Hey, all you procrastinators! If you are working on your taxes this weekend, don’t forget to factor in STC dues. They can be declared as a charitable expense, a business expense, or a miscellaneous deduction. See Deduct Your Dues on the STC site for details.
Every day, more than 9,000 meetup groups get together in local communities. Join the Metro Phoenix Technical Communicators group at one of the following meetings:
See http://bit.ly/VOMGKh for details.
The Phoenix Chapter is happy to help you keep up-to-date:
Let’s get together to share a Friday evening filled with wine, food, and an entertaining yet pertinent presentation by published author, consultant and motivational speaker John Hedtke (www.hedtke.com). Drawing on John’s 30 years in software and documentation, his topic, “How to be Famous in Your Profession” will provide a humorous insight into subtle (and not so subtle) self-promotion and networking techniques with the goal of opening new opportunities in technical documentation, software development, IT and other similar professions.
Registration deadline: March 13th, end of day
John Hedtke is the award-winning author of 26 books. He has 30 years in the software business, close to 30 years writing, and 7 years in technical publications management. John has developed and written documentation and books for many leading software products, and has received 26 writing awards to date. A complete list of books, articles, projects, and awards can be found online at his website, www.hedtke.com. John owns JVH Communications, a company that offers writing and business consulting services for a variety of private, public, and governmental clients. He is also Publisher for Double Tall Press, a private publishing company specializing in nonfiction books. John also does numerous radio and magazine interviews and frequently travels to do lectures and guest appearances at conferences and seminars. John was the last Region 7 Director on the Society for Technical Communication’s Board of Directors and is a Fellow of the Society. When not otherwise occupied, John writes magazine articles and sleeps late as much as possible.
We will have a pasta buffet (including a veggie option) with salad, drinks, and dessert.
For the wine tasting, we have selected the Viva la France! wine tasting session to kick off the “Happy Hour” portion of the evening. While we dine, Total Wine will present a 30-minute educational and wine tasting session featuring white and red wines from various regions of France. These wines will also be available for purchase after the meeting at a discounted rate.
Water, soda, and coffee will be available for attendees who opt out of the wine tasting, or these attendees may elect to arrive after 6:30 p.m.
With all the different communication devices available, how do you adapt your content to different device types? How can you craft your content to support varying screen dimensions and user interaction types, like touch and hand gestures?
In this webinar, Joe Welinske introduces the concept of responsive design and multiscreen authoring for technical communicators and includes demonstrations to answer these questions. After the seminar, you can use Joe’s techniques with any type of content and a variety of authoring tools.
For over twenty-five years, Joe Welinske has been providing training, contracting and consulting services for the software industry. He specializes in helping your software development effort through crafted communication.
Joe recently published the book, Developing User Assistance for Mobile Apps. He also teaches courses for Bellevue College, the University of California, and the University of Washington.
Meeting ID will be provided after you register.
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* To attend this event without cost, students must be currently enrolled in a technical communication program.
It’s time to celebrate a new year, and members of the STC Phoenix Chapter have more to celebrate than members of many other chapters. Read on for exciting news and events to attend!
We’re Still Here
New Meetup Group
Program Meetings
Call for Volunteers
One reason to celebrate is that the chapter still exists in 2013! Established in 1963, the STC Phoenix Chapter has celebrated prosperous times and weathered difficult times. While five STC chapters dissolved in 2012 alone, Phoenix has persevered and will remain an effective and viable chapter through its 50th year and beyond.
As part of the chapter’s efforts to become a more active resource for technical communicators across the Valley of the Sun, we’ve established the Metro Phoenix Technical Communicators (MPTC) Meetup.
This meetup provides an informal forum for technical communicators across metropolitan Phoenix to meet over breakfast or lunch and discuss trends, issues, and new developments in our industry. MPTC meetups will not include formal speakers or presentations, and the only cost to STC Phoenix Chapter members is the cost of your own meal.
All STC Phoenix Chapter members are automatically welcome to participate in MPTC events. We’ve already scheduled lunches in Tempe on January 21 and Scottsdale on January 30, with more to be scheduled in different locations around metro Phoenix soon.
Any dues or donations collected from the MPTC Meetup site go directly to the STC Phoenix Chapter. You do not have to be an STC member to join or participate in the MPTC meetup, but non-STC MPTC members will pay non-member pricing when attending any STC Phoenix Chapter events. We hope participation in the informal MPTC meetups will ultimately stimulate more participation in our formal STC Chapter meetings.
The chapter plans to host at least four program meetings and other events during the year. We’re working on getting speakers and locations for these events, and will update you as soon as we have plans in place.
If you have any ideas for program meeting content or would like to participate as a speaker or volunteer, please email chapter president Kim Rosenlof at president@stc-phoenix.com.
Like all volunteer organizations, we need people to help make it work. If you can spare any time to assist either at meetings or behind the scenes, please email chapter president Kim Rosenlof at president@stc-phoenix.com.
STC Classic Membership is $195 through December 31st for new or renewing members. The Classic level includes electronic versions of STC publications; a free copy of the 2012-2013 Salary Database (available July 2013); access to job bank postings; archived seminars, the STC blog, and TechComm Today; and discounts on the annual conference, certificate courses, and Web seminars.
If you are renewing your STC membership or have recently renewed it, we ask that you consider using your membership savings to add a Phoenix chapter membership as well (only $25.00). The chapter provides opportunities to explore new venues, discuss local issues, learn new skills, and gives you a heads up on the local job market. Also, with new leadership and a new plan, next year will be a great time to get involved!
Join or renew at http://www.stc.org/membership/join-or-renew-now.
To understand all membership levels and benefits, see http://www.stc.org/membership/join-or-renew-now/membership-dues.
The past four years have been a challenge for all STC communities, and our chapter was no exception. In 2012, we had some disappointments, but we also had some achievements, as well as a great group of dedicated volunteers. I wanted to thank all of you, chapter members and nonmembers alike, for your contributions and your support during this past year.
Like the Society and the technical communication field itself, the Phoenix chapter is in a time of transition. We learned some valuable lessons last year and there is a new plan in the works for next year! It promises to be a great time to get involved in the AZ technical communication community. Please join me in supporting the efforts of our incoming President, Kim Rosenlof, and our incoming Treasurer, Patricia O’Shea.
Jan Kruse
2012 President
The Nominations Committee is pleased to announce the election of our 2013 administrative council. These STC Phoenix Chapter members ran unopposed and were elected unanimously:
Fifteen of 46 eligible members voted during the November 1-7 election. The election was held online using the iContact system.
The administrative council is the decision-making body of the chapter and is composed of the elected officers and the immediate past president, Jan Kruse. They take office on January 1 and serve through December 31, 2013.
Congratulations to our new administrative council and thanks to everyone who voted!
The Nominations Committee is pleased to present our slate of officer candidates for the STC Phoenix Chapter election. Elected officers will serve from January 1 through December 31, 2013.
The chapter will conduct electronic voting this year from November 1-7. A link to the ballot will be emailed to all current chapter members on November 1.
Here are our chapter officer candidates and their biographies:
Kim Rosenlof – Candidate for President
Kim Rosenlof has been a member of the Phoenix Chapter since 1997 and currently serves as the chapter treasurer. Over the past 15 years, Kim has presented at STC Phoenix Chapter meetings, participated as a CARSEF/AzSEF and Publication, Art, and Online competition judge, spoken at the STC Region 5 conference in 2005 and served as Membership Chair of the Instructional Design and Learning SIG in 2007-2008. Kim has also served as the Arizona Wing Public Affairs Officer of Civil Air Patrol, Toastmasters Y5 Area Governor, and LUNA Chix Phoenix Triathlon Team Leader.
Currently self-employed as an instructional designer, technical writer, and marketing communications professional, Kim’s work experience includes technical writing and instructional design positions at Data Dimensions, Honeywell, and TraCorp, as well as writing articles for various aviation and technical publications. Her hobbies include running, triathlons, hot air ballooning, and learning to play the piano.
Patricia O’Shea – Candidate for Treasurer
Patricia O’Shea was introduced to STC through an ASU class participation event in 2001 and became a member in 2010.
Patricia is a technical writer with Pacific Scientific EMC and part time English composition teacher at Mesa Community College. She graduated from ASU with a BA in journalism, minor in English, in August 1996 and began working as a technical writer for Orbital in 1997. In December 2010, Patricia graduated with an M.A. in English (rhetoric and composition). Her MA course work included electives from Multimedia Writing and Technical Communication. In her current position, Patricia functions as technical writer in the traditional sense, drawing on her extensive experience in manufacturing as a Quality Assurance Engineering Assistant. As a technical writer, she is interested in increasing awareness of the value of technical writers and writing in industry, as well as helping to promote professional status for all technical communicators. She is married and has two adult children and six grandchildren.
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