Between the Lines » STC Elections http://swo-btlines.com Chapter Newsletter for STC-SWO Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:57:49 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 About the 2008 STC Election http://swo-btlines.com/vote-in-2008/ http://swo-btlines.com/vote-in-2008/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:55:00 +0000 editor http://swo-btlines.com/vote-in-2008/

Make Your Vote Count!

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If you’re a typical STC member, annual elections are not high on your priority list. More than 80% of us don’t bother to vote. We defy the common wisdom that says "you pays your money, you takes your choice." Despite paying good money in dues, we abdicate our choices by refusing to participate in decision-making on the chapter and international level.

This opportunity to help determine the vision and direction of the organization is one of the benefits of membership. Make your voice heard. Take an active part in chapter and Society activities. Let’s maximinize the personal and professional return on our STC investments. Vote!

If you paid your dues by February 28, 2008, you’re eligible to vote in this year’s election. The polls are open from mid-March through April. If you requested (on your dues renewal form or new membership application) an e-mail ballot, you will receive e-mailed instructions in March. If you did not request that option, you will receive your ballot by first-class mail. Either way, be sure to vote!

Here’s a look at the 2008 ballot., with links to information about the candidates.

Second Vice President

Secretary

Directors

Nominating Committee

]]> http://swo-btlines.com/vote-in-2008/feed/ 0 The Candidates Speak http://swo-btlines.com/the-candidates-speak/ http://swo-btlines.com/the-candidates-speak/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:50:20 +0000 editor http://swo-btlines.com/the-candidates-speak/

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

candidates speak

The STC office has provided all 2008 election candidates with a list of community newsletters. In this issue, Between the Lines is publishing all candidacy articles received in response to that list in an attempt to:

  • Display the range and scope of the Society’s current and future mission as seen by our potential leaders, and
  • Encourage member participation and voting.

This is what they have to say:
]]> http://swo-btlines.com/the-candidates-speak/feed/ 0 Pushing Buttons: Member Value & Service http://swo-btlines.com/suzanne-guess-statement/ http://swo-btlines.com/suzanne-guess-statement/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:49:00 +0000 editor http://swo-btlines.com/suzanne-guess-statement/

by Suzanne Guess
Candidate, Director-at-Large

In December, I participated in an STC Board Director Orientation phone call after being nominated as a candidate for Director at Large. The candidates learned about face-to-face meetings, conference calls, and the time commitment we can expect (which is, incidentally, whatever you think it might be multiplied by three) if elected. As we talked about the campaign guidelines and how to craft our own individual messages, I started thinking about what about STC governance was important to me. What pushes my buttons is clear: value and service to our members.

Service delivery and member value are hot buttons with others, too. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve heard and read a lot of discussion about whether or not to renew membership. Many feel that they are not getting the value for the dues paid. As with many things in life, we often get out of something exactly what we put in. Do you go to meetings? Do you attend web seminars? Do you belong to listservs? If not, is it because you don’t feel like your professional needs are being met? Have you told your chapter, SIG and Board leaders what you’d like to see? You have a say.

That’s only part of the equation, though. STC’s operations have not always reflected sound business practices. Even though many may disagree, STC is a business and it cannot survive if we continue to do things "like we’ve always done it." That’s clear given declining membership, reduced revenue, and the resulting difficulties delivering service and providing member value in our global workplace. In order to improve service and value, we need to better align our business model with our objectives. This means we’ll have to prioritize and spend strategically to get the most value and impact for our dollars.

As a business owner, I’ve learned how to prioritize, strategize, spend, and deliver service and value. This involves hard, unpopular choices that are often required for stability and for growth. I used these same skills during my term as president of STC-Central Iowa. During those two years, our community accomplished rechartering, revising our by-laws, implementing a strategic plan (where none existed before), implementing a new Web site using open source technology, and cutting unnecessary expenses to establish a scholarship program. I’m prepared to roll up my sleeves, look at what STC does, ask if should we stop doing it, continuing doing it, or do something else.

I’m running for Director at Large because I believe in the value of membership, the value of networking, and the value of professional development. I’m qualified for Director at Large because I have STC experience, industry experience, leadership experience, business experience, academic experience, and from my point of view, one of the most important prerequisites: a sense of humor to keep it all in perspective. One of your STC member benefits is a vote in our annual election. I ask that you use it and elect me as Director at Large.

]]> http://swo-btlines.com/suzanne-guess-statement/feed/ 0 Defining a TC Body of Knowledge http://swo-btlines.com/hillary-hart/ http://swo-btlines.com/hillary-hart/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:48:00 +0000 editor http://swo-btlines.com/hillary-hart/

by Hillary Hart, STC Fellow
Candidate, Director-at-Large
Austin; Academic; and Environmental, Safety,
and Health Communication Communities

As a candidate for director-at-large, I believe that one of the most important initiatives STC can undertake is to define a Body of Knowledge (BoK) for the technical-communication profession. In my role as co-chair of the STC BoK committee, I am dedicated to bringing our profession into the 21st century by actually defining it, in all its variability. Why is this effort necessary?

First of all, a profession cannot be recognized as a profession until it is defined as such. Engineers, for instance, have a body of knowledge they must master before they can practice as engineers, whether structural, electrical, or mechanical. Although technical communicators may not yet want such a highly codified and subdivided set of skills and practices, we do need an authoritative place to find answers to that eternal question: "What do technical communicators do, anyway?" New practitioners need to see their professional development pathways spelled out, along with concomitant educational/training opportunities. Veteran practitioners need a means for assessing their progress and determining what additional training they may need. Or they may simply need quick access to guidelines for new techniques and technologies (structured authoring, content management, etc.). And executives, who may never have heard of technical communication, need a place to find out what it is that TCers can do for their company. That place is the web-based set of definitions, domains, and documents that will bring together a TC BoK.

Secondly, many recent studies of technical communicators show that writing is just a part (and sometimes a small part) of what successful technical communicators actually do. In my co-authored survey (see Technical Communication, November 2006), only 8 out of the 75 responses listed "writer" as a unique identifier. Our data show that communicators seem to be spending about the same amount of time on communication processes as they are on creating end-user documents or products. If we want to maximize our value to the business functions of corporations and agencies, we need a body of knowledge that will make that value clear to employers.

The BoK effort is currently being led by a team of experienced industry and academic STC members. This spring, you will be invited to look at the initial outline of a hierarchy of domains, skills, and knowledge levels. This BoK is yours to develop; the start-up team is simply trying to put together a straw site to start the collaborative effort. Some of us are usability experts; some of us manage content; some of us train and teach other TCers. What are the essential skills, concepts, and knowledge bases that unite us? When we can answer that big question, we will be a true profession.

Please look for news of the BoK project, and plan to attend the 2008 STC Summit in Philadelphia to hear about progress and to participate in developing a meaningful TC Body of Knowledge.

I ask for your vote so that this important BoK project stays on track for the next three years!

]]> http://swo-btlines.com/hillary-hart/feed/ 0 My Vision for Our Profession http://swo-btlines.com/mike-hughes/ http://swo-btlines.com/mike-hughes/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:47:00 +0000 editor http://swo-btlines.com/mike-hughes/

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by Mike Hughes
Candidate, Second
Vice President

In this article I tell you a little about me and my vision for our profession.

Who am I?
I am a Society Fellow currently on the editorial advisory board for Technical Communication and the Ken Rainey Excellence in Research award committee. I chaired the subcommittee on Research at the STC Academic-Industry Leaders Summit in 2007, and I was organizer and leader for the Sharing Corporate Knowledge Institute at the Summit Conference in 2007. I am also currently filling an interim director position on the board. In my day job, I am a user assistance architect for IBM. I have a master’s degree in Technical Communication and a PhD in Instructional Technology, and I am a Certified Performance Technologist through the International Society for Performance Improvement.

Who are we?
Technical communication is a diversified profession, one that supports multiple career paths and roles. Whether we call ourselves technical writers, information developers, instructional designers, content managers, or whatever, we improve the user technology experience by providing information that eases and enhances that experience.

When our profession was initially emerging, we stated our value in terms of the correctness and completeness of our documents and the clarity of the language in those documents. Then, as we matured, we started defining our value in terms of how we benefited our end users. And now we are taking our value proposition to yet a higher level: how we support the missions and objectives of the organizations that employ us. This means that our value can’t stop at the quality of the communications we produce; it must extend to the effectiveness of the actions they enable, and beyond that, to how the improved effectiveness of our users benefits our sponsors. The list is long, but these are just a few:

  • Increased customer adoption (because new products and services are easier to install and use)
  • Reduced support costs (because product owners can maintain their own products better)
  • Lower medical costs (due to better patient compliance with medicines and procedures)
  • Improved product quality and reduced production costs (because workers can comply with best practices that are easily understood)
  • Increased customer loyalty (because the web sites and other communication channels we create build communities of common value and interests)

What should STC be?

If those are some of the things we are about, what should the role of STC be?

  • Provide professional development programs in the core body of knowledge that defines us as a profession
  • Show leadership and provide education in the emerging tools and technologies that direct our future as a profession
  • Serve as our advocate within government and industry to articulate our contributions and needs as a profession

We have invested a lot of our society energy and resources over the last several years in improving the structure and governance of STC. I think we can quit reinventing ourselves now and put our new structure to work. We need to shift our focus outward again and ensure that as members we are getting full value for our dues. My main focus as an officer will be the following:

  • Maintain a balanced budget that funds the programs that add the most value for members
  • Ensure that our publications and conferences provide the content that helps members do their jobs
  • Create a collaboration where members, vendors, employers, and academic communities help technical communicators keep up with the ever-changing demands for tools and technology knowledge
  • Support a certification program through STC that helps our sponsors trust and understand our value and that creates sustainable careers for technical communicators

Please visit my website at http://www.mindspring.com/~mikehughes/index.htm to get more information on my background or read some of my published papers. Go to my blog at http://user-assistance.blogspot.com and click the STC label to read more about my positions and thoughts on specific topics related to my candidacy.

]]> http://swo-btlines.com/mike-hughes/feed/ 0 Why I Seek Your Vote http://swo-btlines.com/linda-king/ http://swo-btlines.com/linda-king/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:46:00 +0000 editor http://swo-btlines.com/linda-king/

by Linda King
Candidate, Director-at-Large

The past few years have been a time of significant change and challenge for our industry and for STC. At he Society level, the STC Board of Directors is driving changes that will shape our organization and our profession in the coming years. I am a staunch advocate for STC and believe passionately in the unique value that skilled technical communicators can provide. Active membership in STC has been a significant factor in my own professional success, so I want to help ensure its continuing value for technical communicators worldwide.

Careful strategic planning, professional management, and effective delegation are critical to ensure the health and growth of STC. Cost-effective avenues for continued training and skill building are essential for advancement in our careers. Initiatives to raise the visibility and stature of our profession are needed to increase employers’ perceived value of technical communicators. At the same time, STC members need more and clearer communication from the Board and administrative staff to understand issues, the basis of decisions and positive steps being taken, and the expanded information and services becoming available to members.

As a 30-year technical communicator, career-long member of STC, and an STC community leader, I have followed developments at the Society level with keen interest. While serving as STC Houston president this year, I’ve had new opportunities to learn what is happening at the Society level and have become directly involved whenever possible. I am an LCR volunteer and a member of the STC Finance Task Force, Voice of the Communities committee, and 2007 Academic-Industry Leaders Summit. I am also a volunteer member of the proposed initiative to develop a technical communication body of knowledge. I regularly attend STC conferences, where I’ve led springboard sessions and made presentations. I co-hosted international judging in Houston, judged internationally in 2006, and hope to be an international judge again this year. I have also served effectively on boards of other non-profit organizations.

I am running for a position on the STC Board of Directors because I want to contribute directly to sound decision-making for the benefit of the entire organization and to expand and improve communication from the Society to our members. As an STC Director I will bring dedication, valuable listening, analytical, negotiation, and mediation skills and an unusual breadth of experience that enables me to conscientiously represent all communities in our organization: I have lived abroad; worked in a variety of technical industries for companies large and small; contributed as a lone writer, team member, and manager; and been a member of both very small and very large STC communities.

I hope you will allow me to serve you at the Society level by casting your vote for me in the STC election occurring March 12 through noon on April 14, 2008.

]]> http://swo-btlines.com/linda-king/feed/ 0 Providing Value: STC Takes the Lead http://swo-btlines.com/lawrence-d-kunz/ http://swo-btlines.com/lawrence-d-kunz/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:45:00 +0000 editor http://swo-btlines.com/lawrence-d-kunz/

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by Lawrence D. "Larry" Kunz
Candidate, Second VP

Are you getting value for your investment in STC? Many members, as they renew their memberships for 2008, are asking what value they receive in return for the dues they pay.

I’m pretty well sold on the value of STC. Just last year I got a new job after spotting the opening on my chapter’s employment page. During the interview process, I benefited from the experience I’ve gained through STC and the contacts I’ve made in STC.

But that’s just one person’s experience. STC must offer real value, consistently and across the board, to members and prospective members. STC will need to offer even more value to remain competitive in the next few years.

(Yes, I said "STC" and "remain competitive" in the same sentence. STC is a business, and it confronts significant issues and stiff competition in today’s marketplace. It’s nice to think that STC is more than just a business and that it’ll always be here. But the reality is that, to remain viable in the short term, STC must do better at proving its value.)

Taking a longer view, however, STC has an opportunity to provide value in ways that go far beyond what’s possible today. STC is uniquely positioned to take the lead in defining the profession of technical communication. When we do that, we’ll provide significant and enduring value for our members, for practitioners who haven’t yet become members, for the people who employ us, and even for society in general.

Defining the Profession

Ever since I joined STC 25 years ago, we’ve been saying that technical communication is a profession. But we’re an immature profession, and as a result our work often isn’t taken seriously by the people who employ us and the people who buy our products.

To grow into a mature profession, we need at least two things:

  • An agreed-on code of ethics. STC has its own ethical code, but it doesn’t represent the consensus of the entire profession, and it’s not enforceable.
  • A unique body of knowledge, and the expectation that each practitioner has mastered that body of knowledge.

The technical communication profession is desperate for leadership – desperate for a set of ethical values, an agreed-on body of knowledge, and perhaps a credentialing system.

Today, all of the pieces are in place for us to develop technical communication into a mature profession. We have the will, we have the know-how, and we have an organization – STC – with the stature, the broad reach, and the resources to lead the way. STC can assemble the building blocks for our profession, it can forge consensus, and it can gain buy-in among the significant stakeholders in the worldwide community of technical communicators.

What Is STC Doing?

As a member of the STC board of directors I’m leading the effort to formulate a strategic plan, or roadmap that positions STC as the leader in defining the profession – especially by establishing a body of knowledge and promoting ethical standards. (We’ve already begun working on the body of knowledge.)

You might have heard the phrase telling our powerful story. The strategic plan focuses on raising the profile of all technical communicators – and emphasizing the value we provide to our employers and to the world in general – by marketing our people and the work we do.

The strategic plan also emphasizes establishing and expanding partnerships. By teaming with other organizations, STC will strengthen its leadership role in the profession and position itself to provide even more value to its members.

STC doesn’t need to be fixed. It needs to be modernized. The board of directors, along with the executive director and her staff, understand this. We know that STC must keep providing value over the short term while setting the stage for long-term value by defining the profession. We’re implementing plans to keep the business of STC strong by retaining and attracting members and by constantly reviewing its suite of programs and services to ensure that they still make sense.

I believe that we can find a way to develop technical communication as a profession and continue delivering real value to our members – all without losing the social and interpersonal aspects that have made STC so special to so many people over our history.

What It Means to You

Defining the profession will benefit every technical communicator because it’ll make us more valuable to the people who sign our paychecks. Instead of simply saying "I need some manuals and online helps" (which reduces technical communication to a commodity, not a profession), our employers will realize that they need professional people who contribute value to the organization by increasing customer satisfaction and making products easier to use – thus easier to sell.

We’ll prove our value on a much wider stage as well. By providing information that makes technology work for the people who use it, we contribute real value to society as a whole.

I’m running for second vice-president because nobody is better acquainted with the issues that STC will have to confront as leads the profession to where we want it to go. I can foster a climate of creativity and cooperation in which we’ll plot a course for the Society and the profession. STC needs leaders who can build consensus and explain decisions to the membership at large. I hope you’ll entrust me with your vote.

The next few years will be exciting. Along with my membership dues, I’ve chosen to invest my time and energy in being a part of this effort. I hope you’ll agree that STC’s future, and the value it’ll bring to you, is worth investing in as well.

# # #

Lawrence D. "Larry" Kunz, a candidate for STC second vice-president, is a member of the Society’s board of directors and immediate past president of the Carolina chapter. He is employed as a Senior Technical Writer at Systems Documentation, Inc., in Durham, NC, where he manages a large software documentation project.

To learn more about Larry, check out http://lk81924.googlepages.com/home.

]]> http://swo-btlines.com/lawrence-d-kunz/feed/ 0 My Vision: STC as the Global Leader for Technical Communicators http://swo-btlines.com/rich-maggiani/ http://swo-btlines.com/rich-maggiani/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:44:00 +0000 editor http://swo-btlines.com/rich-maggiani/

by Rich Maggiani
STC Fellow and
Candidate, Director-at-Large

STC needs Board members who are experienced in the field, who understand our profession and the contribution we make to the world, who recognize the role that STC plays in representing and promoting our profession, who understand the services STC must provide for our membership, and how STC must be the global leader for us. This is my vision for STC and one that I will arduously pursue as your Director-at-Large.

I care deeply about STC. I have been an STC member for more than 12 years. I have held a volunteer position in every one of those years, beginning with being a co-founder of the Vermont chapter to my current role of leader of the Public Relations committee (which has 18 international members). Last month, I was honored to become an STC Fellow in recognition of my work as a marketing and technical communicator.

My profession is technical communication. I have been practicing that profession for well over 20 years. In my work, I constantly focus on promoting technical communication as a profession, and technical communicators as professionals who create unending value.
Experienced with STC Board matters. I have been doing STC Board-related work for over three years now. Three consecutive Board Presidents have appointed me: one year as Assistant to the President for Competitions; two years as Public Relations leader (my current position) where my committee has been breaking new ground in researching and promoting technical communication and technical communicators around the world.

Experienced as a Board Director. I am experienced with Boards of Directors. I have been Board President for the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) after sitting on that Board for four years. VBSR is a state-wide business organization. As Board President, I directed a transition from a tactical to a strategic Board. I have also been Board President for two years for a food cooperative in New York after having sat on that Board the two previous years.

Business experience. For over sixteen years, I owned and operated a full-service marketing and technical communication agency. Currently, I am running Solari Communication, a company dedicated to applying technical communication to help clients increase sales and profitability. As a business owner, I understand how STC as an organization must operate to be successful, I understand the inner workings of technical communication and how to successfully market and promote our profession.

Educational experience. I currently teach technical communication to undergraduate students at Champlain College in Vermont. Previously, I taught graduate students at Saint Michael’s College business writing and communication skills. I am certified to teach secondary education through adult learners. I have also presented numerous sessions on communication topics to STC local, regional, and international conferences as well as other organizational conferences.

A humble testimonial. "The Society needs dedicated members like Rich representing it." -Dr Thomas Barker: STC Fellow and Director of Technical Communication at Texas Tech University.

]]> http://swo-btlines.com/rich-maggiani/feed/ 0 Looking to the Future http://swo-btlines.com/garret-romaine/ http://swo-btlines.com/garret-romaine/#comments Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:43:00 +0000 editor http://swo-btlines.com/garret-romaine/

by Garret Romaine
Candidate, Director-at-Large

My credentials, experience, and passion for our profession make me an excellent choice as an at-large director on the STC board. This short article reviews my background, explains some of the challenges as I see them, and explains my goals for our future.

I hope your career as a technical communicator is rewarding, whatever your expertise. Most of us make a good living, and salaries are holding up. Having thrived during the boom in the technical writing field of the late 1990s, we have expanded our expert skills and abilities. Our toolset is incredibly robust, and those of us in the technology world have core capabilities that rival software engineers. We have come a long way as a profession, and part of that is thanks to the efforts of STC members.

Significant Issues Ahead

At the same time, though, our professional organization faces serious issues. There is a continuing challenge to deliver value to individuals. We need creative solutions if we are to expand the organization. The economy is slowing, and our members will need the most current skills and abilities in order to compete.

We face this opportunity from the vantage of a Society that has many moving parts. We are more than just cutting-edge XML experts in high demand; we are also the academics who keep classes relevant and send forth graduates of interest to hiring managers. We are writers in the public sector, facing tight deadlines with dwindling resources. We are the editors who mark up text and make others look good in any media. We are the illustrators and designers who marry visuals to words. We are the managers who send employees to annual conferences as wise investments. And-finally-we are the members who show up at local meetings or log on to virtual communities and participate. Our needs are different, but our goals are the same: we want the time we spend as volunteers to directly benefit our careers.

We all rely on STC for expanded networking opportunities, cutting-edge classes, lectures, and workshops, and enhanced professional advocacy. Through STC, we have the opportunity to share ideas, learn new tools, and make ourselves more productive and efficient. New and prospective members ask me all the time, and sometimes in just these words: "What’s in it for me?" It takes longer and longer to answer that question, because there are so many different STC communities to join.

Relevant Experience

My experience as an educator, active STC volunteer, and experienced technical communicator is relevant to this election. I have taught technical writing and editing at the university level for the past 12 years. My goal has been to deliver information that bolsters the careers of neophyte undergraduates as well as seasoned communicators in graduate studies. I have taken advantage of STC volunteer opportunities as chapter president, mentor, employment manager, competition manager, and workshop organizer. I have presented at conferences, written for Tieline, Intercom, and Technical Communication, and served as a judge for local and international competitions. In 2005, my colleagues both honored and humbled me as an Associate Fellow, and since then I have attended board meetings, worked on the Fresh Eyes team, and served on a committee. I am ready to step up to the job of director.

While teaching and volunteering, I have worked steadily as a senior writer, lone writer, author, contractor, consultant, and manager. My STC experience has been a key talking point for me, and I am sure it has on occasion led directly from the interview to the job offer.

Helping Your Career

I hope you can say that STC has made a positive difference in your career. Knowing STC members, I would expect to hear from you if that has not been the case. High expectations are good; none of us should be complacent.

I thus ask for your vote-and I also ask that each of you help move our profession forward. We are all in this pursuit together.

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