President's Message
Taking a Peek Behind the Scenes:
Making "Magic" at the Boston STC
By Hans Fenstermacher
Now that we've passed the midpoint in our STC year, and since we're coming up on the annual elections for STC Council, I thought I would tell you a bit more about what happens behind the scenes in our chapter.
The STC year runs from July 1 through June 30. Over the course of a typical STC year, the Council members and their committees manage all chapter business, which includes:
- Over 15 programs and workshops
- Up to a half-dozen specialty events, such as SIG meetings and new members' receptions
- Three competitions in technical publications, online, and technical art, administered jointly with the Northern New England STC Chapter
- A regionwide conference (InterChange)
- A bimonthly news publication (the Boston Broadside)
- A Web site full of services and news for everyone in the information-delivery business
- Ongoing public relations and sponsorship efforts
- Many other activities
Though it may look like magic, it's not. All these events and services are available to you as the result of a lot of hard work by people who care about the STC, our profession, and you!
To help you understand some of the behind-the-scenes work, here are some answers to frequently asked questions about the chapter.
How big is the Boston Chapter?
The STC Boston Chapter is the second largest chapter in the world. We have some 1,200 members and are a founding chapter of the STC. That means that in 2003 we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary, right along with Society!
What are our chapter's goals?
The main goal of the STC Boston Chapter is to advance the art and science of technical communication throughout the Boston area, and more broadly through its association with the international Society. We want to help you learn more, understand more, experience more, and enjoy more.
This year we had specific goals, which we are well on the way to meeting. For example, our chapter has long needed a new brochure, which is now ready (more about this later). We wanted to add new services to our Web site, such as an improved layout and meeting room/chat facilities, which we have also done. There's much more, but suffice it to say that all our goals are directed to offering more to our members and to better connecting with the world beyond the STC.
What is the STC Boston Chapter Council?
The Council is the governing body for our chapter's activities and consists of 12 voting members, including five officers, the immediate past president, and six at-large Council members. All Council members are elected by our membership and serve without compensation. We meet once a month as a group to deal with the surprisingly large amount of financial, logistical, and administrative work that is required to bring you all the activities that are listed above. Officers and committee chairs prepare monthly status reports for review at the meeting. We scrupulously examine the month's financial transactions, and the Secretary records all deliberations. We all feel a great sense of accountability to you, our members, and to the STC as a whole.
How many committees are there and what do they do?
There are 18 standing committees that cover a broad range of activities. Most committees are headed by a Council member, and some committees have as many as 8 members. For instance, the Programs Committee makes all the arrangements for speakers, site logistics, program information, Web pages, registration (with the Treasurer), coordination at the event, post-program write-ups, and more. Our annual competitions are run by the Competitions committee, a hard-working group that manages the entire process from kick-off through the STACIes banquet (which was awesome this year) to the Showcase in May. Some committees have special projects that change from year to year. For instance, the Public Relations committee this year has developed a fantastic new Flash-based e-Brochure for our chapter (coming to you on mini-CD soon!) that took several months and a half-dozen or more people to complete. Other committees have ongoing, regular activities, such as the Job Bank, Membership, the Boston Broadside, SIG coordination, and much, much more. This year's Council committees have done an outstanding job in providing services and activities for you!
How can I join a committee?
There are many different ways that you can add your input to the STC and help out, based on your interests, availability, and skills. If you've never served on a committee before, don't worry. It's not hard and it doesn't take up a lot of time. But it is vital because, without your help on committees, it would be impossible to give you such a broad range of activities all year long.
If you would like to help, contact any Council member or send a note to Volunteer Coordinator Doris Hathaway at Doris_Hathaway@avid.com.
What's coming up?
The end of this STC year may be approaching, but we still have many more programs and workshops to keep you informed and competitive. Take a tour of our Web site (http://www.stc-boston.org) to find out what's coming your way in the next few months! If you would like to serve on the Council or chair a committee, please contact Taryn Light, First Vice President, at tlight@media100.com. And don't forget that elections for Council are coming up very soon, too.
Hans Fenstermacher (hansf@architext-usa.com) is president of the Boston Chapter STC. In his day job, he is president and founder of ArchiText Inc., a provider of localization and globalization services.
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