Persistence is Fruitful

by Opal Gamble, President

Now that it's spring (is that the third or fourth time I've made that claim?), and the annual June barbeque is mere moments away, I figure it is time to plant my little garden.

My yard, though I try hard, isn't anything to write home about. There are parts that are nice, but it's a frustrating endeavour to spruce up one part, pat myself ceremoniously on the back, and then step back a little farther and realize how much more there is to go.

In many ways, the 2004-2005 STC year was similar. The council tried and tried, and just when we thought we had it right, we'd find another few missing pieces of the puzzle.

There are points where I began to wonder how the council volunteers could stand to continue trying despite setback after setback. Illness, scheduling issues, typos, delays: we saw it all this year.

Ray of Sunshine

Through the grapevine, we discovered at the last council meeting that our chapter, Southwestern Ontario, has one of the lowest attrition rates in the entire society. After an extended technology slump, and a lingering cautious environment, we still managed to hold on to over 90% of our membership.

Call me crazy, but that says to me that we're doing something right.

Round of Applause

This success comes from two factors: our volunteers and our chapter members.

Though I said it a lot, I'm going to say it again:
To our volunteers—portfolio managers and committee members—your dedication, hard work, and belief in our chapter is what keeps it going. Thank you very, very much for all that you do.

Meanwhile, we could all toil away 24-7, but without the interest and participation of our chapter members, it would all be pointless.

To all of you who came to meetings, attended phone seminars, read the newsletter, visited our Web site, emailed us your questions: thank you for making it all worth while.

Encore, Encore!

There is one other matter, while I'm saying thank you on behalf of the chapter. Every year, our chapter bestows a thank you to a local business.

This year's recipient of our Company Achievement Award has earned it over and over again.

The winner has a mandate to be prominent in our community, and to make a positive impact where they can. For the Southwestern Ontario Chapter, this mandate has made a big difference in our year.

CheckFree i-Solutions helped us this year by:

• hosting telephone seminars
• donating time towards our program and competition
• donating door prizes
• hosting council meetings in their kitchen

CheckFree: we couldn't have done it without you. Thank you!

Finale

So, in the end, every bit of effort was worth it. Given the energy that was still in the room during our council meeting, and the interest that was being poured into improving things even more next year, I'd say I'm not the only one on the council that believes that the outcome was worth every ounce of work.

Now, if only my garden could do as well!

About Opal Gamble

Technical writer, web monkey, and general geek, Opal's wanted to be a tech writer since high school; she became a STC-SOC council member in 1997. A graduate of UW's co-op Rhetoric and Professional Writing program, Opal is a contract Technical Writer at Campana. She also runs her own freelance business, SiO2.

When she's not doing STC business, Opal participates in autocross events (with a hybrid car, no less!) and tries to cultivate a green thumb in her garden.