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STC

Tieline

Volume XX
Number 5

Administration

Faculty Advisors: Student Chapter Financial Report Forms Due June 15, 2007

In early May, the Society office mailed chapter financial report forms and instructions to student chapter faculty advisors. To qualify for a dues rebate, faculty advisors (or student chapter treasurers) must return the completed form to the Society office by June 15, 2007. (For student chapters, the fiscal year is May 1 through April 30; for professional chapters it is July 1 through June 30.) The Society office issues rebates for student chapters in September.

The financial report form for student chapters and instructions for completing the form are available on the Society Web site. You can download the form either in PDF format or as a Microsoft Excel file that contains formulas to ensure correct calculations.

The Society office will mail chapter report forms to presidents and treasurers of regular chapters in June.

Making the Transition: Check Your Community’s Domain Name Registration

As your community transitions to a new group of officers, community leaders should ensure that the domain name registration for your community Web site is updated with the appropriate leader’s name and contact information.

Recent posts on the STC Forum (stcforum.org/viewtopic.php?id=700 and stcforum.org/viewtopic.php?id=744) have reiterated the importance of checking on this important detail and not letting the domain registration expire. Not making sure that the domain is registered under the correct contact information could lead to problems with updating your community content. Further, if your community has not provided your domain hosting company with the correct e-mail address, your community may not receive a renewal notice announcing the expiration date of the domain registration.

Lou Quillio, STC Forum Administrator and member of the Tech Valley Chapter STC, recommends that communities “[g]et a Google Mail or similarly permanent address . . . make that the admin contact, and make transferring it [and arranging group access] a sacred step.”

Rachel Houghton, who has served as webmaster of the Willamette Valley Chapter STC, advises “making sure that a nonpersonal e-mail address is one of the contact e-mails (if not the primary, so that no matter who is the webmaster, the e-mail is forwarded to the right person) . . . Most of our chapter contact e-mail addresses are forwarding e-mail addresses (webmaster@, volunteer@, etc.).”

Rachel also writes, “I’d recommend making the nonpersonal e-mail address the primary contact, and the current webmaster’s e-mail address the secondary contact. Just make sure you have it in your turnover documents or turnover process to change any applicable addresses.”

Tieline welcomes transition tips for new leaders that your community has found helpful. Please send your suggestions to the Tieline editor.

Online Renewal Open through June

In early April, chapter presidents received a chapter roster of members who had not renewed as of March 31, 2007. Community leaders may wish to contact nonrenewing members to remind them of the benefits of STC membership. Sample letters from STC leaders to nonrenewing members can be found in the September 2003 (page 12) and March 2005 (page 5) issues of Tieline. (The Tieline archives reside on the STC Web site.) Members who have not yet renewed for 2007 may do so online through the end of June. After June 30, your membership will be marked as "cancelled" and you will have to pay a $15 reinstatement fee.

February 2007 Board Report Posted to STC Site

The report from the Board of Directors meeting held in Arlington, Virginia on February 3, 2007, has been posted to the STC site.

Treasurers’ Guidelines Available on STC Site

The first revision of the Treasurers’ Guidelines in six years has been posted on the STC site.

The guide discusses the typical responsibilities of an STC treasurer, for both geographic communities and SIGs. It also provides best practices, links to necessary forms, and various STC resources. Also included are many suggestions that stemmed from discussions on the treasurers’ mailing list and a significant update and expansion of the tax and liability material.

Many additional suggestions will be researched and considered for the next update to the guidelines. Please send feedback about the guidelines to W. C. Wiese, STC Treasurer.

Community treasurers should also plan to attend E. C. Ecklund’s Leadership Day progression session on topics of interest to community treasurers. Leadership Day will be held at the annual conference on Sunday, May 13, from 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM in Ballroom B of the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Latest Web Column Posted

In his monthly online column accessible to members only, “The Business of Technical Communication,” Doug Davis offers the latest scoop on industry trends in employment, salaries, and job search techniques. The fourth installment, “Hello? . . . The Art of the Telephone Interview,” has recently been posted to the STC Web site.

Send Contact Info to STC Office

Many community leadership positions will change after STC’s 54th Annual Conference, May 12–16, 2007. Please send the names of the 2007–08 community leaders to the STC office at +1 (703) 522-2075 (fax), or e-mail Mary Kabza.

The office must have current information on the following chapter positions: president (or student chapter advisor), first vice president, secretary, membership manager, treasurer, newsletter editor, employment manager, and webmaster. The office also tracks the following SIG positions: manager, newsletter editor, secretary, webmaster, and membership manager.

Community leaders can check the monthly reports they receive from the Society office to verify the leader names that the office has on file.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Bring the Traveling Exhibits to Your Community

In June, the winning STC international competition entries for 2007 will be available to communities as traveling exhibits. Included in the traveling exhibits are entries that received the Best of Show, Distinguished, and Excellence awards in the following competitions: international technical publications, international technical art, international online communication, STC newsletter, and STC public relations.

These exhibits contain examples of the very best in technical communication. Displaying them is a great way to kick off your chapter program at the start of the STC year. The exhibits can also serve as interesting subjects for a community meeting or workshop, or as a regional conference highlight.

Displaying the competition winners will help build excitement for the 2007–08 competitions, encouraging members to not only enter their work but also participate as judges. Likewise, viewing the winning newsletter and public relations entries should serve as an inspiration for improving your community’s efforts in these areas.

Each community will be responsible for shipping the exhibits to their next destination. (International communities will be responsible for shipping charges incurred both ways.) Designate someone from your community to be responsible for receiving, maintaining, and shipping the exhibits. The exhibits are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, so submit your request as early as possible. Request forms can be found online.

If you have any questions, please contact Lloyd Tucker, Director of Education.

Tieline Summer Schedule

The July/August issue of Tieline will be e-mailed in early July.