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Sept/Oct 2006

Paula Berger

From the STC President

Dear STC members,

Oops. Somehow I lost a month and didn't send an email to STC members in September. With my oldest son leaving for college, a week in Finland for work, and the Jewish high holidays, the month was gone before I realized it. This time of year is also very busy for STC's communities, as meetings, conferences, competitions, and other programs move into high gear.

I was pleased to have the opportunity to visit with the Finnish Technical Communication Society in September. While people-watching at an outdoor cafe in Helsinki, I had a long chat with FTCS President Nick Hill about the common issues of our societies and possible ways to work together in the future. I also attended their monthly meeting later that week and led a discussion about trends in our field. Thanks to our colleagues in Finland for their hospitality.

Many of us in STC were saddened by last month's passing of STC Fellow Ken Rainey. (Look for an obituary in the December issue of Intercom.) Ken was a true evangelist for technical communication, bringing his love of the field to his students at Southern Tech and around the world. We will miss him.

Paula Berger
STC President, pres@stc.org

Update from the October Board Meeting

  • The STC Board of Directors meeting in mid-October in London focused on our strategic objectives related to membership, marketing, and partnerships, and the revised 2007 budget. A top priority was a review of the results of the knowledge-based governance survey sent to all members a few weeks before the board meeting (results to be posted on stc.org soon). Committee chairs in the membership and marketing areas reported on progress and plans, and guest Ping Duan of the Capital University of Medical Sciences in Beijing gave a presentation about technical communication in China. Executive Director Susan Burton's report focused on the resources we need to work toward our strategic objectives, and also explained the need to improve our technology and office processes. Click here to review the status slides from the board meeting.
  • Arranging our board meeting to coincide with the Region 2 conference provided excellent learning opportunities for all of us. Several chapter leaders sat in on the board meeting, and board members got to meet many members from Europe and Israel (and some from the U.S. too). Our UK chapter hosts arranged a lovely evening where everyone had the chance to mingle and see the city from atop the London Eye. Our extremely well-attended town hall meeting early Saturday morning gave members a chance to meet Susan Burton and the STC officers for Coffee, Croissants, and Q&A.

Progress Report on STC Activities

  • Professional Development. STC has just awarded its largest research grant ever to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for a study of "Usable Content in an Interactive World", focusing on developing a general set of heuristics that makes paperless information usable. You can read the details here. We are excited to be funding this ground-breaking research of importance to the future of technical communication.
  • Education and Training. STC's new Director of Education, Lloyd Tucker, starts on November 1. Lloyd has been the Director of Education and Membership at the Document Management Industries Association (DMIA) for 10 years. He was the architect and project leader for an award-winning and profitable association e-learning system, developed and managed the education program for the annual conference, and worked with regional and local leaders in planning community events. Lloyd managed to slip over to our office a few days early for several intense planning sessions for the all-new Technical Communication Summit: STC's 54th Annual Conference. I think you'll like our exciting 2007 conference with invited speakers, updated tracks, and five new certificate programs!
  • Education and Training. While in London for the board meeting and Region 2 conference, I was pleased to meet STC's 2007 Honorary Fellow and Annual Conference keynote speaker Simon Singh, along with Susan Burton and Honorary Fellows committee member Andrea Ames. Wow! We found Simon to be fascinating, fun, and eager to talk to our members in Minneapolis about how his communication work developing TV and film relates to our work. I think you'll enjoy Simon's talk next May in Minneapolis.
  • Communities. If you're a community leader, be sure to look over the new criteria for STC's Community Achievement Awards (CAAs). The CAA Committee has worked with the board's Communities Affairs Committee to revamp the awards criteria to better match STC's strategic objectives. They've also added a new “Fundamental” level of recognition so we can better acknowledge communities that meet the baseline requirements for compliance with STC’s best practices.
  • Membership. As of November 1, STC's online renewal form is "open". The first 50 members to renew online will receive a free webinar of their choice. The deadline for renewals is January 1 — that's the date specified in the STC Bylaws!

Upcoming Events

Coming Soon...

  • Why corporate sponsorships can help STC members
  • Schedule of regional and chapter conferences for early 2007
  • What ever happened to STC's Transformation? (I just haven't had time to answer this one yet...)