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News from Our STC Phoenix Officers - Jan, Miachelle, David, and Kim

Happy New Year, STC Phoenix Chapter members and affiliates!  We hope that 2012 finds all of you doing well and that this new year brings you exciting challenges.

The Committee Managers and Administrative Council (CMAC) knows that many of you have questions, such as when our next meeting will be and what is going on! Following are details on chapter activities and upcoming events.

First, the CMAC would like you to know that we are here and we are fully engaged.  This year,  the chapter’s four elected officers will be taking a different approach to the handling of the chapter’s administrative affairs.

Chapter Changes

Open and frequent communication
We are going to be more communicative about chapter issues, such as our financial status, interactions with STC headquarters, and the content of our CMAC monthly meetings.  You deserve to know what is going on and how we are handling your issues and concerns. Your elected officers are fully committed to this goal. We will post our CMAC meeting minutes for all chapter members to read; you can see the issues we discuss, how they are being resolved, and by whom.

Meetings
In the past, chapter meetings were held on the second Tuesday of each month.  At the end of 2011, we surveyed chapter members and learned that a change is needed. One of the most consistent comments was a need to change when meetings are held; many also felt meetings were too frequent.

We listened!  For 2012, our chapter’s quarterly program meetings will occur on different days. In addition to program meetings, we will have Open Mic Night in April — a networking meeting.

This year, we will also be reaching out to fellow organizations by inviting them to our meetings. A fee of only $5 will be charged to attendees who are not affiliated with the Phoenix Chapter or STC.

We will no longer have our meetings at the Hilton Hotel. That approach requires a signed contract and fee commitments that our budget can no longer support.  Instead, we will find different locations where you may purchase your own meals/refreshments.

Administrivia
The CMAC has come to realize that certain fundamental administrative functions have lapsed. The focus for the first six months of 2012 will be to get those administrative functions back in order. One impact of this will be to work toward qualifying for the STC Community Achievement Award again.

Upcoming Events

Following are upcoming events for the STC Phoenix Chapter:

• February Meeting: Our first chapter meeting will be held February 23, 2012.  We are still identifying a location, but save the date!  Our guest speaker will be ASU Professor Barbara D’Angelo, who will speak on copyright issues. You may be surprised at what you learn! Watch your email and this website for more information soon.
• 2012 Membership Drive:  It’s that time of year again!  At the end of 2011, we had 80 chapter members, and we would like to see a high rate of renewal.  Membership fees are $250, or $215 without a chapter or SIG affiliation.  STC is once again offering four monthly installment payments to ease the burden of the membership costs.  Visit http://www.stc.org/ to renew.
• Chapter Drawing: The Phoenix Chapter will also be offering a renewal incentive:  renew by February 29th, and at the March CMAC meeting we’ll hold a drawing for a $50 and a $25 Amazon gift card! Entry into the drawing is automatic with your STC renewal.
• NAU Partnership: In addition to our ongoing partnership with ASU, we have begun to collaborate with the Professional and Technical Writing faculty of NAU.  Stay tuned for news on upcoming chapter/university projects.
• April’s Open Mic Night: Back by popular demand, “Open Mic Night” will take place the third week of April (exact date to be determined). The topic for this Open Mic is “BYOD” (Bring Your Own Device). Have a favorite app? Have a tool you love?  How about a funny story about your experiences with a particular tool or device? Come share it, and network with fellow technical communicators.  More information to come.
• Arizona Science and Engineering Fair 2012: AzSEF is just around the corner!  Last year AzSEF Committee Chair Miachelle DePiano converted the initial round of judging to an online process, with the final round of judging taking place at the Phoenix Convention Center. This year, AzSEF takes place April 2-4, and Miachelle will be looking for volunteer judges again.  The online process was a success, with just a few tweaks needed for this year. If you are interested in volunteering as a judge, please contact Miachelle at azsef@stc-phoenix.com.
• Volunteering: Speaking of volunteers, when it comes to non-profit organizations like ours…it does take a village!  We can always use volunteers to help with STC Phoenix activities!  We are currently prioritizing the projects we need to tackle for the coming year and we will be sending out more information about specific needs in the near future. If you have a volunteer idea in mind now, though, please contact Jan at president@stc-phoenix.com or Miachelle at vice_president@stc-phoenix.com.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 16th, 2012 at 10:18 pm and is filed under Community Blog, Governance & Elections, Latest Chapter News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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