communication department

Since 1986, the International Student Technical Communication Competition (ISTCC) has provided a unique venue for recognizing excellence in student writing in technical communication. This competition, which accepts papers and website content, is open to students in grades ten through twelve in the United States or the equivalent levels in other countries. The ISTCC has two tiers. Chapters sponsor local technical communication competitions for students, soliciting original reports, essays, expository articles, or websites on a technical subject.

Winners of the local competitions move on to compete for recognition and cash awards at the international level.

STC's 2007 Salary Database, which contains salary information for 2006 and 2007, is now available on the STC website.

STC's Salary Database enables members to conduct more powerful job searches, make a strong case for a raise, or prepare department payroll budgets. And this year, the entire Salary Database, as well as the archives of salary information, including the 2006 Salary Database, is free to all members.

The information in the Salary Database was compiled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), which provided data collected at a much larger scope and greater level of detail than past STC salary surveys.

17 September 2008 LIVE WEB SEMINAR

This STC Live Web Seminar, entitled, "How Quality Affects Global Customer Satisfaction" presented by Richard Sikes will focus on the new trends and technologies that are gaining ground in companies in the forefront of customer communication. For more information, contact Elreatha Matthews.

10-11 October 2008 CONFERENCE

STC is pleased to announce an exclusive new member benefit: discounts on products used by technical communicators. So far, discounts on two premier software products are available. Participation by more vendors is expected.

MadCap Software, the leader in multi-channel content authoring, is offering a special 10 percent discount to STC members on all MadCap software products and maintenance, including its flagship product MadCap Flare.

ComponentOne, which provides a wide range of development components, content authoring tools, video creation software, and a support center and help desk solution, is offering a special 15 percent discount to STC members on two of its premier offerings: Doc-To-Help 2008 and DemoWorks.

By Rachel Houghton, Senior Member, and Jackie Damrau, Fellow, and Chair, Leadership Community Resource

STC has many ways of recognizing volunteers and members. An STC volunteer is someone who serves a role in a local chapter or a virtual SIG, an international committee, or as an officer (communities and Society). STC members are also important and are recognized for years of service, such as achieving the rank of senior member, associate fellow, or fellow.

By John Hedtke, Fellow

As a former Board member, I was often buttonholed by members to discuss what the Board was doing and our plans for STC's future. One of the most common topics of discussion was, "What am I getting for my membership and why should I renew?" I'm rather sympathetic to this line of questioning, as I have asked this myself in the past, sometimes rather vocally.

Why should you renew? Beats the heck outta me. But I can tell you why I renew, year after year after year.

Q: What are the fiduciary responsibilities of chapter officers and others on the administrative council?

A: The basic premise of the law is that an association is a corporation. The word "corporation" comes from the Latin word "corpus" which means body. Every "body" needs a "head" that carries the responsibility to follow the law. In the case of chapters, the administrative council is typically the "head" of the chapter and everyone who serves on the administrative council as a voting member is considered a "director" no matter what their title is.

By Theresa Putkey, Senior Member, and Former Chapter President

While I've been involved with the STC Canada West Coast chapter, it has always struggled to maintain the structure that has been outlined in the chapter's bylaws. This structure consists of an executive team plus the following team: programs, membership, newsletter, public relations, competitions, job banks, seminar, hospitality, and special projects.

In slow economic times, the chapter normally has no problem with finding volunteers. In good economic times however, there is often a shortage of volunteers for the chapter.

If you have a question about community operations, contact the Leadership Community Resource (LCR). The LCR comprises people and processes supporting current community leaders or those considering community leadership positions.

The LCR wesbite is specifically designed for community leaders or those looking to become more involved in leadership opportunities. It features a Leadership Toolkit area and a Leadership Training area. Content includes the LCR Process Flow Chart (a resource that shows how to engage the LCR for support), New Leaders-Start Here (providing discussion lists and other important information), and more.

As part of STC's efforts to acknowledge the diversity of its members, the office staff and members of the Board would like to remind STC leaders to be aware of religious holidays that members of their communities may celebrate. Whenever possible, STC events should be scheduled to avoid conflicts.

STC's adoption of a diversity policy reflects this desire to be conscious of our members and their various cultures and backgrounds.

The following list of religious holidays was compiled from various online sources. We are also grateful to Board member Leah Guren for her assistance in identifying Jewish holidays.