March 2002
By Laura LaCombe
CIL Chapter Member
Greetings all! I am filling in for Nancee this month as she tends to her and her family's health. Our thoughts and prayers are with Nancee and her loved ones and we wish them the speediest of recoveries.
This month's newsletter is not only a little late, but also somewhat abbreviated. However, be sure to check out the information on the upcoming job fair, the April Dreamweaver workshop, and the annual conference.
I gleaned the mailing list from information I have received from Nancee in the past - my apologies if anyone gets a duplicate newsletter, and please forward the newsletter to anyone you know should receive it or might be interested. And since we now have a backup plan in place, please don't hesitate to let me know about any email address updates. Contact me at LALaCombe@aol.com.
The Central Illinois Chapter for the Society for Technical Communication invites you to network and mingle with people skilled in the art and science of transforming technical data and information into knowledge.
| Date | Tuesday, April 2, 2002 |
|---|---|
| Time | 6:15 p.m. -- 8:00 p.m. |
| Place | Room 233/235, Grainger Engineering Library 1301 W. Springfield Avenue, Urbana, IL www.uiuc.edu/navigation/maps/ |
| Parking | FREE!! |
| Goodies | Light refreshments will be served (which is why your RSVP is so important) |
| RSVP | By noon on Friday, March 29th, to themoster7399@yahoo.com or 217/762-9568 |
| Late RSVP | Late RSVPs and walk-ins are always welcome, although we may run out of goodies. |
WHO'S GOING TO BE THERE
EMPLOYERS (CURRENT AND POTENTIAL)
Meet qualified candidates to fill your immediate or anticipated employment, contracting, or freelance needs. Bring multiple copies of project and/or job descriptions.
EMPLOYEES/CONTRACTORS/FREELANCERS
This is your chance to meet the people who have -- or will have -- full-time, contract, or freelance work offerings. Bring multiple copies of your resume and/or a description of your services. Feel free to bring your work samples or portfolio.
Feel free to distribute this invitation to anyone you think might be interested in this opportunity.
FREE PARKING
There is a parking lot just east of Grainger, on Mathews (turn south off of Springfield on to Mathews). This parking lot has rental spaces that are rented until 5 p.m. and metered spaces. You can park in the rental spaces for free. There is also metered parking on the street near Grainger ($.75/hour).
DREAMWEAVER WORKSHOP
There are still a few seats available for the April Dreamweaver workshop, but they are going fast! The workshop is led by our own Randy Brooks and offers hands-on Dreamweaver development as well as discussion about issues pertinent to web design and development, including:
When: April 13-14, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days
Where: Media Arts Center, Millikin University, Decatur, IL
Cost: $140 for STC members, $165 for non-members a HECK OF A DEAL that includes these workshop materials: Dreamweaver 4: Hands-On Training by Garo Green with Lynda Weinman (Berkley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2002). The book, retailing for $40, comes with a CD with trial versions of Dreamweaver and Fireworks software, video demos, and tutorial files. And you get to keep it.
Registration: Contact Nancee at themoster7399@yahoo.com, or (217)762-9568, to hold your seat. Then immediately - before you do anything else - send a check for the registration fee to:
Nancee Moster, Chapter President
Central Illinois Chapter STC
P.O. Box 70
White Heath, IL 61884
If Nancee does not receive your check within 72 hours, your seat will be offered to someone else.
Cancellation Policy: Our itsy bitsy chapter is not a flashy, experienced workshop provider. We're offering this opportunity at a TREMENDOUS VALUE because of Randy's commitment to STC and his home chapter. So, if you need to cancel, we can refund your registration fee minus our cost for the workshop materials we must order in advance. But you still get to keep the materials!
Workshop Leader: Randy M. Brooks, Associate Professor of English at Millikin University, has taught a variety of web design and publishing courses, workshops, and seminars. Not only has Randy designed and edited a variety of web sties, including several devoted to Haiku poetry, but he also has a thriving web design consulting practice. Honors and awards include Excellence in Educational Web Site Design, Master Communicators Award, Illinois, 1998. And he has been invited to contribute a chapter on "Online Publishing" for the Internet Encyclopedia. For more information about Randy's depth and breadth of experience, check out http://faculty.millikin.edu/~rbrooks.hum.faculty.mu/index.html
Continued Interest: If there is enough interest, we may also be offering
this workshop in June. We also have to opportunity to offer other web design
workshops. Let Nancee know about your continuing interest.
JOANN HACKOS: STRUCTURING INFORMATION FOR ONLINE SUCCESS WORKSHOP
The seminar led by Joann Hackos, scheduled for April 2-3, has been cancelled. Ms. Hackos has proposed offering this or another seminar next fall or spring. Check out http://www.usabledesign.com for information about the seminars offered by Ms. Hackos, then let Nancee know what your interests are.
We are very fortunate to have a relationship with Ms. Hackos and should take advantage of her generous offer. Please take the time to visit the Usable Design web site and let us know what you would be interested in.
STC ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The annual STC conference takes place at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN, May 5 - 8. Early registration ends April 19. Check out http://www.stc.org/49thconf/index.html for more information.
WEEKLY JOBS, EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
The weekly newsletter featuring job postings and other announcements has been a huge hit. If you hear of any job openings that may interest our members, or have other news and announcements you want to share, send them to Nancee at themoster7399@yahoo.com.
Elections for Central Illinois Chapter board officers are coming up in May. Nominations are due April 9. Here is a summary of Marya Ryan's official call for nominations:
"We have experienced vigorous growth in the past couple of years, thanks to the efforts of our current chapter president, Nancee Moster, and our other officers, committee members, and volunteers. This is an exciting time to step forward for office and contribute to the chapter's vitality. Our chapter's elected offices are
See Officer Positions or our chapter Bylaws for a complete description of officer responsibilities. Current board members are more than happy to discuss their take on position responsibilities.
We know that volunteers' time is valuable, so we've tried to divvy up responsibilities so that officers and other volunteers spend no more than one or two hours per week on STC activities. If you'd like to become active with the chapter in some other capacity, there are plenty of committees to volunteer for. See Standing Committees for details and and contact Nancee Moster at themoster7399@yahoo.com if you are interested in serving on any committees.
Guidelines for nomination are
I will keep an eye out for your nominations!
Sincerely,
Marya Ryan
Chair, Central Illinois Chapter STC Nominating
Committee
m-ryan1@prairienet.org
This is your friendly substitute editor again - get involved and get your nominations in. We are so fortunate to be part of such an active chapter with so many offerings and such a great support network. Let's work together and keep the momentum going so that we can look forward to many more years of great speakers, seminars, and networking opportunities. Remember, you can nominate yourself, and the DEADLINE is APRIL 9.
We deviated a little off course at the March meeting of the Central Illinois Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication when member Susan Warsaw shared her experiences volunteering at Ground Zero. I don't have the minutes from the meeting, but here's a brief summary of Susan's heartwarming presentation.
We have all coped with the events of Sept. 11 in our own way. Susan was moved to actually serve at Ground Zero. She contacted the Salvation Army, and even though she wasn't a medical professional or skilled with their immediate needs, her persistence soon landed her the task of creating a computer system that handled all of the letters and contributions that flowed in.
Then, in October, Susan was able to help at Ground Zero with meals, correspondence, comfort and morale. Susan talked about her experiences and showed pictures of the food tent, the crew, the memorials, the devastation, and the clean up. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Susan returned for another volunteering tour in January, where she found honor and respect for the victims and their families still flourishing, and where she also found that volunteers were still making a difference to the crews charged with recovery and clean up.
She will be leading another volunteer tour in April that will include many
of our colleagues and associates. We wish them all a great trip, and thank Susan
for her wonderful and moving presentation and for her efforts on behalf of all
of us.