President Jean Fudge shares her vision for the Southwestern Ohio (SWO) community…

Q.  Where do you plan to lead the SWO community in 2007-08?

A.  Working together with the Administrative Council, we plan to encourage member participation in chapter activities. If we get enough people involved, we will be able to sustain career-enhancing activities and the chapter will get healthier and stronger.

Q.  What are the community's most pressing needs?

A. Here's the laundry list:

• We need a vice-president–someone to be president in 2008-09.
• We need somebody to handle membership. Our current interim membership lead is doing double-duty, tacking membership responsibilities onto another job, and I don't want to burn her out.
• We need a webmaster. I'm handling that job right now, but we may get help from one or more Cincinnati State students, with Pam Ecker's assistance.  I am very grateful for Pam's willingness to help us out.

Q. Tell me about next year's meeting programs.

 A. We are taking the top-ranking topics from the member survey and finding speakers to share their expertise on those topics. The theme for this year's programs is Thriving as a Technnical Communicator:  Knowledge, Skills, and Tools.  All our topics will address that theme. The program team is doing an awesome job coing up with really neat stuff, and I'm very pleased. Members can expect to benefit professionally and personally from the meeting discussions and the networking opportunities.

Q. Do you have a message for the members? What do you want them to know?

A. We really truly do need people to get involved, even with small tasks. I'd like to make our chapter stronger, and any help would be welcome. Showing up to enjoy the program is also important, and one of the most valuable parts of an STC-SWO membership.

SWO-STC and the 3 Rs

by Louise Tincher

When Judy told me her theme for this month’s newsletter—The Three Rs—I thought “Reading, Writing and Arithmetic”? Why do we need that here?

"No," she said, “Rest, Relaxation and Renewal”—three things we all need that are very appropriate for a summer vacation issue." Judy was right on track as usual.

You’ll have to forgive me, as incoming president for the 2008-2009 program year, I am finding it all a little crazy-making. After one year as chapter president, Judy has signed up for her second year as newsletter editor, so you’ll understand if I questioned her wisdom (or sanity).

Actually most of the SWO-STC chapter leaders this year are repeat offenders. We have seven Administrative Council returnees (myself, Jean Fudge, Judy Harper, Mindy Hoffbauer, Sylvia Miller, Karen Rokich and Thea Teich), five past chapter presidents (Jean Fudge, Judy Harper, Mindy Hoffbauer, Sylvia Miller, and Thea Teich) and one past president of STC International (Thea Teich). So why do we do this? We talked about that at our last Administrative Council meeting.

Why are we active STC members? As we talked, our reasons fell into several categories:
•    Camaraderie
•    Education and training opportunities
•    Insights into the local job market
•    Mentoring
•    Networking contacts
•    Professional development
In other words, we do it for the benefits. We get benefits from actively participating in our chapter.

This year I have challenged the council to share these benefits with our members by telling their personal stories, as well as by mentoring and training new chapter leaders. I am also challenging you—our members—to reap those benefits for yourselves. Tell us why you joined STC and what you want from the organization. Call, email (president@stc-swo.org), stop by and chat at a meeting. SWO-STC offers you a wealth of professional knowledge and resources. Use them!

We will do our best to help you actively meet your needs. Notice that I used the word “active”? You will get the most value from your membership by actively participating in STC. That means attending meetings and seminars, as well as taking on volunteer duties, to build your professional network and skills. Some days it is a lot like work, but it pays dividends in career and personal development.

So how does SWO-STC tie in to the three Rs? Well, I can’t promise you much rest, but I can promise you lots of relaxation and renewal. At SWO-STC you’ll find friends who understand the challenges you face at work, mentors to guide your professional growth, and a roadmap to STC International resources. Last but not least, you’ll find like-minded people who actually laugh at your jokes. I don’t know about you, but some days I need that.