By Andrea Wenger, Chapter President



I was pleased to receive the good news that the STC Carolina Chapter has won a Community of Excellence award from the Society. The citation reads,

For your successful merger with the STC Foothills Chapter, your strong commitment to partnering with other STC chapters, streamlining your competitions, and your innovative unconference.

In filling out the application for the award, I had the opportunity to review all that the chapter had done to serve its members in 2011. In my most recent president’s message, I highlighted some of the programs the chapter brought you last year, many of which are available as recordings on our website.

Now, I’m asking if you can give to the chapter.

If STC Carolina has helped you in your career, then help us spread the word. The Society offers the following suggestions:

• Let colleagues in the workplace know how STC has contributed to your professional growth through knowledge sharing and networking opportunities.
• Bring coworkers, managers, colleagues, and friends interested in technical communication to STC events.
• Write a testimonial about what STC has done for you career, knowledge, and networking. The chapter can then share the testimonial in the newsletter or on the website.
• Participate in a technical communication-related event at a local college, university, or high school (such as staffing a booth or speaking at a conference, career day, or science fair). The chapter can provide STC membership materials for you to distribute at the event.

You can also support the chapter in other ways.

• Nominate a qualified chapter member for Associate Fellow or a Society-level award, such as or the Jay R. Gould, Ken Rainey, Frank R. Smith, Sigma Tau Chi, and Alpha Sigma Awards.
• Recommend a speaker (including yourself!) to present at a meeting, or suggest a topic that you’d like to hear about.
• Submit an article to the chapter newsletter or volunteer for the newsletters staff.
• Serve on a chapter committee to help plan our program meetings or to recruit members.
• Run for election as a member of the administrative council. Serving on the council gives you opportunities to build professional relationships, develop leadership skills, and stay current with your tech comm knowledge. Plus, it looks impressive on a resume!

If you’re interested in helping out, please contact me at president at stc-carolina dot org. The chapter is only as good as its volunteers. With your support, next year we can become a community of distinction!

Andrea can be reached at president at stc-carolina dot org.