President’s Message:
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

by Debbie Kerr, President

The commercials say it’s the most wonderful time of the year, and I couldn’t agree more. The kids are back in school (even if they are not yours), you’ve got some new reading material (The Quill), and an STC meeting is just around the corner. What more could you want?

I met with your council recently to plan the coming year, and I want you to know that you have some great people working on your behalf. They have a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of great ideas! I'd like to share just a few of our ideas with you.

Employment Progression

To start the year off with something that is of interest to everyone, we decided to have an Employment progression. Since no one but the independently wealthy can truly say that they are not interested in employment, the topic should interest everyone. As for a progression, it certainly sounds good when you put the terms progression and employment together. If you don’t know what a progression is, it will sound even better when you know what it is.

A progression involves a series of speakers, in this case that relate to the topic of employment. They are located at various tables throughout a room and those who attend the meeting have set intervals to hear each speaker and ask questions. After a set time, attendees are asked to go (progress) to the next speaker they want to hear. This is a great format for people to gather a variety of information from a variety of sources, in a relatively short time, while managing to network with a lot of people.

Could there be a better way to start the new STC year?

Changes to Our Format

With fewer members on our council, we decided to try a few changes to our schedule of activities. We decided to have fewer general meetings and fewer issues of our newsletter, but we would alternate them so that we would always be in touch with you—even during the summer. You are getting this special issue to welcome you back and to let you know about our changes. We didn’t want you to come running to our first general meeting, especially when we decided to move it to the THIRD Tuesday of the month, September 19. We also moved this special event to what is lovingly referred to as the “fishbowl” at the University of Waterloo, because the walls are glass and people can see in. While it may not sound attractive, it is actually a selling feature, because we want people to wonder what we are doing and want to come inside to join us.

Open Communication

We want to generate excitement about our profession, about our chapter, and about our council. We will be introducing ourselves at each general meeting so that you know who we are. Make sure you come and talk to us if you have any questions, or if you cannot attend a meeting, contact us by email; our email addresses are posted on the About page of our website at www.stc-soc.org.

If you have a suggestion, or you don’t like something, please let us know. We can’t give you what you want if we don’t know what that is. Even better, you could show us what you want, by joining us on the council.

Practical Experience

If you have been trying to get a job, but you don’t have enough experience, then think about volunteering as a great way to improve your portfolio. We have opportunities within our organization that could give you practical experience that you could add to your résumé. We have large and small positions left to fill, as well as various tasks that need doing. Tell us what skills you have, and we will find something that can be a win-win situation for both us.

Let’s make this “wonderful time of the year” feeling last for the whole year. Excitement doesn’t have to fade with time; you just have to keep ideas fresh and new. We welcome your ideas and your participation.

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.