Council Meeting Recap:
September and October

by Carol Lawless, Secretary

Autumn is gearing up as a busy one for our chapter's council. Here's a recap of our September and October Council meetings.

STC Restructuring

As you are aware, the STC has struggled with financial issues and is in the process of restructuring and revamping the fee structures. We’ve been working on the best way to support the STC head office while at the same time ensuring that we can support local events. We voted unanimously to offer a loan of $5000 interest free for two years. Head office has politely declined the loan as it is not prepared to manage loans from chapters. Fei Min has been in ongoing dialogues with the other Canadian chapters to discuss the best alternatives for our members as a whole.

We are in the process of applying for non-profit status. Once that is in place we’ll look at the affiliation agreement that head office has requested we sign.

Upcoming Events

Events this fall include the publication competition. Once again, we’ll hold it jointly with the Toronto chapter. Judging day is planned for mid-December and there are four volunteers from our chapter. We’re still waiting for entries. Our October education evening was a resounding success! Thanks to Alan Yoshioka of the Editors Association of Canada for his talk on the evolving rules of grammar and editing. Upcoming meetings are tentatively booked with Front Runner coming in December. In the new year watch for an employment progression and a presentation on Adobe AIR. We plan to continue to host webinars and PEER Group has again offered us space for November 18.

Student Scholarships are continuing. Our website has been updated with the new information and the universities have been contacted. Submission deadline is January 29.

Communitech Partnership

We’re excited to be working on a partnership with Communitech. Still outstanding is the final agreement. Once we proceed, Communitech will handle various mailings and promotion of our events. STC members will, in turn, have access to Communitech meetings, including the Peer 2 Peer meetings.

Budgeting

Our surplus funds are now in term investments, with funds remaining liquid to handle operating expenses for the year. Other budgetary items include earmarking $2500 to send a local member to the STC International conference. We are still discussing the best way to ensure we send someone who can participate in the leadership sessions and/or bring back skills and knowledge to benefit this chapter. Stay tuned.

The Quill

Finally, you’ll have noticed that Evan has been diligently working on tweaking the banner and colours for our new improved Quill.

About Carol Lawless

Carol has been a member of our profession since 1993 and is a senior STC member. She is a founding partner of KCA Consulting, specializing in web usability and usability testing. She's also an independent contractor, when a suitable project arises. She is our official secretary at council. Outside of the STC and work, Carol's special interest is Ancient Civilizations, and still does not tire of visiting ruins (her favourite is Delphi with Karnak a close second). In her spare time, she runs Mom's taxi and loves to read (while waiting for the next taxi run!).