1. Terms of Appointment

   All committees and Coordinators are appointed by the
   President. In practice, many committees remain unchanged for
   several years or change gradually in composition over
   time. Committee work is facilitated by having continuity from
   year to year.

2. Duties of Committee Chairs and Coordinators

   During the annual cycle, the committee chairs should carry out the following duties:

   • Submission of Annual Report

     A report of the committee’s activities is due two months
     prior to the date of the Annual Meeting. The report, which
     should be brief, i.e., not more than three pages, should
     summarize the committee’s activities since the last Annual
     Report. It should be sent electronically to the
     Secretary. Approximately one month prior to the Annual
     Meeting, the Secretary will compile the reports and send
     them electronically to the Officers, Editors, and Board
     members.

     If necessary, additional materials can be submitted to the
     Secretary as an appendix to be brought to the Board meeting.

   • Attendance at the Annual Board of Directors Meeting

     Committee Chairs and Coordinators are requested to attend
     the Board of Directors’ Meeting to discuss their Annual
     Reports and answer questions. This meeting is typically held
     one day prior to the beginning of the Annual Meeting. In
     order to avoid repetition of information already submitted
     to the Board in Annual Reports, presentations by committee
     chairs at the Board meeting will be restricted to brief
     highlights of submitted material and to material that was
     not available until after preparation of the Annual Report.

   • Submission of Material to Herpetological Review

     Committee Chairs and Coordinators are responsible for
     preparing brief write-ups for Herpetological Review when
     appropriate. The timeliness of this write-up is especially
     important for those committees that give awards on a yearly
     cycle. To save space in Herpetological Review, the write-ups
     should be brief and generally refer readers to the SSAR
     website for additional information.

     To help with planning, here is the submission schedule for
     Herpetological Review:

     • For March issue, material is needed by HR Editor by December 1;
     • For June issue, material is needed by March 1;
     • For September issue, material is needed by June 1;
     • For December issue, material is needed by September 1.

   • Updating of Committee’s Information on the SSAR Website

     Each Committee Chair is responsible for updating the
     committee’s information on the SSAR website in a timely
     fashion. While important for all committees, it is
     especially important in the case of those committees that
     give annual awards to be certain that deadlines are current.

     Details of updating the website will be handled through a
     Web Oversight Committee and the SSAR Webmaster. Committee chairs and coordinators will only need to prepare Word files; they will not need to prepare HTML
     files.

   • Presentation of Awards, If Applicable

     Certain committees (e.g., Grants-in-Herpetology, Seibert
     Awards, Kennedy Award, and others) are responsible for
     presentation of awards. These committees should complete
     their charges in time for results to be included in the
     Annual Report sent to the Secretary. (Note: Committees
     responsible for awards need not make any
     award in a particular category if no worthy
     recipients are identified.)

     Although variable, the committee chairs frequently make the
     award presentations at the Annual Meeting. Some awards are
     presented at the Annual Meeting banquet, and some are
     presented at the annual SSAR Business meeting. If you cannot
     present the award given by your committee, please contact
     the Secretary prior to the Annual Meeting. If notification
     of award winners occurs before the Annual Meeting, it is the
     committee chair’s responsibility to outline the procedure
     for notifying the winner and to make certain the winner(s)
     receives a check (if appropriate) and a congratulatory
     letter from the President.

3. Society Letterhead

   Society letterhead is available for official business
   correspondence. The Secretary has letterhead with the SSAR logo
   that will be sent to you upon request. Each year, the Secretary
   composes and keeps an updated electronic template for use with
   the letterhead that has the current society Officers, Editors,
   and Board Members in a column. Contact the Secretary for the
   most recent version of the template. You will be mailed the
   template and can print it out on letterhead as needed. Please
   return or pass on any unused letterhead once your term is
   completed.

4. Committee Charges and Membership

   General charges are given to each committee by the current SSAR
   President; however, each committee has the additional
   responsibility of defining other issues relevant to its
   work. This activity is essential because members of the
   committee are typically more informed on important issues
   specifically relevant to the committee than the President can
   be. If, however, a committee wishes to take on matters not
   charged specifically to it by the President, please contact the
   President in advance. Likewise, if committee chairs wish to add
   individuals to their committees, they should contact the
   President and Secretary.

5. Future Development and Involvement of Members

   An active committee system is dependent on highly motivated
   individuals who have a strong interest in the society and its
   goals. If you are interested in being involved or know someone
   who is, please contact the President or Secretary with this
   information. We welcome and encourage the involvement of all
   SSAR members, including student members.

   Serving on SSAR committees is an excellent way for members to
   become involved with and to learn about the Society. Members
   interested in other Society responsibilities, such as
   editorships or in running for elective office, have often served
   on committees initially.

Note: These Guidelines originally were prepared in 1982 by Kraig
Adler and were modified subsequently by James S. Jacob, Secretary,
in 1988. The guidelines were updated by Janalee P. Caldwell,
President, and Marion Preest, Secretary, in 2004.