July 2006

Paula Berger

From the STC President

Dear STC members,

Greetings from Boston, where the midsummer heat is making us move rather slowly. STC, however, is in high gear, with teams in every area working on initiatives for the coming year. This email will update you on some of the exciting things that are happening. Thank you to all who sent comments and ideas last month.

I want to extend my hopes for the safety of all our members in the Middle East who are affected by the events this month. My thoughts are with you.

Paula Berger
STC President

Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the Region 2 conference, Making Cents of Making Sense: Technical Communications and Business in London, England, October 13-14, 2006. This promises to be an educational conference with a number of top-level speakers that you will not want to miss! See www.stcuk.org/R2conf for details.

STC's Board of Directors will meet this fall in London on October 12-13, 2006, in conjunction with the Region 2 conference. We will provide information soon about opportunities for members to meet the board and discuss issues of interest. All are welcome to attend the board meeting on Friday, October 13. Details will be posted before the event.

The new, revamped Call for Proposals is out for the Technical Communication Summit: STC's 54th Annual Conference on May 13-16, 2007, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Take a look at the new conference tracks at www.stc.org/cfp/ and come share your wisdom, knowledge and experience.

Susan Burton, STC's new executive director, plans to visit a number of STC chapters during her first year on the job. For details, contact Mary Kabza, STC's Director of Membership and Marketing, at mary@stc.org.

Membership

Welcome to our new Korea chapter! This year, 17 Korean technical communicators attended the STC Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Shortly after, we received the paperwork to form the Korea chapter, and it became official on July 19. During a business trip in Seoul, I had the pleasure of meeting with several of the Korean members, who treated me to fabulous Korean dinners, a sightseeing tour, and a shopping expedition!

This is the time of year to think about who you would like to nominate for the honorary rank of STC Associate Fellow. Any member or community in STC can submit a nomination packet. For more information, visit www.stc.org/recog/honors01asp.

Partnerships

In June, STC representatives attended the Annual General Meeting of INTECOM (the International Council for Technical Communication, www.intecom.org). Highlights of the meeting include the vote to accept STC's application to rejoin and the appointment of Suzanna Laurent (STC Immediate Past President) as Vice President of INTECOM. A report on the meeting will be posted next week on www.stc.org.

STC and LISA (Localization Industry Standards Association) have entered into a formal agreement that will create a framework for an exchange of membership privileges and project collaboration. We will provide details soon on the benefits for STC members.

Other Activities

As part of our commitment to further the field of technical communication, STC actively supports research projects. The Research Grants Committee is currently reviewing applications for our annual $10K award competition. In addition, they are working with the three research teams who were selected as finalists for our large grant program. Look for more information about the work of the Research Grants Committee in an article in the September/October issue of Intercom.

I have asked Jonathan Baker and Dan Wise to lead a Certification Evaluation Task Force. The purpose is to investigate the issue of certification from all sides - value to employers and members, financial impact, feasibility of implementation, interest level - and report to the Society in May 2007 about their findings. If you would like to participate, contact jbaker2525@earthlink.net.

Share Your Skills

STC is hiring a Director of Education and Professional Development. We are looking for an experienced professional to provide leadership and management for a range of educational programs, including the annual conference, webinars, and other training events. You do not have to live in the Washington, DC area - this could be our first virtual employee! For details, see www.stc.org/membership/initiatives01.asp.

The Website Committee and the STC staff are working together to redesign the stc.org website. They are looking for volunteers with extensive expertise in usability, accessibility, project management, gathering requirements, and/or content management systems. For more information, please see www.stc.org/membership/cfv01.asp.

The Communication and Communities teams are looking for communities with success stories they would like to share. Please send your success story to Cecily Farrar at cecily@stc.org.

Coming Soon...

Region 5 conference registration

New criteria for Community Achievement Awards

Call for Proposals for a new STC training program

Committee pages on www.stc.org