Steven Jong, Candidate for STC Secretary

Thanks for your consideration! I'd like to tell you a little about my background, describe the secretary's role and why I'm a good fit for it, and list what I see as the Society's issues and my ideas to help.

My BackgroundIn 30 years as a technical communicator, I've done a little bit of everything, including editing, illustrating, and training, but mainly writing and managing. Currently I work as a documentation manager.

Outside of work I've written professional papers, magazine and newspaper articles, fiction, poetry, and a trade paperback. I've designed and delivered courses, seminars, and workshops, in the US and Europe, on technical and professional subjects. I've been a law-school instructor, a freelance proofreader for the Dummies Press, and a compositor for an academic book. Finally, I've led three other non-profit organizations (including a stint as secretary).

I'm an active member of the Boston chapter. For nearly 20 years I've served the chapter competitions as a judge, lead judge, best of show judge, and judge trainer. In 2001 I was elected to Boston's administrative council. Then in 2002 I was elected second vice president, and served in automatic succession as first vice president, president, and immediate past president. During that time Boston won three chapter Awards of Distinction. I was given Boston's Landers/Carbrey Spirit of Volunteerism award in 2007. I also belong to the Northern New England chapter, the Management SIG, and the Information Design SIG.

At the Society level, I am in the final year of my term on the Board of Directors. I am the chair of the Certification Task Force. I've participated in the International Technical Publications Competitions as a judge, lead judge, and best-of-show judge. And I've presented at eight annual conferences.

The Secretary's Role

Unlike other Board positions, the Secretary must be highly organized and detail oriented. The Secretary assembles and distributes the agenda and materials before meetings, and of course takes minutes. But a good secretary also keeps the group on agenda, manages time, and reminds people of previous actions and decisions.

Additionally, the Secretary is a voting board member, and as such must have a strategic focus. Not everyone can think strategically. You can't micromanage; you have to set goals and directions for the good of the Society a whole, and leave implementation to the staff or volunteers.

Society Issues

I've seen enormous changes in the field. Today we may be called upon to create documents, Web content, video, or podcasts. We do so much more than writing! Yet the core skills of technical communication have not changed at all: we still learn a technical subject, determine our target audience's needs, and communicate just what they need to know as clearly and concisely as possible.

Today, STC's biggest issue is existential: will we be around next year? We've taken huge steps, and I think the answer is yes, but we're not out of the woods yet. We need to rebuild our membership base, and to do that we need to tap into new demographics and new areas of practice.

I think there's a communication gap between the Society, chapters, and members that needs to be addressed. Our relationships need repair.

Finally, we need for STC to set the standards in the field for everyone — practitioners, clients, and consumers alike.

I have a three-prong platform:

• Speed: I want to collect and post information faster, both before Board meetings for directors and afterwards for members.

• Transparency: I want to share as much information with members as we can within the legal constraints on an association.
  

• Communication: I've seen first-hand how messages can be both miscommunicated and misinterpreted. I want to ensure that we send out a steady, clear, and consistent message on multiple channels, including our Web site, our blog, and appropriate social media. Also, I think community secretaries need the same kind of support that community presidents and treasurers get now, and I'll work to establish that channel.

Summary

I have a great deal of relevant experience, not just at the chapter and Society level but also in other non-profits. I've worked with good secretaries and bad, and I know what's important in the role. I am a process- and detail-oriented person, which are critical traits in a secretary. And I've been able to observe the excellent example set by Char James-Tanny, so I already know what to do.

For more information, go to www.StevenJong.net. When you vote in March, please cast your vote for me. Thanks in advance!

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Renewing Your Membership

'Tis the season to renew your STC membership. This message addresses the increase in membership dues, what's in it for you, and provides a report on what your Community Council has been working on in 2009, and what to look forward to in 2010.

What's in it for me?

Over the past few months, I have been privy to many discussions regarding, "what's in it for me if I renew my STC membership?" And—typical for our field—the answer is, "it depends on who you're talking to." For some, the publications, job bank, and resources on the www.stc.org and www.stctoronto.org sites represent the value. For others, the value is intangible and provides a sense of community, professional identity, and opportunity for learning and discourse. Personally, I enjoy the camaraderie of fellow technical communicators because we are a unique bunch. Also, the STC Toronto network has been the source of my employment for over 12 years and has kept me up-to-speed on current industry trends, technologies, methodologies, and innovations. Here is a summary of benefits we've posted on our website: http://www2.stctoronto.org/get-involved/join-stc/benefits.

Community membership

For 2010, there will be no pass through funding for any chapters, and it will be revisited in 2011. This means that when you renew, if you choose to pay the $25 to be affiliated with the STC Toronto chapter, chapters will not see that $25, but your name will land on the official chapter mailing list. We may see pass through funding again in the future, but that depends on the financial outcome for STC in 2010. 2009 has been a tough year and STC international is dealing with the repercussions as best as they can.

From an STC Toronto chapter perspective, our pricing model for professional development events has three tiers: Student, STC Member/Affiliates, and Non-Member. As long as you have your membership number, we will charge you the membership fee. The price difference between Member and Non-Member is double.

Increase in membership dues

STC has announced its dues structure for 2010, and for many of us it amounts to a significant increase. STC offers some points worth considering at http://www.stc.org/membership/. They have added new membership benefits recently, so you may want to check them out.

To help fit STC into your budget, STC has provided a basic membership that includes online publications but no affiliation with a chapter or SIG. Hard copy publications represent a large expense for STC, so you have to pay a lot extra to receive them. STC provides a plan that enables you to pay for your membership in four monthly installments.

STC has also set money aside from one of their scholarship funds to help a limited but substantial number of underemployed members renew. They have not yet posted the details of these "recovery packages" on www.stc.org, so keep your eyes open for that.

If you don't rejoin, you'll have to pay extra to attend professional development events, but you are still part of our community. You don't have to be a member to receive announcements. A good network is especially important during hard times, so please stay connected by letting us know that you'd like to stay on our email distribution list and do keep coming to our professional development and social networking events.

How is STC Toronto doing financially?

Since Bernard Aschwanden, Immediate Past President, introduced the 5 Events/5 Socials model and initiated partnerships with local vendors, our operating budget has been breaking even. These numbers heavily depend on professional development event attendance. If we make money on an event, we turn around and apply it as a subsidy to the next event.

We have approximately $5000 which we keep as a reserve for down payments on venues for bigger events and to be prepared for miscellaneous and unplanned costs.

Report on 2009

In September, we hosted a successful Career Day at Seneca College at York with over 50 attendees, free to members and students, sponsored by Seneca College and Mimic Print and Media Services. Our social event in October took place downtown at The Pilot in Hazelton Lanes. In November we hosted our Tech Trends event at Front-Runner's conference room at Yonge and St. Clair, which focused on translation strategies, and was sponsored by Able Translations. This month, we have opted not to have a social event since we will host one in January.

We also continue to work diligently towards keeping our website current, using modern technologies and social networking strategies for communications above and beyond mass emails and our blog.

2009 brought significant focus to the administration of STC Toronto as a whole, as mandated by STC international. We are in the process of becoming an incorporated non-profit organization and aligning our bylaws with STC international, ensuring they follow Ontario laws as well. We have been working closely with the STC Southwestern Ontario Chapter, who were able to secure pro-bono legal advice. A very warm thank-you to Fei Min Lorente and her council for all their support in this process.

Professional development events in 2010

Looking ahead to 2010, our first professional development event is Management Day, scheduled for Friday, February 26th. We have three fantastic speakers booked to provide us a "fly-on-the-wall" perspective on how companies are achieving success with User Centred Development, Agile Process, and Content Reuse. Stay tuned for more details, we are ironing them out right now.

For our final professional development event, Education Day, we are looking into the logistical possibilities of making it a joint venture with our colleagues at the STC Southwestern Ontario chapter. As you have seen in a recent email, we are looking to you to determine the content and location for the event; your feedback will determine the viability of a joint venture. This event is tentatively slated for April 19 to April 20.

Don't forget about the STC Toronto/Soutwestern Ontario Regional Technical Communication Competition. Judging for that starts in January! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact our Competition Manager.

Nurturing the network

STC Toronto is a community that overlaps with many others that all land under the umbrella of technical communications. It is our goal to nurture our existing network and to expand our network to connect with other organizations. This is why we offer membership rates to affiliated organizations. It is with this frame of mind that we host our socials. Our next social is scheduled for January 19th. It offers an excuse and a location to get together to enjoy the company of fellow technical communicators. It is also an opportunity for newcomers to the field—who are not necessarily members—to ask questions of more seasoned members and for folks who are looking for employment to let it be known.

I'd like to conclude this note with a warm thank-you to our Community Council for all their volunteer efforts this year. I would also like to share that our membership count is 358. As always, if you are interested in joining the Community Council or wish to volunteer, or have suggestions or constructive criticism, please do not hesitate to contact anyone on the Community Council. You have an open invitation to attend any of our meetings.

Best wishes to all of you during the holiday season.

Anna Parker-Richards
STC Toronto Presiden