February/March 2007

Volume 47, Number 4

STC Officer Candidates

The following messages are from STC officer candidates for 2007. To learn more about all of this year’s candidates and to ask questions, please go to http://www.stc.org/candidatesFAQ/index.asp

Kit Brown, Candidate for STC Second Vice President

“Our profession touches every industry, every product, every process, every aspect of life in the world--a heady responsibility, which requires that we hold ourselves to high standards of excellence and continuous learning, and that we lead the way toward building rapport and communication channels with our colleagues wherever they may live and work.”—this is the vision statement Mak Pandit and I wrote for the Global Membership committee; it distills my philosophy about our profession.

As our largest professional association, STC is uniquely positioned to demonstrate this value. The current Board and the office staff have worked diligently to identify ways that STC can be at the forefront of our profession.

In addition, the USA Today and other publications have ranked technical communication in the top 20 jobs for the coming years. More and more companies are recognizing the importance of our unique skills. Our members have begun recognizing the importance of understanding both the technical and the business side of our profession. It is a good time to be here.

Reason for Running

Participating in STC has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career; every job I’ve had and many of my closest friends are directly tied to STC. Quite simply, I want to use my skills and breadth of industry experience to give back.

Vision

Lately, everyone has been talking about how to increase member value, but what does that mean really? To me, it means the following:

• Removing geographical barriers to participation and to access to resources
• Providing professional development opportunities at every stage of our career
• Educating members on industry trends, global business, and technology, and helping members understand how such trends affect our jobs
• Improving our relationship and access to industry leaders, which helps to build corporate recognition of our value, leading to better salaries, job opportunities, and so on
• Building on STC’s strengths as a collegial, friendly organization to continue providing opportunities to learn new skills, obtain mentoring, and build professional networks

Qualifications

In addition to my 16 years of experience in the profession, I am an Associate Fellow and have been active in STC since 1991. I have held a variety of positions at the local, regional, and international levels of the organization. These positions have included the following:

• Associate Fellow
• co-chair of the Global Membership committee
• Manager of the International Technical Communication SIG
• conference speaker
• local and international competition judge
• International Publications Competition Manager
• Nominating Committee member
• chapter President

Professionally, I have worked in several industries: medical, environmental, financial, localization, and computer technology. I have a BS in biology and an MS in Technical Communication, both from Colorado State University.

Conclusion

Whether you vote for me or not, I hope that you will take the time to vote. In the last international election, less than 10% of the membership voted…You get what you give from any endeavor.

Cindy Currie, Candidate for STC Second Vice President

Taking Technical Communication to New Heights!

Hello STC members!  I’m Cindy Currie, a candidate for Second Vice President (2VP).  I’m currently a Director, Community Affairs Committee chair, and a Strategic Planning Committee member. I belong to the Northern New England and UK chapters and five SIGs.  I’ve been a member since 1991 and a Fellow since 2005.

For the past two years, I’ve worked hard to help STC deliver more value for all members. I want to continue this work, and I feel that I can best do that by increasing my commitment to STC through the office of 2VP.   

My primary focus is promoting the value of technical communication to business. We need to ensure that senior management fully understands the role we play in helping to increase the bottom line of business. It is through relationships at this level that we will succeed in bringing the profession closer to the core of business, raising its profile, and creating new and higher-level roles for technical communicators. I know we can do this by concentrating on four key areas:

Codifying our body of knowledge – The certification debate continues, with strong feelings on both sides. Certification – if we choose to go in that direction – isn’t possible without a body of knowledge (BoK) against which to certify TCs. In either case, a BoK is essential to elevating the profession in the global business hierarchy, helping to further legitimize it.

Enhancing and expanding professional growth opportunities – Members must be ready to meet new and exciting challenges, so we must provide a variety of business and leadership learning opportunities, as well as education and training on methods and tools.

Creating a solid identity for STC – We need strong brand identity that loudly trumpets STC’s industry leadership of the profession, and is quickly and easily recognized as one that means quality – of both the practice and its practitioners.

Reworking our business model and infrastructure – We must be able to identify, support, and promote changes and improvements with clarity, speed, and agility. STC is a business and we need to run it like a business with all the right frameworks in place to deliver on all of our commitments – to members, partners, academe, and business.

So, let’s take technical communication to new heights!

To learn more about all of this year’s candidates and to ask questions, please go to http://www.stc.org/candidatesFAQ/index.asp

Mollye Barrett, Candidate for STC Director

Every Member Counts!

Hi! I’m Mollye Barrett and I’m a candidate for STC Director. I’m asking for your vote in the coming STC elections because I support technical communicators and the needs of STC members. I believe every member counts.

I place great store in technical communicators, the work you perform and the value you add to society. You’re important and so is your work. As an STC Director, I will listen to members and learn about your challenges, I’ll work to support your needs and as a result, I’ll ensure that STC’s governance is transparent and responsive.

As a past president of the Wisconsin Chapter and a Region 6 Conference Committee member, I understand the challenges of STC leadership. These positions have led me to recognize that the society requires changes that will facilitate growth and renewal.

My experience as a chapter mentoring program manager has connected me with professionals and students seeking a rewarding career as technical communicators. I’ve learned that by listening, offering encouragement and guidance, I’ve helped others acquire the skills and knowledge to become valuable practitioners in their field.

My role as Director would be that of a facilitator and I’ll consider every issue by asking, “What do members want and need? What resources can the Society offer to support the members?”

My career has benefited from the educational opportunities of countless chapter meetings as well as many regional and international conferences. Further, I have developed a rich network of high-functioning technical communication professionals that are both colleagues and friends.

Service is the heart of a volunteer organization like STC and service is why I am a Director candidate. To the role of Director I offer my energy, creativity, and best communication skills.

My goals are clear: offer members the education, programming, and support they need to thrive in their careers, lead the society in changes that will facilitate growth and renewal, and enjoy the opportunity to work with everyone. Some inititatives I support and propose include:

• Regularly survey members on their interests and expectations
• Ensure that STC is a member-driven organization
• Focus on STC as both a professional development and social networking organization
• Build an international mentoring program
• Recognize and honor working technical communicators
• Support STC as a business focused on the needs of members
• Support a strong membership drive for new members and contact lapsed members, encouraging them to rejoin

I have been a member of STC since 1995 and have benefited from the service of others. Please contact me with questions, concerns, ideas or just to say hello.

You can view my candidate information on the STC candidate site (www.stc.org/candidatesFAQ/candBio01.asp?candID=22) and additional information on my campaign site (www.mollyebarrett.org). I look forward to your vote of support and the opportunity to serve STC.

Mollye Barrett
mollyeb@kencook.com
414-847-1271

Nicky Bleiel, Candidate for STC Director

Hi, I’m Nicky Bleiel, candidate for Director in 2007.

I will get right to the point – I would like your vote in the upcoming election.

My vision:
Technical communicators make users more successful. I would like to help STC make technical communicators more successful by expanding its educational offerings, adding more training courses, seminars, conferences, and even books. One of STC’s goals is to “Tell our powerful story,” and I plan to work on projects that help promote our profession to the business community.

Leadership experience:
I am the immediate past president of the Pittsburgh chapter. During my presidency, Pittsburgh was recognized as a chapter of excellence; during my vice presidency, as a chapter of distinction. I also served as membership chair and have been involved in program planning for four years; including serving on the planning committee for the successful Region 4 Conference held April 2004 in Pittsburgh. I am proud that I helped launch the popular “Software Saturdays” training program, which has been adopted by other chapters.

Professional experience:
I have been a technical communicator for twelve years. Like many of us, I started my career writing books and producing them in hardcopy format, but have since embraced online help and user assistance, Web design, single-sourcing, usability, e-learning, and knowledge management. I have experience writing for products in a variety of industries; including media sales, industrial automation, simulation, and pharmaceutical.

Speaking and writing:
I have presented talks at several STC annual conferences, both during general sessions and on Leadership Day. I have also presented at local and regional STC events, including Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. Topics have included tools and technologies, user assistance design, single-sourcing, and wikis. I have been published in conference proceedings, on the web, and in STC’s Tieline (the Society leaders’ newsletter) and STC Pittsburgh’s Blue Pencil.

Results-oriented:
Accomplishing any goal – personal, professional, or as an STC leader – requires innovation, organizational skills, and focus. As a Director, I would use these traits to deliver results to our membership. I will work with the STC Board, as well as the members, to find new ways to tackle problems and drive initiatives that will make the Society a valuable resource for technical communicators.

You can contact me at bleiel@zoominternet.net. Thank you, and I would appreciate your vote in March.

For more information, see my biography at: http://www.stc.org/candidatesFAQ/candBio01.asp?candID=23.

You can ask all the candidates for Director a question at: http://www.stc.org/candidatesFAQ/candAsk01.asp?runPosition=Director