About the Speaker – Joe Devney

The subtitle of this month’s presentation is “Real-life CSI with Word People.” Joseph Devney, M.A., is a “word person” himself. He has been a technical writer (and STC member) in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years, but his lifelong interest in language is now taking him in a new direction. He took a sabbatical to earn a Master’s degree in Linguistics at Georgetown University, and found out about the fascinating field of Forensic Linguistics, the intersection of linguistics and the law.

Joe has been a technical writer since 1995,  and has long been active in STC. He was president of the Berkeley, California chapter and has served as a judge for the technical communication competitions at both the local and international levels. He taught an introductory class in Adobe FrameMaker through his home chapter, and has given this presentation there. This year he was nominated for the honorary rank of Associate Fellow of the Society. (New Associate Fellows will be announced in January.)

Joe is also a native Arizonan, born in Tucson, where he lived until age 9.

Meeting Details

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

5:30 Check-in & Networking
6:00 Dinner
6:30 Announcements – Membership Drive
7:00-8:30 Program

Dinner Options

Meat Entree: Beef Stroganoff – Thin slices of tender beef, onions and mushrooms, in a sour cream sauce served over buttered noodles.
 
Vegetarian Entree: Vegetable Lasagna – The Hilton’s twist on the original using grilled vegetables and a creamy white sauce.
 
All entrees include a tossed green salad, rolls, tea, coffee and dessert.

Location

Phoenix Airport Hilton, 2435 South 47th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034-6410

Located just northwest of Route 143 and University Drive. From University, turn north on 47th Place, and the hotel is ahead about two blocks on the left.

Registration/Cost Information

Chapter Member via Pay Pal $18
Chapter Member paid at meeting $20
STC Member-at-Large $25
Non-member $35
Student $15
Program only $10

Rewards Program – Earn a Free Dinner

Starting with the Sept. 2010 meeting, those who have contributed $70.00 or more for dinner meeting attendance, “program only” attendance, or combination of the two, can earn a free dinner.  Rewards can be redeemed for one dinner meeting starting with the June 2011 meeting and ending with December 2011 dinner meeting.

New Member Incentive

Member and first-time guest this program year: $40 for two dinner/program

Not a member, but want to attend? We can match you with a member for one meeting this program year, at the discounted price. Contact Jan at programs@stc-phoenix.com if you are interested.

Registration Deadline

Thursday, December 9, 2010 at Noon. We cannot guarantee a dinner to late registrants, although there may be one available. Please be sure to ask. No-shows will be billed.

Register Online

To register for this event, please click here.

by Gloria McConnell, Managing Editor

Our June meeting brought the chapter’s 2008-2009 year to a close. Many member volunteers who have worked hard all year received well-deserved awards. Read about the power of volunteering (for STC and others) in this issue’s feature story, Smart Volunteering.

Summer networking will keep us connected

Plan now for the Phoenix chapter’s summer networking meetings, to be held on:

» July 14
» August 11

Networking meetings provide an opportunity for getting together with friends. They are casual (no program) and will be held at centrally located Valley restaurants.

Watch your e-mail inbox or the Events page for details! In the meantime, enjoy this issue of the Rough Draft.

Hope that this issue is blooming with articles of interest to you. We’ve tried to include something for everyone. Enjoy!

by Gloria McConnell, Managing Editor

We hope that you enjoy this issue of the Phoenix Chapter’s Rough Draft, which is part of our new chapter WordPress site. Over the next few weeks, Web master Tim Slavin will be adding many great features to the site that will allow  chapter members to take part in a true “Web 2.0″ way. For example, members will be able to register and add comments to articles and create their own profiles.

For now, take a look at our new Rough Draft! We have many topics of interest in this issue. For example, in our featured article, STC Associate Fellow David Dick explains how your questions can make the difference during a job interview. Chapter member Loretta Demarais explains how to protect your electronic equipment and valuable data in today’s world. Ms. Grammar discusses the correct use of commas, em dashes, and parentheses. Links to all of the current issues are presented below (and at the bottom of each page).  Enjoy!

The Rough Draft wishes everyone a wonderful holiday this week. Please enjoy Thanksgiving and remember the reason for the celebration. Despite all of the woes in the world today, we all have something to be thankful for. Take a cue from Gladys, and focus on the many positives in your life.

“Who is Gladys?” you ask. The late Gladys Kennedy lived to be over 105 years old. She lived life to the fullest and was a kind, generous soul. When Gladys was “only” in her 90′s, she wrote a Thanksgiving letter to her friends and family, thanking them all for being part of her life and recounting her many blessings. For this and many other reasons, she will always be my hero. I encourage you to be like Gladys this Thanksgiving Day. Tell those in your life just how important they are to you.

We hope that you enjoy this issue of the Rough Draft. The articles are listed below and also in the menu in the right corner of each page.

by Gloria McConnell, Managing Editor

E-mail and Web site combine to provide chapter news

This year, the newsletter will be brought to you in a new form – an HTML-based e-mail newsletter (e-newsletter) linked to articles on our Web site. For those of you who prefer, a plain text e-mail is also provided. Article previews are provided in the e-mail, and you can hyperlinks take you to the complete articles here.

We hope that you enjoy the articles, and the ease of skimming the content in the e-mail, then linking to the articles of interest. Of course, we hope that you read them all!

In this issue

The newsletter on this Web site is in the form of a Drupal “book.” The articles are listed below, and a navigation bar at the bottom of each page of the book includes links to the previous and next articles, as well as up to the newsletter’s home page. A Navigation menu on the right also lists all articles.

Hope that you enjoy this new approach.

Questions? Comments? Post a comment below, or send an e-mail to newsletter@stc-phoenix.com. I’d love to hear from you.