• If you register online as a chapter member with Pay Pal, you receive $2.00 off the at-the-door price. ($18.00 instead of $20.00 for a full-course meal and meeting program!) 
• If you are not a chapter member and would like to attend a meeting, a first-time attendee for this program year can be matched with an attending member for just $40.00 for two. To be matched with a member, contact Jan at programs@stc-Phoenix.com
• If you are a past chapter President, regardless of your membership status, you are always welcome to attend at the chapter-member price.
• A Rewards program is also being considered again for this year. 
• As part of the meeting agenda, we have designated 10-15 minutes before the program, to an “open mike” time, where attendees can share ideas or concerns about the profession or work-related issues.  

Hope to see you at the next meeting!

This year’s scholarship judges identified Jeanette as “the applicant who best exemplifies Diane’s leadership, contributions, and enthusiasm for the field of technical editing.” For more information, see the Technical Editing SIG announcement. Read Jeanette’s scholarship application on her blog.

In the spirit of international communication, refer to this STC France story for full details: http://stcfrance.org/articles/128/stories-of-technical-communicators-call-for-contributors.

To indicate your interest, send a 300-word proposal along with a 150-word biographical note to Dr. Yu, hyu1@ksu.edu,  by July 31, 2010.

The STC Phoenix Technical Writing Competition for students is held each year  in conjunction with the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair (AzSEF). Next year, our process will be changing a bit.  While reports on a myriad of topics will still abound – from Which Lipstick Lasts the Longest? to Growth of Amphibian Pathogens in Response to the Chemical Properties of Aquatic Environments – the report judging process will be changing.

Coordinator Miachelle DePiano is working to convert the preliminary screening of student reports to an online process.  Students will submit their reports online and Chapter judges will evaluate them online.  It promises to be a more efficient, less stressful approach to identifying our competition finalists.  Finalists will still be judged at the Science Fair.

In addition to streamlining the judging process, we are hoping to participate in AzSEF’s expanded offerings for teachers. STC will participate in workshops designed to improve teacher participation in and understanding of the science fair process.

Join Miachelle and other volunteers with these AzSEF activities! Contact Miachelle at azsef@stc-phoenix.com to find out how you can help.

If you care about the future of the Phoenix chapter, now is the time to step forward and offer to take on a leadership role. Every position takes a commitment of some kind, mostly time. Some jobs take less than others, but all are necessary and valued. The elected positions and summary of their duties are:

• President: Chairs all meetings and shapes chapter activities for the program year. Attends the annual STC Summit. Completes and submits required reports to the STC Board and LCR (Leadership Community Resources). And more.
• Vice President: tasks as assigned by the President. Fills in for the President as needed.
• Treasurer: manages the chapter funds tracking income and expenditures. Reports monthly to CMAC.
• Secretary: takes CMAC meeting minutes and publishes them in a timely manner.
• Membership Manager:  keeps track of the Chapter membership. Welcomes new chapter members, provides membership materials, may sit at the registration desk for program meetings.
• Program Manager: works with the Program committee to establish the program event schedule for the year. May include educational workshops.

STC Phoenix needs your help to continue to grow and prosper. Won’t you join the team?

Interested parties may contact Karen Zorn, president@stc-phoenix.com, or Chanda Child, chanda.child@cox.net.

Stickie Bingo for Better Course Design

Join us for a Webinar on October 29, 2009

Have you ever wanted to know an effective way to determine what information to include in your courses?  In this Webinar, you will learn how to identify tasks, steps, processes, objectives, and assessments for a specific job using a visual method that quickly derives results.

Highly Respected and Expert Presenter
Jane MacKenzie-Smith, is a Certified Performance Technologist from the International Society for Performance Improvement who has developed training for classroom, multimedia, and e-learning for most of her life.  As owner of JEM Communications, LLC (www.jemcommunications.com), she provides course design and workshops on instructional design and e-Learning.  She is the Past Manager of the Instructional Design & Learning (IDL) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), a newly elected STC Fellow, and a popular presenter at STC events.

Your Investment
$20 IDL SIG member of the STC
$30 STC Member – Join the IDL SIG to break even on this Webinar, and save money on future Webinars.
$70 Non member - Consider joining the STC today. You can enjoy the valuable benefits of being an STC member, and receive great member pricing for this Webinar and others. http://www.stc.org/membership/

Sign Up Now!
Register for the time of day that fits your schedule. Please be sure to sign up for the correct time (day or evening) because we cannot switch you to the other Webinar time. Also, be sure to select “Show in My Time Zone” when registering.

• Day Webinar: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/227142842
  1:30 – 2:30 PM (Eastern Time); 12:30 – 1:30 PM (Central Time);
  11:30 – 12:30 PM (Mountain Time); 10:30 – 11:30 AM (Pacific Time)
• Evening Webinar: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/718996682
  8:00 – 9:00 PM (Eastern Time); 7:00 – 8:00 PM (Central Time);
  6:00 – 7:00 PM (Mountain Time); 5:00 – 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)

After registering, you will be directed automatically to a payment selection page. After paying, you will receive a confirmation e-mail within 2 to 3 days.

Session Materials and More
Several days before the Webinar you will receive an e-mail with login details and instructions for viewing session materials. After the Webinar, you will receive information for viewing the recorded Webinar.

System Requirements

Audio can be through either your computer (VoIP with a fast Internet connection, microphone, and speakers), or a long-distance telephone connection.  For more system requirements, see FAQs, Attending a Webinar at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/en_US/island/webinar/support.tmpl.

Questions about This Webinar?

• Jane MacKenzie-Smith jane@jemcommunications.com
• Linda Stinger LindaStinger@comcast.net

AzSEF 2010 – Plan to Join Us Now!

Miachelle DePiano will be the AzSEF co-chair for next year’s AzSEF writing competition, working with Gloria McConnell. Thank you, Miachelle!

The 2010 Arizona Science and Engineering Fair (AzSEF) will be held on Wednesday, March  24th at the Phoenix Convention Center. Mark your calendar now! Volunteer by sending an email to azsef@stc-phoenix.com.

If AzSEF is new to you, read on.

What is AzSEF?
AzSEF is for students in grades 5 through 12 who attend school in central and northern Arizona. This event provides an opportunity for young people to create serious science or engineering projects, to experience research and learn about the scientific process, within a fun, competitive atmosphere.

What does STC do?
During this one-day event, volunteers from the STC Phoenix Chapter judge student reports, and the chapter provides monetary awards for the best reports. STC’s role is to bring awareness of the value of good technical communication and expose students to the technical communication career.

It cannot be said too often: taking part in AzSEFis a very satisfying experience. STC judges will find many well-written reports, as well as inventive (sometimes surprising) projects, and will see great promise in our future generation.

Volunteer – you will not be disappointed! Send an email to azsef@stc-phoenix.com today.

Please contact maura_betler@g1.com if you have any comments regarding this survey.

If you are a Phoenix chapter member, feel free to click the “Create an Account” link in the login box located on the left side of every page. We’ll then approve your new account and you’ll be ready to go.

Also, if you want to help us build out functionality, for example, adding elements to the member profile page and making it searchable, or creating a chapter meeting signup and payment process, just contact me through my profile page, clicking the Contact tab. There is plenty of documentation at the Drupal site. I just don’t have time to do every big and little change. Maybe you have time, here and there?

So feel free to click around and offer feedback. Things will change over time but you are now free to move about the website…

Thank you!

Click Here to take survey

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is a professional association that advances the arts and sciences of technical communication. Its 14,000+ members include technical writers, editors, graphic designers, multimedia artists, Web and intranet page information designers, translators and others whose work involves making technical information understandable and available to those who need it.

The Phoenix chapter of the STC is recognized as the hub of technical communication in the Valley of the Sun. At chapter meetings members and non-members alike enhance their technical communication skills, learn about the latest trends and technology in our field, while building professional relationships. Currently our membership stands at 187, a number that compares with last year’s membership.

If you are interested in the benefits that accrue from membership in the Phoenix chapter of the STC but have not yet joined or renewed your membership, please visit www.stc.org/membership.

Norm Haskett,
Phoenix Chapter Membership Manager

Norm Haskett
Phoenix STC Chapter Membership Manager