September Means Back to School STC

by Heidi Marr, Chapter President

I know many of you dread September, but I love it. I always have.

As a kid, September meant a trip from the cottage to Huntsville (the closest thriving metropolis in our corner of Muskoka). My brother and I raced around Zellers to stock up on shiny new pencil cases, smelly pens, and special, fluorescent erasers.

In years past - when Labour Day landed later than September 1st - my Mom and I would made the trek to Yorkdale Shopping Centre for a "girlie day", where I carefully selected my new back to school outfit and updated my look with a fresh hair style.

These days, August blends into September, and it can be difficult to tell the difference. In my company, software releases are cyclical, not seasonal, so until I became active in the STC, September didn't indicate anything special in my professional life. For STCers, though, September is a time of renewal, so I'd like to take a minute to reflect on what September has to offer each and every one of us.

As a member of STC's Southwestern Ontario chapter, this September you will enjoy:

new program offerings
new volunteer opportunities
new networking events
a new Management Special Interest Group (SIG)
a new look to our Website
a new electronic Quill
a new automated job bank

Through all this flurry of excitement, you might even find a renewed commitment to your career, and we hope you will enjoy a renewed commitment to our chapter!

This year, the chapter has an excellent council lined up, and I'm confident we will not disappoint you. We met in mid-August to discuss how we can provide the very best value to our membership throughout this STC year. In a goal-setting meeting lead by an outside facilitator (our very own Lynda Baxter's husband, Brian), we identified the following four main categories for focus:

programming and member services
communication (within our chapter)
community involvement
volunteers

After we did a SWOT analysis (where we identified our chapter's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), we established some concrete goals (things we will do this year to add value to you), objectives (how we will measure success for each goal), and strategies (who will do what, when).

We now feel equipped to provide the maximum benefit to our membership through all the channels you've come to expect - including an excellent program, newsletter, Website, competition, workshop(s), job bank - and more.

As we move into the 2003-2004 STC year, you might want to act on that inkling to get involved more at the chapter level. It's not too late to join the council (there are still key spots available), volunteer for a one-off event, suggest a meeting topic, etc. Please don't be shy - help us help you enjoy the best STC year yet.