The Quill Wins "Best of Show"

by Debbie Kerr, The Quill Editor

In last month's issue, I announced that our newsletter had won two awards: Distinguished and Most Improved for Chapters with Membership Counts from 76-150.

Today, I have one more award to announce...Best of Show. For an editor, and for our chapter, this is a great way to end the year.

Judges' Comments

As you read the judges' comments, keep in mind that they apply only to the first three issues of the newsletter (September, October, November). So, if you wrote something great in a later month, the judges didn't get to appreciate your contribution.

The following are just a few samples of the judges comments:

• "Only in Canada...Pity!" is a good discussion of the differences in education between Canada and the US. (Living in California, but having been born and raised in Toronto, this rang very true for me. And I understood the reference to the Red Rose Tea commercial! ;-) )
• Use of regular columns gives the reader something to look forward to in each issue. This is particularly true of "View From the Other Side...the other side of the tracks." This also gives an interesting perspective into the experiences of a technical communicator in another country.
• "Writing Effective Introductions and Overviews" is a good discussion of basic skills. It is also a review of a phone seminar, which is not often seen in a newsletter, but is very helpful, especially to those members that can't take time off to attend.
• "Seven Ideas for Sprucing Up Help" is an excellent discussion of more technical skills.
• The articles are quite good. They are appropriate and timely, and cover a wide range of topics. For example:
• "Technical Communication at Toronto Pearson International Airport" is a good discussion of our profession in a different industry (as opposed to software or other more common industries).
• "Another Audience to Consider: Identifying ages as significant user groups" is a good discussion of basic skills. The article also has some excellent graphics.
• "Cascading Style Sheets" is a good discussion of software skills.
• I really enjoyed the Presidents Message, "The English Degree Bites Back." I don't have an English degree, but I am a compulsive editor and the article is an interesting look at the personality traits of technical communicators. Opal also provided a good discussion of taking our profession into other industries, especially those in which we have a personal interest.
• Use of regular columns gives the reader something to look forward to in each issue. This is particularly true of "View From the Other Side...the Other Side of the Pond."
• "Improving the Readability of Your Docs" is a good discussion of basic skills. The Before and After examples were an excellent addition to the article.

Accomplishments Through Statistics

Sometimes when you are struggling to keep up with your life, you don't have the time to realize just how much you have accomplished until someone sits down and does it for you. In an effort to show you the level of commitment that there has been to this newsletter, here are a few statistics.

• There were nine issues published between September 2004 and June 2005.
• There were approximately 35 different people who submitted articles over the year. This does not include one-time articles by people who were campaigning for an STC position or articles that were taken from another source.
• There were approximately 110 articles published.
• Some people, like Opal Gamble, Peter Szabo, and Nancy Halverson, submitted articles each month.
• There was one book review thanks to Carrie Spira.
• Articles came from three different countries: Canada, England and the United States.
• Healthcare (Debbie Davy), Toronto Pearson International Airport (Scott Russell), and financial training (Roxanne Eszes) were three areas of technical writing that were discussed, which showed the variety of career options available to you as a technical communicator.

Thanks for a Job Well Done!

I solute each and every one of you for contributing to the success of the newsletter. As an editor, it is one thing to come up with ideas, but it is quite another to make them happen. Without the support and co-operation of many people, the quality of this newsletter would have been a lot different. For anyone who has ever submitted an article—whether the topic was given to you, like a meeting or seminar recap—or you came up with your own topic, I want to thank you as the editor, and on behalf of the chapter. Our success is your success.

About Debbie Kerr

In the 20 years that Debbie has been writing documentation, she has worked in a variety of industries: government, retail, software, and insurance. She is currently employed at The Economical Insurance Group in Kitchener writing design specifications.

Debbie has been a member of the STC since 1994 and has held several council positions over the last several years.