May 2005 (Volume 16 Number 8) About the Quill

In This Issue

President's Message

As a writer, you know what it is like to have to write something when you don't feel, well, inspired. And so, to show that she is only human, she takes a break from writing words of wisdom and settles on sharing some frivolous...stuff. Click to read the Quill Article

Deciding When to Leave a Job

Leaving a job can be very traumatic, whether someone else made that decision for you or you made it yourself. Find out what other writers use as a gauge when it is time to find another job. Click to read the Quill Article

General Meeting Recap: Intranet Documentation - A Case Study

Our April general meeting took us to Blount Canada Ltd. where we learned the pros and cons of setting up documentation on an Intranet and then getting employees to access it. Click to read the Quill Article

Recap of E-Learning Webinar

E-Learning is one of those new buzz words, and with good reason. When you want to learn about e-learning, William Horton is the person you want to teach you. Click to read the Quill Article

Membership Quiz

If you haven't been to one of our general meetings or our Webinars, then you are not getting the most out of your STC membership. Take this quiz to find out what you are missing. Click to read the Quill Article

Get Your Hot Dogs Here

Every part of our STC functions seems to involve food, so why should the newsletter be any exception? The only difference with this story is that there is a slight twist to this food adventure. The only clue is that Heidi nominates you to come up with the ending. Click to read the Quill Article

Recap of April's Council Meeting

Here is another place where you can get free food, if you want to attend. Find out what our council members were up to besides eating pizza. Click to read the Quill Article

Upcoming Events

May is another busy month for our chapter, especially when we are building up to our annual barbecue in June. Don't forget to say that you will come. Do you see more of a food trend? Click to read the Quill Article

Getting and Giving Feedback

In an effort to make sure that people get recognized for their good work, we have competitions, we nominate people, and we enter competitions. Find out what awards our chapter has been giving and what new ones it has just received! Click to read the Quill Article

Seminar Shatters Ancient Myth

Sometimes part of learning is knowing when to toss out an old belief to accept a new one.  Find out about the new magic numbers that will optimize learning and retention. Click to read the Quill Article

Freelance 101: Chronicles for the self-employed

Not everyone is cut out to do freelance work. If you have been thinking about it, read this article to find out what questions you should be asking yourself before you make that leap. Click to read the Quill Article

News From STC Head Office

Find out the results of the election and see what you can do to nominate someone for a society-level position in 2006. In addition to helping the organization, you can help yourself with a list of links to Web sites for chapters, chapter Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and society SIGs. Click to read the Quill Article

View from the other side...of finding her way

Nancy shows us that it is not always easy to find your way in England, whether it be on the road, at work, or when putting together an STC function. The signs are all there; its just knowing how to read them. Click to read the Quill Article

The Editor's Message

Raining on Everyone (Weather)

Luckily or unluckily, we haven't experienced the April showers until near the end of the month. I haven't decided if this is good or bad. If the showers had come at the beginning of the month, we wouldn't have experienced great weather and we would have gone from snow to rain, and then on to sunshine. During winter, you sort of forget what real weather can be like, but once you are reminded of what you were missing in winter, then it is hard to go back to any kind of wet stuff.

Raining on Everyone (Work)

It seems that April, especially the last few weeks, has been raining work down on people. This has been a tough month to get people to submit articles. As I am writing this column, Thursday night, I am still waiting for at least two people to submit articles and Margie is scrambling to do some copy editing for me, because of her workload. Maybe the bosses get too pumped in the spring and they should allow their communicators to awaken slowly like the flowers in spring. Why don't we all put that in our suggestion boxes at work?

The End is Near

Considering the other two headings in this column, you might think that I meant the end of bad weather and your current workload, but I am referring to my time as editor of this newsletter. June will be my last issue of the newsletter.

I have very mixed feelings about this end to my adventure. Part of me would like to continue and another part of me knew it was time to pass the torch to someone else before the newsletter became stale.

I will not miss the hours that it takes to collect the articles and put them into a format that I hope is easy to read. At the same time, I will miss the interaction with all my new contacts. In fact, part of me really will miss the hours of work, because they are shorter than putting a manual together and you get to see the results within a couple of weeks.

Your Suggestion Box

If there is anything that you would like to see covered in the next issue, now is the time to tell me while I still have the chance to make it a reality. Is there a topic that you want covered? Is there someone you would like to write an article for next month? Is there something about the chapter that you would like to change? Is there something good that you would like to praise? This newsletter is your forum for communication, so use it.

To print the entire Quill, click here!Send your articles, suggestions, and comments to me, Debbie, at quill@stc-soc.org.

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