Jackie Damrau Candidate for Region 5 Director-Sponsor

 

Jackie Damrau Running for Region 5 Director-Sponsor

By Jackie Damrau
Senior Member, Lone Star Community
(Jackie's Web site)

The elections for the nation have just ended. Candidates won and candidates lost. STC elections are just gearing up with the candidates announced for the various positions available. As one of the nominees selected to run for the position of Region 5 Director-Sponsor, I’d like to provide you with a brief background of myself and four reasons to vote for me as your Director-Sponsor.

My Background

I actually began in STC back in the mid-1980s by becoming a non-active member of the Kachina chapter. As my son was born, I had to make a decision to let my membership lapse. I returned to STC during the 1993 STC 40^th Annual Conference. From 1993 to 1998, I was inactive as I was progressing through my educational pursuits. In 1999, my life opened up and I slowly became involved with the Lone Star Chapter (LSC). Since that time, I have grown in my knowledge, experience, and leadership skills. I’m currently serving as the LSC president with my term ending in May 2005. I am a member of the Competitions and Public Relations committees, as well as Contributing Editor for Technically Write.

At the Society level, I have served as an international publications judge (2000–2003), a Technical Communication book reviewer (2003–present), an ID&L and Management SIG core team member; and a Management SIG core team member and its Managing Newsletter Editor.

My STC awards include one chapter Technical Publications competition award, two chapter newsletter awards, and two Chapter of Distinction awards.

I have a Doctorate in Business Administration from California Coast University, Santa Ana, California, and an MBA from Amberton University, Garland, Texas. I have held positions from a legal secretary to a technical writer/trainer to an instructional designer/developer. I have worked in the government, public and private sectors, as well as in academia. Industry knowledge spans from photovoltaic research & development to telecommunications to business soft skills training to animated multimedia training help solutions.

Here are the reasons I feel that you should vote for me.

Reason #1: Transformation

Vote for me because I believe in and support the Transformation initiative. Overall, I feel that this change is necessary for the Society to remain a vibrant, functioning professional organization. Change never comes easy!

As the Society continues on its transformation path, I’ll be there for all the Region 5 chapters, communities, and special interest groups (communities of practice) to help you go through this transition as painlessly as possible. With effective leadership and member willingness, we can meet this with open arms. I’ll be your elected spokesperson to raise your concerns and try to get answers from the Board and Society.

Remember, I have your interests at heart, as well as that of my own community.

Reason #2: Member Value

The Society has taken the first step in providing member value by implementing its tier level membership dues. Personally, I believe that the Classic membership is one that we all should select. Yet, in today’s economy, dollars are shorter, so I can accept that members may opt to enroll for one of the other membership plans.

I am an 11-year-old STC member. You can ask me as a burgeoning teenager if I feel that all my needs have been met by the Society. I’d say partially. I feel that the Society can do more in the way of improving member value. What specifically that is depends upon each individual member and what he or she values most in a professional organization.

I’ll work on your behalf to inform the Society of your thoughts for what you feel they can do to provide you with member value. Some of your needs may be addressed by the Transformation initiative stages. It never hurts to ask if things that you want are under consideration.

Reason #3: Educational Opportunities

I believe the Society can do more within the educational arena. I’m interested in your thoughts on what STC itself can offer to you, but I’m also interested in how you feel the Society can increase educational opportunities within our own region. We have loads of talent in our own backyards and are not using it enough. One of my goals is to find out how many of you are interested in leading a Webinar for the Region 5 members (with corporate sponsor support) where we can share information on products, techniques, leadership, and so on.

Reason #4: Communication

Communication is the key element in our profession. We are always writing documentation or creating web sites that provide the right message to the right audience. As your Director-Sponsor, I will be glad to visit your chapters (on a pre-arranged schedule), participate in conferences at the chapter or regional level, and write columns for publication in your newsletters.

In the role of Director-Sponsor, I’ll be communicating often with the chapter presidents, student members, and SIG managers. These members will be the main point of communication. However, I encourage any member within the Region 5 area to contact me to discuss your views and opinions. You can also feel free to use me as your sounding board.

Finally, I encourage you to vote in the upcoming election. I believe our field is important and that STC does make a difference. I’m ready to make major contributions of time and effort to help STC go through its transformation and to promote STC as a premier technical communication organization.

You can also visit my website (http://web2.airmail.net/jdamrau3) to find out more about me and why I feel I’m qualified to represent your chapters or communities.