Director's Message: Stand Up and Be Recognized!

by Cindy Currie, STC Region 1 Director

Community Recognition Programs

I’d like to encourage all communities to plan to apply for a Community Achievement Award (CAA,) and be recognized for your accomplishments this year. The program has recently been revamped to bring it more in line with STC’s new strategic priorities. In addition, a new base level category of award ("Fundamental") has been created to recognize communities that are clearly meeting (but perhaps not exceeding, for whatever reason) the baseline criteria for running a successful community.

As I reviewed the community reports just prior to the October Board of Director’s meeting, I was concerned when I saw that most communities were not planning to apply for this award this year. I realize that many communities are experiencing challenges, but most of you are doing some really good, creative things to keep your communities going and you should be recognized for those efforts!

So, be sure to check the www.stc.org website for the updated information on the CAA program. I looked just before sending this article out, and I did not see that the new information has been posted yet. The deadline for these awards is in the spring. More on this as we get closer.

Region 2 Conference Report

Kudos to the Region 2 conference planning committee for an outstanding conference! Some highlights are called out below:

• Great collection of presentations and expert speakers — a really good program with lots of globally recognized speakers and hot topics! I participated on a panel discussion called "Technical Communication Meets Business: Where Do We Go from Here?" which seemed to be very well received.
• Sponsorships — the conference planning committee did a fabulous job of covering their costs through corporate sponsorships! Many lessons to be learned from their successes in this area.
• Town Hall Meeting — Our new Executive Director, Susan Burton; President, Paula Berger; First Vice President, Linda Oestreich; and Second Vice President, Mark Clifford held a Q&A session with Region 2 conference attendees to that provided a forum for members and others to meet these influential STC leaders and get answers to their most pressing questions. This event was very well attended.
• Chocolate Raffle — Yes, a personal favorite of mine, and I won a nice assortment of European chocolates! The Transalpine chapter (aka the “chocolate” chapter) has been doing this for a number of years now. All monies raised were donated to a local charity. (Tip: Consider doing something similar to raise money for a charity near you or to raise money for your community. You could split the proceeds, donating half to a charity and retaining the other half for your community.)
  
  Here’s how it worked: many who attended the conference brought an assortment of chocolate from their city, region, or country. These were all displayed on a large table near the conference registration desk for all to see (and drool over), and I spent a great deal of time here. Committee members sold (a limited number of professionally printed with the conference logo) raffle tickets throughout the conference. Mid-way through the conference, they SOLD OUT of raffle tickets!!!! And, a black market for Chocolate Raffle tickets sprang up!
  
  At the end of the final day of the conference, all the chocolate was bundled into a number of small assortments and raffled off during the closing reception (complete with champagne, hors d’oeuvres, and cakes!). Executive Director, Susan Burton and former Region 2 Director, Vici Koster-Lenhardt acted as Emcees for the raffle. It was quite a lively affair and seemed to be thoroughly enjoyed by the whole crowd!
• Board Meeting Report — The Board met in London on October 12-13, with a workshop day on the 12th and our official face-to-face fall board meeting on the 13th. The board’s focus during this time was on membership, marketing, partnerships, and the 2007 budget, which we have now finalized.
  Please visit http://www.stc.org/PDF_Files/101306_BoardReport.pdf to read the official meeting minutes. You can also access a slide presentation containing status updates on all STC committee work, as well as summaries of regional community reports from the Director-Sponsors at http://www.stc.org/ppt/061013_BoardStatusSlides.ppt.

Out and About

My chapter visit plans for this year are beginning to take shape and look like this at the moment:

• Northern New England Chapter, January 2007
• Eastern Ontario Chapter, STACIES, February 2007

And, I’m working with the Canadian communities (Eastern Ontario, London Ontario Student, Southwestern Ontario, and Toronto) on a possible joint visit or "sweep" through Ontario province to visit all of these chapters in a single trip sometime next spring.

Please let me know what your program plans and events are for this STC year and if you’d like to me to visit your chapter or attend a special event. I will continue my visits as your interest and my finances and schedule permit.

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.