By Holly Federicksen Dewitt, Carolina Chapter Member

Recently, the STC Carolina Chapter participated in Vision Day, a time for members to gather and discuss how to increase the value of our memberships in future programs and events. In case you missed it, here is a quick recap of some of the possibilities that were discussed:

• Programs/chapter meetings: creating effective tables, analyzing your audience, developing writing skills, and website analytics (for example, SEO techniques).
• Brown bag lunches or dinners based on the SUMMIT@ACLICK recordings, with discussion and interaction interspersed at various points. Not only would this be a great substitution for programs with speakers, it would also attract tech writers who are unable to attend the Summit.
• Training/workshops on the weekend (with a nominal fee).
• A freelancer’s group that could meet informally at restaurants, libraries, or coffee shops.
• A buddy program in which buddies could call each other to ask advice or get help to solve a problem.
• Informal meetings based on specific topics, such as XML, FrameMaker, contracting, etc. Members could attend to discuss topics and get help with related challenges at work. These meetings would be supplemental, and not a replacement for monthly chapter meetings.

These are just a few of the great ideas discussed during at Vision Day. In the midst of all suggestions that were offered eagerly with enthusiasm and excitement, one thing became clear: for the STC Carolina Chapter, the upcoming year could very well be the best one yet.


Holly can be reached at hollyfredericksen at gmail dot com.