Fanfare for fifty: A brief history of the Central States Speech Association to 1981

Communication Studies, Spring 1999 by Reid, Loren

The Association made prosperous strides in 1963-1969, during the terms of Paul H. Boase, Ohio University, and Larry D. Clark, University of Missouri-Columbia. Boase and Clark took advantage of the improved economic condition of the country to increase memberships and other revenues. At the close of Boase's term the Association's resources amounted to more than $7,500, more than twice the sum with which he started. He also initiated the plan of making other regional journals available to sustaining members who paid an additional fee, a policy continued during Clark's administration. At the end of the decade CSSA claimed 1,700 members and assets of more than $22,000.

In the early '70s, rising postal rates and printing costs temporarily put yearly operations in the red, a situation met by increasing basic dues to $10, sustaining membership dues to $17.50 for those who wanted one journal, $27.50 for those who wanted all four. As the decade ended, the year-end balances reported from Executive Secretaries Gustav W. Friedrich, David M. Berg, and Carl M. Moore ranged from $26,000 to $36,000. Two-thirds of the Association's income now comes from memberships, the largest share from sustaining members who elect to receive all four regional journals. CSSA now has a cushion so that if inflation or other circumstances causes expenses to rise above income, the organization can still meet its bills while it plans countermoves. In fact, by spring, 1980, the Executive Committee felt the assets of the Association were solid enough to establish a $3,000 Federation Prize to be awarded annually to a member or group who propose a superior project.

VI

Our first journal had had to be abandoned after one issue. We tried again; the Journal, like the Association itself, was reborn. In its thirty-one years, it has undergone massive changes

The many changes that have taken place in the Association's activities, but particularly in the discipline itself, are reflected in the thirty-one volumes of the Central States Speech Journal.

A typical early issue contained six to eight major articles; each, however, only four to eight pages long. The content was largely that of speech education: Speech Education for Adults, Organization of a High School Speech Course, A Cooperative Program of Speech Improvement for Elementary Children in Nebraska Rural Schools. Most articles were written out of the author's experience, or based on a simple survey.

A noteworthy feature, more valuable now than could have been suspected then, especially when viewing the Association historically, was a substantial section of news and notes about individuals and schools. Here were recorded the new speech buildings, the radio studios, the installation of recording equipment, the new departments-the big events of that era. The book review section was another useful aid to the classroom teacher. Then, as now, Journal articles echoed titles of convention programs. These statements are equally true of other regional journals.