Saving the Best for Last

by Karen Rokich

You might say that Harold Fox entered our profession by the back door. Technical communication is, after all, his third career.

After graduate school and military service, Harold began a career in academia. The family (wife Rose and son Paul) moved to Dayton when he accepted a teaching position at the University of Dayton, in what was then called the Department of Theological Studies. However, the enrollment crunch of the mid '70s made him part of the downsized. It was then that he made his first career change.

The Fox family moved to a farm in Preble County where Harold began a vineyard enterprise. Growing grapes is not a route to quick success under the best of circumstances, and they encountered a series of setbacks. Finally the enterprise was wiped out by weather, so he began looking for a third career.

Harold's educational background and experience indicated that training or technical writing might be possibilities. Making the most of some networking opportunities, he connected with STC and an individual who gave him a chance to try his hand at technical writing. It worked out pretty well, and there was career number three.

So, Harold says, "I suppose that the answer to the "why" of the question is that I needed to find a way of making a living. I was fortunate enough to come up with a match that worked out better than I had any right to expect."

Harold's aptitude for writing and his B.S. and M.S. in physics proved to be good preparation for technical writing. He was not about to be thrown by technical material, and he was used to looking for answers and solving problems. Therefore, he was able to have a productive career that gave him endless opportunities to learn new things and the challenge of communicating what the reader needed to know.

Harold feels that he contributed solid work to his employers and received a great deal in return, from his many and varied work environments and especially from the wonderful people who were his colleagues. Through his involvement with STC, he made significant contributions to the professional advancement of his third career, participating fully in a chapter (ours!) that earned recognition for excellence and a reputation for developing competent and respected professional communicators.

Harold finds the old adage about receiving more than you give to be manifestly and richly true. That is so much the case that he has remained active in SWO STC even as a retired member.