Tech Writers Defy Winter's Worst at Annual Wine and Cheese Event

by Peter Szabo, Program Manager

After two days of snow, sleet, icy roads, and subfreezing temperatures, about 20 technical communicators braved the elements to gather for the STC Southwestern Ontario chapter's annual Wine and Cheese social. You'd think that by planning the event for March 1 we would be able to avoid the worst of winter and welcome spring with a networking event. But, this is Canada, right? In any case, we nestled within the cozy yet elegant architecture of the University of Waterloo's University Club and enjoyed an evening of fun, conversation, and celebration.

Student Awards

Christy Simard, our chapter's Student Awards Manager, kicked off the brief presentations by announcing the winners of the Heidi Thiessen Memorial Award. Third and fourth year students of the University of Waterloo (U of W), Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU), and the University of Guelph (U of G)are eligible to compete. Second place winner, Vikram Aggarwal from the U of W, and third place winner, Kim Waalderbos, from U of G were on hand to accept their awards in person. First place winner, Alex Perel, of the University of Waterloo, was unable to attend the event. For more details about each of the winners, see the awards article in this issue of the newsletter.

Technical Publications Competition and a Surprise Award

Our Competition Manager, Lori Shantz, announced the list of 2004-2005 STC Publications Competition winners for the best in technical writing. Next, our chapter President, Opal Gamble, presented the Distinguished Chapter Service Award to a very surprised Robin Dube.

To see a complete list of winning names for any of these awards, visit our Web site and click on Awards or Competitions.

Candidate for Region One Director

Our final speaker earned the award hands down for "Attendee who traveled the farthest."

Rich Maggiani took a train from his home in Vermont (as in Vermont, U.S.A.) to Montreal and then to Toronto (where Opal picked him up and drove him into Waterloo). Rich is running for STC Region One Director, which if he wins, would make him the elected sponsor for the STC geographic region that includes our chapter. 

Rich made the long sojourn to visit our part of Canada so that he could talk to us about his vision as a director and, more importantly, get a sense of what kind of support we, as STC members, were looking for from the higher levels of the STC organization. Personally, I felt honoured that Rich took the time and effort to care about what we thought, and I also welcomed a chance to learn more about the inner workings of the nebulous organization that makes decisions and plans events outside of our Southwestern Ontario cocoon.

Food and Alcohol / Alcohol and Food

The presentations lasted about a half an hour, which left plenty of time for us to warm our insides with wine, beer, lots of cheese, crackers, and veggies, and some very tasty dessert treats. I noticed that Rich was particularly keen on sampling as many of our local brews as the University Club offered, and I hope he returned home to Vermont with grand tales of the Brick Brewery's finest ales.

International Competition Technical Publications

While we mingled and created new friendships, we perused the over 30 books, brochures, pamphlets, and newsletters that made up the winners of the 2004 STC International Technical Publications Competition. Of particular note were the gorgeously presented "Forests of Canada" coffee-table book, published by our Ministry of Natural Resources, and the fascinating NASA Investigation Report from the space shuttle Columbia accident.

Nothing but the Best

By 9:30 p.m., as the service staff began shutting down the bar and reception area, the final half-dozen stragglers had to pry themselves away from their engaging conversations and debates to face the bone-chilling winds outside. As one attendee so eloquently described it, "It was a lovely evening. The quantity of attendees wasn't high, but the quality sure was." Maybe next year, Old Man Winter will give us a break and create more comfortable weather conditions for us to seek out friendship and camaraderie. And if not, there's always the Barbecue Event in June.

About Peter Szabo

Peter has been a technical writer in one form or another for ten years. For the past five years, Peter has worked for CheckFree i-Solutions, a software firm in Waterloo, and is currently the Manager of Technical Publications.

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Peter moved to Guelph in 1997, where he currently lives with his wife, Irene, and six-year-old son, Taylor. He is working on his first feature-length screenplay.