10.20.01

* How To Negotiate A Better Salary
* Scholarships for Technical Communication
* STC Membership Drive
* New Single-Sourcing SIG Makes Its Debut
* See What You Missed Last Month
* September 2001 Board of Directors Meeting

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HOW TO NEGOTIATE A BETTER SALARY
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The Central Illinois Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) invites you to attend the November meeting.

Program:	"How to Negotiate a Better Salary"
Speaker:	Karen Steele
Date:	Tuesday, November 6, 2001
Time:	6:15 pm
Place:	NCS Learn, 125 West Church Street, Suite 300, Champaign, Illinois, 61820
Cost:	FREE!!!!!
Dinner:	Will most definitely be served (which is why your RSVP is so important)
RSVP:	By noon on Friday, November 2nd, to nmoster@metasolv.com or 217/762-9568

*** How to Negotiate a Better Salary ***

The gentle art of negotiation is both subtle and highly satisfying. When practiced regularly, it reaps great rewards -- none so obvious as an increased rate of pay. Karen will talk about negotiations in general, and salary negotiation in particular -- both from the perspective of an incoming employee and a current employee seeking a raise.

*** Who is Karen Steele? ***

Karen Steele has contributed to the technical communication profession for twenty years as a communicator, educator, and journalist. As a technical communicator, she has been a writer, editor, and manager. As an educator, Karen has taught in corporate environments and in academic settings. As a journalist, she has been a regular contributor to The Dallas Morning News.

Karen's career as a consultant has been varied, and has included work as a technical writer, information developer, courseware developer, lead writer, business systems analyst, project manager, and group project manager. Her clients include Informatics General Corporation, Computer Associates, IBM, NEC America, Suite Software, Levi-Strauss, Sealand, and Alcatel USA. Currently employed as a manager of documentation for MetaSolv Software, Inc., Karen supervises a staff of twenty and controls a $4.3M budget.

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SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION
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By Lenore S. Ridgway
Manager, STC Scholarship Committee, and Associate Fellow, Mid-Hudson Chapter

STC is now offering scholarships for the 2002-2003 academic year, and once again we are looking for qualified applicants. Please think about whether you might be eligible for a scholarship or whether you know someone who should be encouraged to apply for one. As the skills and knowledge needed in the field of technical communication continue to grow, the education of technical communicators becomes more important. For the future of STC and the profession of technical communication, students must be encouraged to develop their abilities and expertise.

STC awards scholarships to students who are enrolled full-time in undergraduate or graduate technical communication programs and studying for an academic or industrial career in technical communication.

Technical communication includes graphical and online information presentation as well as written and oral communication. It may include "smart programs" or expert systems development, in which the candidate's concern is the presentation of information rather than computer programming. It does not include ordinary journalism, general broadcasting, or fine arts.

For the 2002-2003 academic year, STC will award fourteen scholarships, seven to undergraduates and seven to graduate students, who are enrolled in a full-time technical communication program. All scholarships are for the same amount ($2,000), which is paid directly to the school. The scholarships may be used for tuition or other expenses that the school will pay.

Applicants need not be STC members. They must have completed one year of post-secondary education before fall 2002. Students completing an undergraduate degree are eligible to apply for their first year of graduate school.

Students will be evaluated on their potential for contributing to the technical communication profession, on their accomplishments as technical communicators, on their academic records, on the content of their application letters, and on recommendations of faculty members. Individual financial need is considered when applicants are judged comparable in the preceding areas. Usually, students are granted only one year of the scholarship, but those who have received the scholarship in the past are not disqualified from applying again.

To apply, students must submit a completed application package, including a description of their accomplishments and goals. Students can obtain application information from their department chairs, the STC Web site (www.stc.org/grants_loans.html) or the STC office in Arlington, Virginia, or they can contact me (addresses given below). The package must be received by February 15, 2002.

Please promote the use of STC scholarships by applying or encouraging others to do so. The scholarships are one of the ways we can continue to improve our profession.

Lenore S. Ridgway
19 Johnston Avenue
Kingston, NY 12401
(845) 339-4927 (voice and fax)
leerichard@compuserve.com
Society for Technical Communication
Attn: Scholarships
901 N. Stuart St., Suite 904
Arlington, VA 22203-1822
(703) 522-4114
stc@stc.org

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STC MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
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It's an art. It's a science. It's your career. It's technical communication.

You may call yourself a technical writer, editor, illustrator, Web designer, or any of a hundred other job titles. But if your job involves communicating technical information, the Society for Technical Communication has the resources you need to do your job better...and to move your career forward.

*** Returning Members ***

Renew your membership online at www.stc.org/renew.html. Online renewal is quick and convenient, and it reduces printing and postage costs, as well as costs to the environment. You will need your postal/ZIP code and membership number. (Contact Nancee Moster at nmoster@metasolv.com or 217/762-9568 if you -- like 99% of our membership! -- don't know your membership number.) Those of you who don't renew online before November 11, 2001, will receive a renewal invoice in late November.

*** New Members ***

The best time of year to join is October! Memberships that begin on or after October 1, 2001, are good for 15 months, ending December 31, 2002. And you can now join online at www.stc.org/join_online.html.

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NEW SINGLE-SOURCING SIG MAKES ITS DEBUT
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By Jan D. Shelton
Manager, Single Sourcing SIG, and Senior Member, Lone Star Chapter

On July 23, 2001, one of STC's newest special interest groups, the Single Sourcing SIG, was approved. The SIG targets a wide variety of professionals who can benefit from single sourcing, such as documentation and training professionals, intra- and Internet content developers, marketing communicators, information architects, information designers, information developers, database administrators, and localization/translation specialists. As more and more technical communicators adopt single sourcing methods of documentation, the Single Sourcing SIG provides an added value to your chapter members.

The SIG's mission is to "help STC members develop knowledge and practical skills for researching, developing, and implementing single sourcing solutions." More specifically, it seeks to:

• Help STC members who are considering single sourcing research and cost-justify appropriate solutions.
• Promote the practice of structured writing, content management, and reuse.
• Educate and support those who are considering single sourcing projects.
• Provide objective information about the tools used in single sourcing. We'll address a range of single sourcing tools from "low-end" tools that produce two or three outputs (print, PDF, and help) to "high-end" tools, such as XML editors, content management systems, and publishing systems, that produce output for different product versions and multiple media.
• Locate and distribute sources for information on single sourcing (such as case studies, Web links, books, or white papers).

Currently, the Single Sourcing SIG convenes and communicates through a listserv. Threads on the list have included discussions on popular tools, "single sourcing 101" issues, and the best tools for specific tasks. Several key single sourcing authorities have joined this list and shared their valuable insights. Future plans include an electronic newsletter and a SIG Web site.

I'm looking forward to an active year in the SIG. I expect to learn and share a lot of valuable information. My company is pursuing a single sourcing solution for our documentation and training needs, and the wealth of knowledge on the listserv has already affected our strategic direction.

*** How to Join the Single Sourcing SIG***

To take advantage of the free membership opportunity (through December 31, 2001) in the Single Sourcing SIG, members should e-mail requests to membership@stc.org by November 7, 2001. Their 2002 SIG dues will be billed on the membership dues invoice mailed in mid-November. (Requests to join the SIG after November 7 will be honored, but members must enter their SIG membership on their dues renewal form to continue their memberships through 2002.)

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SEE WHAT YOU MISSED LAST MONTH
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By Marcia Krause
Secretary, Central Illinois Chapter

The topic for the October kickoff meeting of the Central Illinois Chapter was "Leadership without Authority: Creating Positive Outcomes in a Team Environment." The speakers were Gloria Keeley, Director of Development, and Bea Hilsenhoff, Assistant Director of Development, for the Office of Business and Financial Services at the University of Illinois.

Chapter president Nancee Moster opened the meeting with announcements about upcoming meeting times and dates including the November dinner gathering, which was postponed from September. She also introduced this year's officers and promoted the updated web site and posted employment opportunities. After the 50 members/guests in attendance exchanged business cards, President Moster introduced Peter Bowerman, who promoted his forthcoming Milwaukee and Chicago seminars based on his best-selling book, "The Well-Fed Writer."

President Moster then introduced the first speaker, Gloria Keeley, who discussed the definition of leadership and the characteristics of a good leader (e.g., staying in touch, humility, style, passion). Gloria also shared a handout that described leadership characteristics by personality type, management leadership styles, and included an excellent bibliography for further reading, and a web site for best book prices (www.attall.com).

The second speaker, Bea Hilsenhoff, asked attendees to complete and score a teamwork questionnaire that would reveal their style when working in groups or teams and indicate which of the four roles they are best suited for (Leader, Doer, Thinker, Carer). The audience also completed a Social Style inventory to determine their personality makeup (analytical, driver, amicable, expressive) and how to "flex" their style to work with other team members with similar or different styles. Bea then discussed the Leadership Practices Inventory and the five practices of a good leader. According to her, leadership skills are learned and can be improved through practice, desire, and persistence.

Before leaving, the attendees turned in suggestions for a half-day Saturday seminar and software tools they would like to learn more about.

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SEPTEMBER 2001 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
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By Mike Bates
Region 4 Director-Sponsor

Following the terrorist acts of 11 September, the September 2001 STC Board of Directors meeting was held by teleconference-instead of face-to-face in Atlanta, Georgia, as originally planned-on 21 September 2001.

As a little background, like all board meetings, this one consisted of three passes:

• An action pass, during which motions are brought forth to the board. For each motion, the board either approves it (with or without modifications), rejects it or requests that the motion be restated and brought forth at a later date. Also during this pass, actions taken by the Executive Council since the last board meeting are announced.
• A discussion pass, during which various topics are brought forth for board consideration and discussion. Many discussion items results in action items for board and/or committee members, generally with the expectation that a motion or further information will be brought forth at an upcoming board meeting.
• An information pass, during which board members provide information not otherwise covered in the reports they provided to the rest of the board prior to the meeting. This is also the time for board members to ask for clarification on information presented in other members' reports.

This article reports on results of the action pass. During that pass, the board approved:

• The final budget for Fiscal Year 2002.
• The dues structure effective 1 January 2002.
• The following new mission statement for the Society-level Technical Editing Special Interest Group (SIG): "The Technical Editing SIG provides opportunities for members to expand their editing and proofreading expertise by serving as a forum for information exchange, professional support, and interaction among the SIG, STC, and the editing community at large."

The dissolution of the following chapters:

• Fitchburg State student
• Eagle (Denton, Texas) student
• Saskatchewan

The following merit grants:

• US$1,235 to the Central Ohio chapter to support its new High School Learning Program.
• US$3,000 to the Northern New England chapter for a scholarship program at the University of Massachusetts. This scholarship will honor of Millie McGuire, founder of the chapter.
• US$2,000 to the Atlanta chapter to create a new résumé database.

The following loans:

• US$3,000 to the Southeastern Michigan chapter for the Region 4 conference.
• US$3,000 to the Canada West Coast chapter to host the Region 7 Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in November 2002, subject to formal approval of the conference budget.

A financial recovery/special need grant of US$715 to the Netherlands chapter to cover past-due costs incurred for the March 2001 membership meeting and ensure the future of the chapter.

An increase of the stipend for the Industry Fellowship for Faculty and for the Teaching Fellowship for Practicing Professionals to US$4,000 each.

Julie Bommarito as the Program Manager for the 2004 STC Annual Conference to be held in Baltimore, Maryland.
Rhonda Stanton for a Journal Editor Fellowship.

The Executive Council approved the following since the May 2001 board meeting:

• Pacesetter Awards for the Orlando chapter and the Mercer University student chapter. (This was a pro forma vote to acknowledge awards granted at the STC Annual Conference in Chicago in May 2001.)

Formation of the University of Wisconsin-Stout student chapter with a US$150 start-up grant.
Formation of the Single Sourcing SIG with a proposed first-year budget of US$1,400.

If you would like to learn more about decisions made during this or any other board meeting, or if you would like to have a motion or discussion item brought forward, please contact me. For items you want addressed at the January 2002 meeting, please let me know by early December.

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Mike is the Manager of Information Architecture at Rockwell Automation and Region 4 Director-Sponsor. He can be reached at mpbates@software.rockwell.com.