Director Sponsor's Message: Future Perfect?

by Cindy Currie, STC Region 1 Director Sponsor

The Die is Cast! The voting period for the annual elections has ended. I can’t wait to learn whom we’ve chosen to help drive the STC to new levels of professional leadership and prestige in the near future. Look for the election results to be announced very soon!

Future View

And speaking of the future, did you know that the STC Strategic Planning Committee is starting to work on the creation of a new three-year strategic plan? The new plan will be for the 2007 – 2010 years. Strategic Planning committee volunteers are beginning to hold a series of focus groups with members around the world to gather your input about what the future of technical communication will look like. I have recently conducted two focus groups myself with the help of two of my board colleagues. And, I’m learning a great deal in the process!

When asked “What will the profession of technical communication look like in the future?” one focus group participant shared this vision: Technical communicators have ascended up the corporate mountain to the summit where they are viewed with tremendous respect (and maybe some awe) as key contributors to business success.

With this type of vision, the future will be bright, I’m sure of it. What do YOU see when you consider the future of technical communication?

Viva Las Vegas!

The 53rd Annual Conference is fast approaching! The dates are May 7-10 this year and we will be in Las Vegas! There are many great reasons for attending the conference every year with all the unique educational and networking opportunities that are always present! For more information, please visit http://www.stc.org/53rdConf/.

Be sure to register by April 21 to take advantage of the early registration rates! Hope to see you in Vegas!

Kudos on Conferences!

I recently attended two region 1 chapter conferences and both were exceptionally good events! On March 11, I was in Pennsylvania for the Philadelphia Metro chapter’s annual conference. The venue was superb – intimate enough to cater to everyone’s needs – and the program was great. The keynote speaker was Jon Warshawsky, co-author of a book on corporate communication titled “Why business people speak like idiots!” Jon’s main point was that jargon and “business speak” (or BS) abound! So, to really communicate to (and not confuse) your audience (whomever they may be), you need to keep it simple and straightforward, and above all, use plain English. Jon’s talk and the book are marvelous! I recommend them both!

On March 31, I was in New York for the Rochester chapter’s 47th (wow!) annual Spectrum Conference. The venue was terrific and the program was top notch. This time, there were two keynote speakers and a closing session speaker. Jared Spool, of User Interface Engineering, a world renowned web usability expert, gave us his take on how to discern what users really need. Suzanna Laurent, STC President, told us about what the future is likely to look like for technical communicators. And, the closing session speaker was Frank Cost, the associate dean of Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences and author of “A Pocket Guide to Digital Printing.” Frank is a noted expert in the future of digital publishing and gave everyone an understanding of what these changes mean to communicators. Frank discussed his (often quite humorous) experiences with book self-publishing through various web sites that offer the service. Frank has self-published numerous books of photographs, each with an interesting and highly creative reason for being. All three talks received high marks from this attendee!

Both conferences included an exhibit area complete with a showcase of winning entries from their annual competitions. Each chapter also set aside part of their conference program to honor their competitions winners by presenting award certificates and plaques!

Kudos to Steve Lungren of Philly Metro and Tom Moran of Rochester and their teams for planning and organizing these tremendous events!

About Cindy Currie

Cindy is currently the Director of STC Region 1. She is an STC Fellow and a member of the Northern New England and United Kingdom chapters, and well as numerous SIGs. She is a senior project manager at Hewlett-Packard Company.