Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires

By Opal Gamble, Webmaster & Past President

I've spent a fair chunk of time in the last month trying to figure out a slogan that would grab your attention and get you to read this article. You see, it's rather important to me that you are here, reading it, and I hrm-ed and haa-ed over the right way to build that hook.

There was the classic Uncle Sam "We need YOU!" and a few others, but in the end, after camping in Algonquin at -26°C last weekend (voluntarily), it was good old Smokey the Bear that won.

Once again, it's nominations time. This is the part where I'm supposed to tell you about what a wonderful, fulfilling thing it is to volunteer for the STC and conclude with a big call to action to make you scamper over to your email client with declarations of "I can do it!"

Instead, I'm going to try to sell this to you from a selfish point of view. Not because I believe that you are a selfish person, but because when you're thinking about slotting something into your already busy schedule, you need a reason to do it.

Junior Communicators

You've got the enthusiasm, you've got the ideas. You've got a brand new career expanding before you. Maybe you have a job; maybe you're still trying to break into the field.

The STC is a highly-valuable resource for you: you can volunteer and make a difference, build your portfolio, and more importantly, you get to network with your communication peers.

Getting the word out about your skills definitely doesn't hurt your career goals.

Intermediate Communicators

You've been working long enough to obtain that wonderful "intermediate" stamp, and finding jobs is a little easier. However, it's at this point in your career that you've started to discover the fine points of what a communicator does—and more to the point, what you prefer to do and avoid.

It's possible that you are like most intermediate writers I know: you found a niche you like, but to slide into that roll you need more experience. It's like being a junior all over again!

This is where STC can help you. With a variety of jobs to do, you select the roll that enables you to build experience and make that slide into the niche you have your eye on that much easier. Who wouldn't want that?

Senior Communicators

Been there, done that, and you have the pay cheque and endorsements to prove it. Why complicate things with another job?

As a senior writer, you might be aiming for team lead or department head. Or maybe you're a mentor for less experienced communicators.

STC gives you the opportunity to hone leadership skills. STC can also provide you with a change of pace, to try something new and find new challenges—you might not want these new skills for a job change, but a little bit of variety is its own reward!

Conclusions from the Smoke

As you can see, there is lots to get out of the STC-volunteer relationship. You benefit, on a personal and career level, and the 100+ members of our chapter benefit too.

Often, during the nominations process, people think "I don't have to do anything—someone else will take care of it." This gives that person the ability to walk away and not think about volunteering again.

STC has made a big difference in my career and skill set, and I can assure you that it is worthwhile to volunteer.

Will you regret volunteering? Probably not.

But will you regret doing nothing? I submit to you that someday, you very well might.

Go nominate yourself or someone else today.

About Opal Gamble

Technical writer, web monkey, and general geek, Opal became a STC-SOC council member in 1997. She is a UW Rhetoric and Professional Writing graduate, a Technical Writer at Campana, and a contractor.

When she's not fixing a website, Opal drives, climbs, and generally lives on the edge.