Topics:
Why are there dues?
What is the Joining Fee?
What happens when I let my membership lapse?
Why is there a processing fee?
Why is the Joining Fee so high for a Professional Member?
How do I access my past membership dues payments?
How soon will I know if my membership application has been accepted?
How do I decide between a Professional or an Early Career Membership?
How long can I be an Early Career Member?
How do I decide what region will represent me?
What is the structure of the Board?
Who votes for the Board?
When and how will I be able to vote for Board Members?
How can I be nominated to a position on the board?
Why are there dues?
All work being done by the Preliminary Board at this time is voluntary. However, there are many costs associated with running the organization, not limited to supporting online conversations, developing a strong website, and creating content for sound design and composition presentations.
What is the Joining Fee?
It is a one time fee, pay-able by a Professional Member when they first join. It is in addition to the Professional Member’s yearly dues. It may be suspended in membership drives or in special circumstances if the applicant discusses their situation with the Membership Committee. It is suspended if an Early Career Member transitioning to being a Professional Member has been a member in good standing for three consecutive years.
What happens when I let my membership lapse?
If you are a Professional Member, you will need to pay a reinstatement fee of $100 along with your yearly dues. If a member is experiencing financial difficulties, they can appeal by writing an email to info@tsdca.org, attn: Membership Committee.
Why is there a processing fee?
This fee is taken by Paypal for processing your membership dues.
Why is the Joining Fee so high for a Professional Member?
The Professional Design Membership is our premiere membership category for individuals. A goal of this association is to build a healthy growing body of sound designers. We hope to develop relationships between our members that are long lasting. Therefore, once you’ve joined, we really want to encourage you to maintain active membership. Hence this category has a one time “Joining Fee” provided your membership remains current. Secondly, as the website develops, Professional members will have the most opportunities to be represented on the site, so if people keep adding and then dropping their memberships, it will put an undue workload on the association to keep up with who is an active member.
How do I access my past membership dues payments?
Login as a member
Left-hand directory – go to “For Members/Pay dues” – https://tsdca.org/dues/
Then click on “Login to Billing Portal”
This portal has its own unique passwords (and a link to reset if you’ve forgotten it).
Once logged in, there is a pull-down menu on the right – “What would you like to do”.
Pull down and select “Pay Membership Dues”.
That page has copies of your past payments at the bottom under “Membership History”.
How soon will I know if my membership application has been accepted?
You will receive an email within 24 hours acknowledging receipt of your application. We promise a turnaround of no longer than six weeks, although we hope that it is much shorter. Shorter turnarounds are more likely during membership drives. All members of the Membership committee are working professionals, and the work is volunteer.
How do I decide between a Professional or an Early Career Membership?
A professional not only works professionally but has done so for a minimum of three years. If you believe you could mentor someone, it is more likely that you are a Professional.
How long can I be an Early Career Member?
You can hold an Early Career membership for three years. If you hold the Early Career membership for three consecutive years, the Joining Fee when you become a Professional Member is waived.
How do I decide what region will represent me?
We are using the USA 829 definitions of regions. Please choose the region which represents where you most commonly live and work. We understand that many people work all over the country, but you can choose only one region. This choice designates for which Regional Representative you will cast a vote.
Eastern Region: includes Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and members living abroad.
Central Region: includes Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
Western Region: includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
What is the structure of the Board?
The current composition of the board is:
- Two (2) Co-chairs
2 year term; preside at Membership Meetings.
- Two (2) Vice-chairs
2 year term; preside at Executive Board Meetings.
- Two (2) Secretaries
2 year term; responsibilities include distribution of minutes of Executive Board Meetings, overseeing regular communication within the association.
- One (1) Treasurer
2 year term; responsible for a yearly budget
- One (1) Affiliated Representative
2 year term; elected to represent the Affiliated Members.
- One (1) Early Career Representative
2 year term; voted into office by Early Career Members
- Six (6) Regional Representatives
2 year terms; Two (2) each from the Western, Central, and Eastern Regions
Who votes for the Board?
Professional is the only category of membership with voting privileges; the exception is the Early Career Representative, which is voted on by the Early Career Members.
When and how will I be able to vote for Board Members?
In the fall of 2015 the Preliminary Board will elect from within themselves a full complement for the board as outlined in the bylaws. In May of each year, starting in 2016, Professional Members will elect a new board, with the exception of one of the Co-chairs, one of the Vice-chairs, one of the Secretaries, and the Treasurer. These four positions will hold their offices until May 2017, when those positions are up for election. This staggered election schedule is an effort to ensure some consistency year to year, even as we welcome new individuals with fresh ideas at every election cycle.
How can I be nominated to a position on the board?
There are three ways to be nominated:
- A Nominating Committee, appointed by the Executive Board, may, with the Member’s permission, put the name of a Professional Member on the ballot.
- A Professional Member may apply to the Nominating Committee for a place on the ballot. Applications for nomination must be accompanied by two references from two other Professional Members.
- A Professional Member can be directly added to the ballot by presenting the Secretary of TSDCA with five letters of support for the position written by Professional Members of the the Association.
For the Early Career Representative on the Board, nominations are made using the above three methods, but references can be from either Professional or Early Career Members of the Association.