April/May 2005

Volume 45, Number 5

Transformation in Your Life: Senior Member Awards Celebration/March Chapter Meeting Review

by Martha Sippel

Delving into her own life experiences and changes within our profession, Mary Jo Stark, Principal Information Developer for Halliburton Services, Inc., demonstrated how STC members must remain flexible and adapt to whatever life brings. She discussed volunteering, transformation, and personal lessons she learned along the way.

Stark, the current treasurer of STC as well as past treasurer of the STCRMC chapter, addressed a large group of RMC senior members at a special meeting held in March. Stark's speech addressed how STC was confronting current issues like outsourcing, declining membership, and an outdated financial model. She described STC's transformation process, which included aligning the presidents, developing a roadmap, and defining timelines. Successes and failures will be outlined in the next Transformation Newsletter (http://www.stc.org/transformation, scroll down to the bottom to see Transformation Newsletters).

Transformation

Stark addressed reasons the transformation would provide a better future for communities, senior members, and the global community. Stark also discussed how she changed in her life through formal education in home economics, geophysics, and then technical communication. This transformation allowed her to become a technical communicator for a geophysical software company. She suggested that her life had required her to adapt to both personal and professional changes.

Transitions

Stark candidly talked about her early experiences in the oil industry. She briefly described returning to school for her technical communication degree in her 40s, becoming involved in an STC student chapter, and finding her dream job at her first STC conference in Minneapolis in 1994. She has been with the same company (though it has changed hands three times in 10 years) and enjoys her work.

Lessons Learned

Stark wanted to increase her management skills, so serving on the Board for STC was a place where she could gain these skills by volunteering. After serving as Transformation team lead, she realized that she had a good management skill set. However, she also learned that she really did not want to move into management. She is now at peace in her role at work and is climbing the technical ladder instead of the management ladder. She also has additional respect for the company's management staff. The company's industry is always changing and she now has a better understanding of how hard it is to keep a company on course.

Volunteer to Help your Career

Stark showed that volunteering was not only rewarding, but it opened doors for you as well. She suggested that you should volunteer for something you felt strongly about. Volunteering introduces you to people that can help you down the road. For example, if she wants to write grants, she knows exactly whom she can contact because of her volunteer experiences with the Sand Creek Trail System. Or if she wants to change careers, she has met people that have asked her to interview with their company. Even during the worst of times, Stark said, she had headhunters contacting her when she served on the STC Board.

Why Volunteer for STC

Stark believes that the best feedback you can receive is from your peers. Active members of STC are rewarded with support and feedback from a talented group of peers. Our monthly meetings allow members the opportunity to discuss projects, issues, and concerns in a protected environment, she said.

She went on to say that STC also provided many services to its members. Our local chapter provides monthly meetings with educational programs, seminars, and Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings. By taking advantage of these offerings as well as the international conference, she said, you can keep your skills up to date and learn about new technologies in the field of technical communication.