective services will nominate and vote within their respective services for the Secretary position every third year. Every fourth year the Member-At-Large will be elected and the President will solicit nominations from all services and the entire membership body will vote.
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Article V – Duties of Officers

The President shall preside at all meetings of MAA and shall act as a member of the Executive Council. He/she shall serve as the Chair of the Military Audiology Short Course (MASC) planning committee and preside at the MAA business meeting. President will have responsibility for arranging for facilities, to include meeting rooms, lodging, AV, etc., for the conference. When conference planners are used they will serve as the liaison. When held with the Association of VA Audiologists (AVAA), the president will co-chair the conference with the AVAA President. The President will include the Executive Board when decisions are needed that significantly impact budget. Duties directly associated with MAA will include drafting of letter for award nominations to respective services. President will serve as liaison with other organizations, to include ASHA, AAA, NHCA, ADA, or other related organizations when issues of concern require collaboration.

The President-Elect shall perform duties of the President during his/her absence if he/she is disabled during the term or until a successor is chosen. The President-Elect shall be familiar with the duties of the President and perform such duties as may be duly assigned by the President. The President-Elect will oversee the conference details with respect to speakers, programs, etc. and can choose to draw from the membership and form ad hoc committees to assist with the conference program and oversee any committees formed. When conference is held jointly, the President-Elect will share the above responsibilities with a counterpart from AVAA.

The Treasurer will have responsibility for presenting the budget prepared by the Executive Administrator at the MAA Meeting. The Treasurer will coordinate the banquet or reception for awards/retirement ceremonies and any fundraising activities held in conjunction with MASC (i.e., t-shirt sales). They will assist the Executive Administrator with collection of conference fees or other monies for banquets, fundraisers, etc. for submission to the MAA checking account. They will serve as the alternate council member responsible for the Mailbag.

The Secretary shall be responsible for recording the minutes of the annual meeting and notifying the membership of the time and place of meetings and/or conferences through the Audiology Service Consultants and/or service liaisons. The Secretary will be responsible for answering the Mailbag on the MAA website throughout their tenure. They will be responsible for providing the Communications Director with web page updates such as election results, awards, and conference information.

The Past President will serve as the MAA Historian and maintain such items as photo albums, plaques, and non-current files to be passed along each year. He/she shall provide direct mentorship to the incoming President. He/she will also serve as advisor to the Executive Council on issues of importance to the members for the year following their year as President. The Past President will serve on the Executive Council of the Academy of Federal Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists (AFASLP).

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Minutes of the Military Audiology Association Business Meeting
Albuquerque, NM
25 February 1998

Recorder: Capt Tressie L. Waldo, BSC, USAF MAA Secretary/Treasurer

Call to order – 1540 hours

MAA president LTC Lynn Henselman introduced the new Secretary/Treasurer, Capt Tressie Waldo, and new Executive Secretary, Capt Omar Juarez. Capt Waldo reported on the MAA budget, which was $3590.51 prior to the MASC. During the MASC $4111.00 has been collected with the current total of $7701.51. This does not reflect payment of banquet meals, T-shirt costs, and any other MASC-related expenses.

Old Business

Dr. Brian Walden provided an update on the DoD AuD Steering Committee activities. Request for Proposals (RFP) was sent to 120 universities. The RFPs were judged in terms of accessibility, affordability, and reasonableness of crediting the audiologists’ current existing knowledge, skills, and abilities. To date, contributions of $316,000 have been raised to underwrite the RFPs. As of December 1997, 5 proposals have been received. One of these was rated highly acceptable. Negotiations with that University are ongoing. Tentative start date is September 1999.

Maj Theresa Schulz provided an update on the Hearing Conservation Specialty Recognition under ASHA. Specialty Recognition in Occupational Audiology requires 500 hours hearing conservation experience and 75 hours of approved CEUs in this area in a 5-year period. In addition, initial recognition fee is $235 for five years with renewal costing $125 every 5 years. She took a count of audiologists still interested in the specialty recognition. About 15 were still interested. Maj Schulz will report this interest back to the Petitioning Board.

COL Dick Danielson provided a CAOHC update. He announced one of the newest representatives to the CAOHC Council, Maj Theresa Schulz. Chair is now Susan Megerson with himself as the Vice- Chairman. There are 300 certified course directors with 30% of those being military audiologists. There are 19,000 occupational hearing conservationists. He requested the MAA Executive Council send a letter of appreciation to the CAOHC council for benefits rendered to federal employees. He also announced the upcoming Course Director workshops.

LTC Nancy Vause provided an Audiology Awareness Campaign update. She announced the new AAC website and suggested MAA may want to link to it. She requested volunteers to assist with the new 800-telephone line, handouts, speakers bureau, and booth manning at AAA. She recommended MAA donate $300 to the organization.

LtCol John Allen provided an update on Operation BANG (Be Aware of Noise Generation). Plans are underway for San Antonio audiologists to implement Operation BANG at several 5th grades within the San Antonio area. Curricula are being reviewed and adapted as necessary. MAA and NHCA are being petitioned to sponsor this event. The event is planned to start in the fall 1998 with a kickoff in June at the San Antonio Health Expo. Due to LtCol Allen’s PCS, Maj Edris will be officer-in-charge. LtCol Allen requested other metropolitan areas with several audiologists to consider taking on the challenge.

New Business

LTC Henselman provided awards clarification. The Founder’s Award can be awarded to any current MAA member for accomplishments in all areas of audiology. The Elizabeth Guild Award is for outstanding contributions in the area of hearing conservation and is not limited to MAA members. The Research Award is self-explanatory but nominations are not forthcoming. Fellow Status is a nomination by any MAA member for any MAA member. In addition, policy regarding membership was also clarified. Members will be carried for 2 years only. The third year dues remain unpaid, membership will be dropped.

LCDR Shields discussed the Alumni status. This can be any former MAA member. This is not another membership status and requires no change in the bylaws. Alumni would not be voting members. A newsletter fee would be charged to Alumni.

Funding Considerations: A discussion of areas for MAA funding contributions was conducted.

LtCol Allen discussed the AuD and Distance Learning. He referenced Dr. Walden’s discussion and recommended monetary contribution to show our support.

Capt Rob Pluta discussed options for the MAA Homepage. He recommended “buying” a name similar to “military-audiology.org. This would cost $50 to buy the name with a hosting fee of $200 per year. Other options such as an AAA-subsidized web site were discussed. Capt Pluta will continue to research the options.

LTC Henselman mentioned there was not an amount set at this time for donation to the AAC.

Maj Theresa Schulz discussed the NHCA Student Endowment Fund. The intent is to fund student research. The interest earned from contributions received will be used to fund this research.

LtCol Allen mentioned the amount of contribution to Operation Bang was vague at this time.

Maj Schulz moved the executive council scrutinize the budget and determine the amount of contributions to be made. A straw poll was conducted to rank order members priorities. The results were from highest to lowest: AuD, MAA homepage, Operation Bang, AAC, and NHCA Endowment Fund. LTC Jay Hans moved a certain percent of the bank account be carried over for the following year. Capt Bob Eppens seconded. Motion carried by unanimous vote.

LTC Nancy Vause suggested the Executive Board question AAA for positions about their support of AAC, AuD, audiology technicians, and other areas of interest to MAA members. Doug Ohlin seconded and the motion carried unanimously. This should be posted on the MAA homepage. ASHA should be questioned as well. Results should be passed on to the MAA membership.

LTC Henselman adjourned the meeting at 1630 hours.

The next meeting is scheduled during the 1999 MASC. Date and location TBA.