Newsletter of the East Bay Chapter of STC
September/October 2004| Home

President’s Message: Transformations Abound

by Becky Rude
EBSTC President

I’ve written many articles in this newsletter, but this is my first as EBSTC President! I’m excited about my new position and working with all of you in the coming year. I’m looking forward to being another Chapter of Excellence (or Distinction) in 2005! If you have comments, concerns, or just want to say hello, please contact me by email or phone (925-462-1676).

STC Transformation

As we all know, the past couple of years have turned the technical communication industry upside down. This year you’ll hear a lot of talk about the STC transformation that is occurring in an effort to understand what members want and need from STC. In this newsletter, you can read about the transformation from STC President, Andrea Ames (Transformation Update); Region 8 Director, Beau Cain (Director’s Report); and STC Fellow, Judy Herr (Confessions of an STC Conference Groupie). I highly recommend that you read their articles to gain an understanding of what is happening with our organization.

EBSTC Transformation

I believe that EBSTC is also undergoing a transformation as we lost about 50 members this year when people did not renew their memberships. The good news is that this is a trend internationally, not just for EBSTC. The bad news is that we are left with fewer members for volunteer positions and we will receive fewer dollars from the Society with which to run the chapter.

This means that we must transform into a self-sustaining chapter if we are to continue to have quality speakers at a quality venue. We may need to start running ads in the newsletter and on the web site or come up with ways to make extra money to subsidize chapter meetings such as holding weekend seminars on relevant topics. We also need members to show their support by attending chapter meetings. If you’ve never attended a meeting, I encourage you to attend one this year.

Your Transformation

Have Your Say in the
Member Survey

Watch your email! EBSTC’s second annual member survey will be sent soon via email.

Chapter leadership will make decisions based on the survey; it is important that every member complete it.
The survey is online and takes less than 10 minutes to complete.
Last year many members said that it was fun and easy to complete.

Now that we’ve talked about how STC and the chapter are undergoing transformation, I want to talk about your transformation. You can be transformed by becoming involved with EBSTC. You might ask, “How can getting involved in the chapter transform me?” I would like to briefly share my story to describe how volunteering for EBSTC has transformed me.

When I joined EBSTC four years ago, I was nervous to come to the first meeting by myself. Like many other technical communicators, I’m an introvert and it’s hard to join a new group. But when I arrived at my first meeting, people actually talked to me and made me feel welcome. About a year after joining EBSTC, I volunteered to work on the newsletter. I met many wonderful people as the newsletter editor. It gave me a reason to approach people and to break the ice. I quickly realized that being a chapter volunteer is an invaluable tool for introverts as it gives you confidence in approaching people to start a conversation.

Last year I was asked to consider running for office, and before I knew it, I was running for President-Elect. I will confess that it was a big stretch for me to do this. Not because I lacked confidence in my leadership abilities, but because I really try to avoid public speaking! (You’ve probably heard that most people would rather die than give a speech; this is according to a survey reported in The Book of Lists.) But I knew that this challenge would be good for my professional life and decided to go for it. Now after leading a few meetings, I am very comfortable speaking in front of the group and am glad I met this personal challenge. If a fortune teller had told me a couple years ago that I would say I’m comfortable speaking in front of a group, I never would have believed it. But EBSTC has provided a safe place for me to learn to do this and helped me to undergo a transformation in this regard.

I encourage all of you to consider getting more involved in the chapter in some way: attend meetings, volunteer for a small job, write for the newsletter, or even run for office. I promise you that you will reap many more benefits than you know!

Public Speaking and Your Career—Attend September 2 Meeting

Concidentally, our first speaker this year is talking about public speaking and how doing it well can help your career. Please join the other introverts at this meeting (OK, there are some extroverts in our group too) and see how you can improve your professional life.

Here’s to a transformed Society, chapter, and you!

Becky

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