Two Distinguished Members Receive DCSAs

Each year, an STC chapter has the option of nominating one of its members for a Distinguished Chapter Service Award (DCSA) for every 100 of its members. Since we have approximately 171 members, I asked and received permission to nominate two members from this chapter — Opal Gamble and Nancy Halverson. You see, we have a special problem: we have so many good people in this chapter that giving out only one award a year will mean that by the time we recognize all the good people they will be truly “senior” members (old people).

How It Works

The purpose of the award is to recognize “the work of chapter members who provide exemplary service to the Society through their dedication to the chapter and its activities.” When filling out the application, the Board of Directors, which approves the application, is looking for a variety of service over an extended period of time. Even being president for two years would not get you the award; you would still have to have held some other positions on council to be considered for the award. Also, if you are currently on council, you are not eligible for the award. Finally, you must currently be a member of the STC. So, generally speaking, most people who win this award are senior members, that is, people who have been members of the STC for five years or more (not old people).

Opal Gamble

This nomination was special, because it was one of the fastest recognitions that we were able to put through for someone who was no longer on the council in an elected position.

Debbie Kerr and Cindy Currie present Opal with her award, at least digitally.

Citation

For consistently going above and beyond the call of council duties, and supporting the Southwestern Ontario chapter with your keen initiatives and infectious energy.

My Comments Included on the Application

From a being a student and onward, Opal knew the value of jumping in with both feet and getting involved, which is something that some STC members never do. Since she first became the Student Liaison for the University of Waterloo , she hasn't looked back. Opal has always been involved in the STC in some way or other. Even when she is not on council, she is giving advice to someone who is.

Each step that Opal takes is a step forward. For many of us, one of Opal's steps is more like a leap or bound. There is nothing half way with Opal. Give Opal an idea or concept, and it grows. Not only does it grow, but Opal tackles it the second that she hears about it, even if she is in the middle of another task. Opal has made multi-tasking a new art form, and not something to be attempted by the weak of heart.

From the moment that Opal joined the STC, she has held a position on council, and she has excelled at all of them.

Portfolio Manager Positions

Online SIG Co-ordinator (2001 – 2002)
Program Manager (2003 – 2004)
President (2004 – 2005) / Past President (2005 – 2006)
Webmaster (2005 – 2006)

Committee / Liaison Positions

Student Liaison UW (1998- 2002)
Newsletter Committee (2003 – 2005)
Web Committee (2003 – 2004)

Testimonials

To help give the Board a better sense of how of what Opal is like, we included some testimonials. The following are two of three testimonials that we included:

Heidi Marr, Past President (2004-2005) stated:

“I have known Opal for several years and I continue to be amazed by her capacity to volunteer. Opal is a dedicated ‘doer' who has held more roles on our chapter's council than I care to count. From a young age, Opal demonstrated an interest in and aptitude for technical communication. She is a self-proclaimed ‘geek' who relishes the technical challenge as much as the word-smithing side of her chosen career. Our chapter is lucky to have her; we can all learn from Opal's unwavering commitment to the STC and to the field of technical communication in general.”

Margie Yundt , Newsletter Editor (2005-2007) and Webmaster (2006-2007) provided this testimonial:

“Opal is always ready to take on any challenge, and at every corner, strives to exceed your expectations with the results. She is fearless in her pursuit of conquering technology and making it stand on its head to do whatever it needs to do. She brought a lot of energy, humour, and made some terrific ideas happen when she served her time in various positions on the STC Southwestern Ontario council. And, still she is willing to jump in at the drop of a hat when we need her. Unbelievable!”

Nancy Halverson

What made this award extra special is that Nancy is currently the president of the United Kingdom chapter, which would seem to make her ineligible for the award. However, you can still nominate any STC member so long as they are not on the council of your chapter.

Mark Clifford, who is the 2nd VP, is from the UK , and was able to present the award to Nancy on our behalf. As you can tell from the picture, it was a complete surprise to Nancy , and she loved it.

Citation

For your enthusiasm and commitment to the Southwestern Ontario Chapter and the STC, even while on the other side of the pond.

My Comments Included on the Application

In the four years that Nancy was with our chapter, she was a whirlwind of activity. In fact, even when she wasn't with our chapter physically, she was still actively involved with our chapter. When she moved with her family to England , her participation with our chapter continued when she agreed to write monthly articles about life in England as a technical communicator. These articles became one of the most widely read articles in our newsletter, and were one of those cited when our newsletter won Best of Show.

Nancy's enthusiasm for technical communication, and for the promotion of the benefits of the STC, were evident when she was here in the Southwestern Ontario Chapter, and have continued since she moved to England. Our loss has definitely been the United Kingdom chapter's gain.

We wanted to nominate her for this award so that she would know that her efforts here have not been forgotten, and are still worthy of being recognized.

Portfolio Manager Positions

Hospitality Manager (1998 – 2000)
Co-Competition Manager (2000 – 2002)

Committee / Liaison Positions

Hospitality Committee (1997 – 1998)
Competition Judge (2001 – 2002)
Scholarship Committee (2001 – 2002)
Newsletter Committee: Feature writer (2003 – 2005)

Testimonials

The following are two of three testimonials that were included as part of the application:

Robin Dube, Co-Competition Manager (2000-2002) described Nancy as follows:

“Nancy Halverson jumped into tech writing and the Southwestern Ontario chapter with excitement and energy. As a volunteer on the chapter council, I worked most closely with Nancy on the tough, but rewarding, portfolio of Chapter Competition.

Nancy worked many nights and put in countless hours on the competition. Her organization skills and upbeat attitude went a long way to ensuring a successful competition for our chapter. Her work included everything from advertising, recruiting judges, organizing entries, and coordinating judge training. She was always a pleasure to work with, and her great sense of humour made packaging, sending out, and receiving the many, many competition entries for our judging teams, dare I say, fun.

When Nancy moved ‘across' the pond after our stint as Competition Managers, it was a real loss to our chapter. But, she has continued to contribute to our chapter with her Quill columns on tech writing in Britain . And, she has taken her enthusiasm for technical writing and STC and channeled it into promoting the STC in her new home.

Nancy is a very deserving recipient of the Distinguished Chapter Service Award because of her boundless energy, countless volunteer hours, and commitment to not only our chapter but also to the field of technical writing.”

Lynda Baxter, President (2000-2001) used a different approach to describe Nancy:

“Words to describe Nancy:

Able, adventurous, caring, detailed, dynamic, energizes others with her enthusiasm, friendly and fun to be around, gets things done, good story teller, innovative, mentor to coworkers and fellow STCers, not afraid to try new ideas, outspoken when necessary, team leader and player, valued council member, excellent writer!

In other words... Nancy is someone I feel privileged to have known and worked with in our STC chapter. I'm thrilled that she has been nominated for our Distinguished Chapter Service Award.”

Conclusion

Congratulations Opal and Nancy on your DCSAs! You'll be happy to know that while Margie and I were walking across the University of Waterloo campus with Rob Hanna, President of the Toronto Chapter STC, after our Wine and Cheese, he indicated that he was so impressed by what he heard about both of you when I read your applications out loud that he said he would hire you. He thought you sounded so great. We know you are. Way to go!

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.

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