President's Message: Teamwork = Success

by Debbie Kerr, Outgoing President

It's hard to believe that it's been five years that I have been at the helm. Over that time, I have had the pleasure of working with a great group of people - your council. Over the years, some council members have kept the same positions; others have taken on new roles; and others have either joined or left the council. The end result has always been the same - a team approach to getting things done.

Double Duty and More

Since we have had openings for council positions over the years, it has been necessary for council members to wear multiple hats. For example, since we have not had a Program Manager for several years, it has been a team effort to come up with new ideas for our general meetings. As an FYI, going forward, we are going to refer to our general meetings as "education evenings" to more accurately reflect the main purpose of these events.

In some cases, double duty was required because council members (in addition to some chapter members) also volunteered to judge for the student awards (Heidi Thiessen Memorial Award) and/or the technical publications/online competitions. In other cases, some council members were also speakers at our "education evenings".

Council Members

The following is the incoming council:

Fei Min Lorente (President) - previously Volunteer Co-ordinator and Education Manager
Debbie Kerr (Past President) - previously President
Jim Bousquet (Treasurer) - New
Secretary (Carol Lawless) - Returning
Membership Manager (Gord Varney) - New
Webmaster (Ted Edwins) - Returning
Quill Editor (Evan Jones) - Returning
Employment Manager and Hospitality Manager (Ursula McCloy) - Returning
Email List Manager (Lenny Everson) - New
Nell Sanders and Tanya Chop (Public Relations Managers) - New

Three of our council members will not be returning to the council next year: Lori Jankowski (Treasurer), Laura Rainbow Dragon (Membership), and Paul Kostiuk (Email List Manager). They will be missed for their ideas and feedback at our council meetings, in addition to the hard work that they put into fulfilling their roles.

The names of council members may change over the summer as Fei Min recruits new members to her team. She is not only a great leader, but a great recruiter. If you want to volunteer for a council position, either as a manager or as part of a committee, please contact Fei Min at president@stc-soc.org

Communication

In addition to a great council, I have had the pleasure of meeting more chapter members - either in person or electronically. I would like to continue to interact with even more members. Please do not hesitate to contact me at pastpresident@stc-soc.org. During our transition period, the president@stc-soc.org email address will reach both Fei Min and me.

Remember, communication is key if we are to effectively represent your interests. For example, to help resolve the organization's current financial crisis, we want to propose new ideas, and provide feedback on ones that have already been submitted. Please refer to Fei Min's article for more details.

Final Thoughts

It has been a pleasure being president. I hope you have learned from our newsletter, workshops, education evenings, and webinars. I know I have learned a lot in both my role as president and as a member of our chapter. It's never too late to learn new things. I hope you continue to learn from us as we continue to learn from you.

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 fourth year in a row, Debbie has bravely taken on the role of Chapter President.