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Please join me in congratulating the recipients of our scholarships to STC's Annual Conference in Chicago in May:
All scholarship recipients will present a brief overview of their fun- and learning-filled conference experience at our June chapter meeting, so please mark the following details on your calendars: Thursday, June 14, 11:30 at NCS Learn, 125 West Church, Champaign.
Your chapter leadership is delighted to be able to offer these scholarships. We hope these will be just the first of many.
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Your pushy prez needs to know. So far, we believe the following chapter
members are planning to attend:
It's not too late to sign up—just check out http://www.stc-va.org/48thconf/index/html. And please alert Nancee Moster at nmoster@metasolv.com if you're planning to attend.
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DeWitt Jones
(http://www.gacpc.com/bios/bio_display.asp?name=Dewitt%20Jones), an award-winning National Geographic photographer, will be the keynote speaker. If you attended the annual conference in Dallas in 1993, DeWitt was our keynote speaker then who urged us "to put juice in our cameras." He's still on record as being the most popular STC keynote speaker for annual conferences.
Richard Lederer (http://pw1.netcom.com/~rlederer/index.htm), author of more than 2,000 books and articles about language and humor, will be the closing speaker. He'll also do a workshop on Wednesday morning. His best-selling books include Anguished English, The Bride of Anguished English, and The Write Way: A Guide to Real-Life Writing. His syndicated column, "Looking at Language," appears in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States. He appears regularly on "All Things Considered" and with Charles Harrington Elster hosts a weekly one-hour radio show, "A Way With Words," on San Diego Public Radio. He is usage editor of The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition Unabridged.
Approximately 250 sessions and 17 post-conference workshops will be offered. We're very fortunate once again this year that noted and popular presenters JoAnn Hackos, Ann Rockley, Ginny Redish, Whitney Quesenbery, Neil Perlin, and Bogo Vatovec among others will be very busy giving a variety of presentations. After a 2-year absence from STC annual conferences, Bill and Kit Horton (http://www.horton.com/start.htm) will return to do three presentations and a post conference workshop. Approximately 50 exhibitors have already signed up. An onsite STC bookstore will also be set up in the Exhibit Hall in the Hyatt.
Manual evaluation workshops, usability demos, and a special Vendor Showcase featuring some of the latest products on the market will also be available.
A Global Communication Town Meeting will be held daily in the Moulin Rouge room of the Fairmont. Technical communicators from around the world will share their ideas and concerns on international technical communication.
Need more details? Check out http://www.stc-va.org/48thconf/index/html.
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In accordance with our chapter bylaws, your current chapter leadership is nominating the following slate of officers to lead our chapter in the 2001/2002 year:
President: Nancee Moster
Vice President: Nancy Komlanc
Secretary: Steven Peter
Treasurer: Peggy Currid
But this slate does not preclude any member from nominating any other member—or even himself/herself! If you know someone who's interested in running for chapter office, or if you're interested in becoming an officer of the Central Illinois Chapter, please contact Nancee Moster at nmoster@metasolv.com. (The Volunteering link at http://www.prairienet.org/cil_stc/ provides detailed information about officer responsibilities.)
Elections will be held at our June meeting. Voters *MUST* be present, so please mark the following details on your calendars: Thursday, June 14,
11:30 at NCS Learn, 125 West Church, Champaign.
We also have several committee positions open. If you're interesting in becoming more active in the chapter but are not yet ready to take on a board position, we encourage you to check out the committee volunteer possibilities explained on the Volunteering link at http://www.prairienet.org/cil_stc/ and then contact Nancee.
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We customarily do not hold a chapter meeting in May (because of STC's Annual Conference). Our next chapter meeting will be Thursday, June 14, 11:30 at
NCS Learn, 125 West Church, Champaign.
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by Chris Benz, the tallest STC board member EVER (Chris is about 6 foot 6)
As we begin to wrap up another STC program year, it's time for chapters and members alike to reflect on our achievements during the past year, and start thinking about what we want to accomplish in the coming year.
While STC's Region 4 professional chapters range widely in size from about 30 members to over 700, and student chapters range from 15 to 35 members, most chapters would cease to exist were it not for the efforts of a relatively small number of volunteers. These small teams of "worker bees" deliver the bulk of each chapter's offerings—newsletters, monthly membership and special interest group (SIG) meetings, competitions, Web sites, e-mailings, workshops, and so on.
While those who volunteer are generally glad to do it (to see why, keep reading), a small group of volunteers means that your chapter can't offer as much as it could with a larger volunteer base.
Volunteering for your chapter can take many forms. You can serve in a relatively demanding leadership role such as newsletter editor or program coordinator, or one that requires less time but still allows you to be in the center of activity, such as secretary. You can serve in a long-term support role, such as a writer for the newsletter or a Web assistant, or you can fill a short-term role, such as a coordinator for a chapter workshop or a competition judge. You can also identify a need and propose a role to address it; chapter leaders are generally open to anything that improves their fellow members' professional lives or the community at large.
While time is short for most if not all of us, volunteering for your chapter is richly rewarding. Here are some of the benefits:
If you think you can find the time to enhance your career, your chapter, and your life, volunteer!
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She did it!!! In her words...
Hi—I'm sending this to let you know I won the STC election for 2nd vice president. I could not have done this without your assistance, help, support, advice, guidance, and kind words. I'm still not breathing normally yet.
I deeply appreciate all the support and encouragement you've given me, and all your assistance in getting the word out. You've been the best. For those of you in Region 4, Mike Bates from the NE Ohio chapter will be your new director-sponsor, starting this summer. I'm sure he'll be in touch with you in the relatively near future.
Again, all my thanks and gratitude.
Thea