Annual Summer Barbecue: Cool Happenings Make for Warm Feelings

by Debbie Kerr, President and Pauline Horn, Student Awards Manager

Friday, June 9th was a chilly day outside, but inside the Wellington Brewery, there was a lot of warmth being generated. Was it from the camaraderie of the STC members and friends that came for the annual barbecue? Was it the brewery tour or the drinks available for us? Maybe it was the delicious barbecue that was being served.

Whatever it was, the generosity of the attendees was much appreciated by the Food Bank. Besides the 36 pounds of food collected, cash donations totalling $40.00 were made to this worthy cause. To top this off, the left over desserts were taken to a youth shelter at the end of the evening.

In addition to helping others, and helping ourselves to good food, there were prizes and an award that were given during the course of the evening.

Prizes

Like all our regular general meetings, there were draws for two door prizes. Everyone who came to the barbecue was eligible for this prize. One was awarded to Carol Lawless (last year’s Treasurer/this year’s Recorder) and one was awarded to Ursula McCloy (last year’s Employment Manager/this year’s Hospitality Manager).

All attendees who donated food for the Food Bank also had their names entered into a draw for a special prize that the Wellington Brewery donated. This beer-oriented prize went to Paul Kostiuk (last year’s and this year’s Email List Manager). Surprisingly, the party he promised to help use the prize has not happened.

Company Recognition Award

Every year, the council recognizes a company that has shown its support of the STC. This year we gave the award to the PEER Group for:

• allowing us to host our Web seminars at their office
• hosting our council meetings
• paying for STC memberships and chapter education days for their employees
• donating door prizes for our general meetings
• having three staff members who were on the 2005-2006 council (Marisa Latin, Kim Creed, Ursula McCloy)

Congratulations to a company that really deserved the recognition!

Many people helped to make this annual event a success: the program manager who arranged the location and logistics, the behind-the-scene person who organized all the volunteers, the shoppers who brought the things that were needed, the guest barbecuers, and the people who helped to keep the evening flowing smoothly. Thanks to everyone, including those who took the time to attend our event.

This was a great way to wind up another successful year for our STC Chapter!

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 Waterloo, where she has stepped out of her traditional role of writing user guides and help files, and now writes a variety of specifications.

Debbie has been a member of the STC since 1994 and has been a council member for many years. For the second year in a row, Debbie has bravely taken on the role of Chapter President.

About Pauline Horn

Six years ago, after a career as a developer/analyst, Pauline decide to take on technical writing. It's been a great change and she still uses most of her technical skills to create documentation. Right now, she is taking a sabbatical (which includes volunteering on the STC council) and plans to start her own consulting company next year.