Upcoming Events

by Peter Szabo, Program Manager

As usual, we've changed from winter into summer as fast as a super-hero changes from street clothes to a costume. Of course, the first Canadian sunshine and warmth is immediately followed by...sunburns and black flies. But first, we have a few STC events left in our Southwestern Ontario back pocket to make what we do for work a little more interesting.

For our May evening seminar and general meeting, STC member Tim Grantham will be cooking up a technical communication feast as he presents a practical guide to designing documentation. There's our usual STC chapter council meeting, in which the council members enjoy pizza and pop while planning ways to stimulate and inspire technical communicators in the region.

Oh, and in case you're looking for them, we are not offering any STC seminars in May because, well, the STC isn't offering any. So conserve your networking energy and urge to learn for the June barbecue, where you can eat, drink, and merrily discover tips and tricks of the trade from your fellow front line workers.

MAY EVENTS

Tuesday, May 3, 2005: Seminar/General Meeting

Topic: Cooking the Books—A Practical Guide to Documentation Design

Tim Grantham draws on two decades of experience designing, writing, editing, and publishing just about every kind of technical document there is, to get you up to speed on the kinds of information that you need to provide for almost any product. He defines the six basic classes of products and their associated documentation sets—what information those document sets include, how they are structured, and who has to use them—and drills down to take a closer look at designs for two types of documents: the software developer's guide and the hardware service manual.

Time: 7:00 p.m., doors open 6:30 p.m.

Cost: FREE for all.

Location: University of Waterloo (U of W), Davis Centre, Room 1304 [map].

Tuesday, May 17, 2005: Council Meeting

Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Location: CheckFree i-Solutions, 455 Phillip Street, Waterloo

All members welcome—help your chapter by becoming a volunteer!

RSVP to Opal Gamble.

Tuesday, May 31, 2005:  RSVP Deadline for June barbecue

See details that follow.

JUNE EVENTS

Tuesday, June 7, 2005: Annual Year-end Barbecue Networking Event

Time: Brewery Tour: 6:30, Main Event: 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Location: Wellington Brewery—Iron Duke House, 950 Woodlawn Road West, Guelph

Open to members and non-members (including friends and family).

Cost: LOTS FOR FREE—one drink, an optional brewery tour, and great barbecued food and fixings. Additional beer and wine are available at $1.50 per drink!

RSVP: To plan for the brewery tour and to prepare a sufficient amount of food, we request that you RSVP by May 31 to Peter Szabo with the following information:

• your name
• the number of any guests you are bringing
• the total number attending the meal
• the total number, if any, attending the brewery tour.

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If you have any questions about upcoming chapter events, you have a suggestion for a meeting topic, or you would like to help with any aspect of the barbecue, feel free to e-mail Peter Szabo (Program Manager).

For details about our chapter's events for the rest of the year, as well as last minute updates or additions to the schedule, be sure to check our local STC chapter calendar.

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.