communication department

By Russ Friend, Associate Fellow, Chicago Chapter

In March 2007, the Chicago Chapter STC started a program that has become quite popular with its members. If your community covers a large geographic area, or has a large number of members, this program may work well for you too.

An Idea Forms

Back in the winter of 2004, coworker and fellow STC member Malcolm Culbertson and I were lamenting the declining numbers of our chapter and the Society. Malcolm—who later became our chapter secretary—had a brain flash: What if there were a way for practicing technical communicators to meet informally to discuss innovative trends in the field, present their latest projects, and network with colleagues? He envisioned folks gathering at someone’s home in addition to the chapter’s monthly meetings and special events. We acknowledged that our declining attendance numbers were in part due to the large geographical spread of the region (known as “Chicagoland”). We thought that an effort like this could help members, past members, and nonmembers stay connected. When our conversation ended, the idea stayed in Malcolm’s long-term memory.

About eighteen months later, while Malcolm was participating in a meeting to brainstorm ideas for the STC transformation initiative, he remembered this idea. Chapter President Linda Jansak liked the recommendation, and suggested scheduling gatherings at local venues for lunch. Any member could call for and organize a gathering at a location of his or her choosing, and post it on our Yahoo! Groups announcements list. Linda and others agreed that an idea like this could help members network with other folks who might find it hard to make it to the regular monthly chapter events. If people had a specific topic in mind, they could handle it in any way they liked.

The Plan Takes Shape

A few months later, Linda mentioned the idea to chapter member Mary Sojoodi Whalen. Mary loved the idea and wanted to implement it right away. “The point is that this whole thing is casual, so we didn’t need to let more time pass while we made the perfect plan,” Mary says. Linda suggested that we hold the meetings on the first Thursday of each month and call the program “Thursdays @ STC Chicago.” Mary started encouraging people to “host” a location, and several people volunteered. In March 2007, we had our first “Thursdays @ STC Chicago” series of events.

To publicize the Thursdays program, a new area was added to the chapter Web site dedicated to announcing the various locations for the gatherings. Since the site uses a content management system (CMS), members can supply new locations and contact information each month. The site allows for links to MapQuest or Google Maps and restaurant Web sites, along with the e-mail addresses of the organizers (which are used by prospective attendees to request seat reservations).

As a result of this ad hoc collaborative effort, members have gathered at as many as six simultaneous locations on a given Thursday. Attendance has ranged from three to twenty people per location. The organizers include chapter officers and members who just want to meet with their peers. These free gatherings are open to members and nonmembers alike. Attendees pay for their own food and drinks. Because of this initiative, we have folks looking forward to meeting with their peers as part of their workday.

For More Information

For additional details about the “Thursdays @ STC Chicago” networking program, visit the Chicago Chapter STC Web site.