President's Corner

by Ron Arner

It’s official—I’m now the President of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the STC.

What does this mean to me? I can’t really give a definite answer to that question, because one thing that will make me a successful president is to keep an open mind and allow for minor changes to our game plan this year. Martha Sippel and her committee have done an excellent job of designing a long-term strategic plan for the chapter, and the council recently met to decide how best to implement the first part of that plan. But things will happen, as they always do, to make this seemingly perfect plan more challenging than it appears. People’s lives will change, unforeseen personal and professional commitments will emerge, and adaptation will be necessary to continue on the path to success. So being president of the STC won’t be much different from most other tasks in life.

On the other hand, STC does have some unique characteristics that will help us meet the challenges of the year ahead. Why do people belong to the STC?  My guess: for the networking, professional development, and social interaction that STC can provide. Members seem to find meetings, seminars, and Web resources our most valuable resources, and we are addressing all three areas: Kristy Astry has compiled the results of the program survey and is already busy organizing a fantastic slate of programs for the year ahead; Marella Colyvas will soon be sending out a similar survey to see what kind of seminars you’re interested in this year; and that leaves only the Web resources piece of the puzzle, which Bill Thomas and team have been talking about for a month. They’ve already started working on the redesign of our website, and Craig Banister has stepped up to be webmaster and Jobs List manager, so that we can continue to bring you crucial information until the new site is up and running sometime next year.

Thanks to a wonderful group of volunteers working on the council, including Past President Deb Lockwood and veteran advisors like Frank Tagader, Martha Sippel, and Mary Jo Stark, I’m optimistic that this will be a stellar year for our community. But the hard work is just beginning. We continue to need volunteers to perform tasks as simple as helping set up for or clean up after a seminar, writing an article or reviewing a book for the newsletter, or planning the details of one of our networking meetings. If you would like to add your name to a list of volunteers available for tasks like these, please send an email to John Endicott at vice-president@stcrmc.org. And as I mentioned, things happen—long-term volunteer positions may also need to be filled over the course of the year. If you hear a vacancy announced at a chapter meeting or see one listed in an e-blast, please consider donating your time and talent to the chapter.

Now that my carefully disguised call for volunteers is out there, let me just say thanks one more time to all who have stepped up to help out! I am very excited about what we will be able to accomplish as a community of technical communication professionals in the year ahead.