President’s Farewell

by Meredith Blackwelder

The ballots are in and it’s official — I am handing over our chapter presidency to Anjela Dukes. I served two years as your president, and now I’m looking forward to moving on to different roles and responsibilities for the chapter. I suspect you’re looking forward to a new face gracing the cover of this newsletter.

The future of our chapter looks bright: We have continuity in leadership, experienced and enthusiastic people in management positions, and a strategic plan that’s about to get a 2004 update.

Recently, our chapter received two important awards. They are described in detail in a later article. Most of those who worked hard to earn those awards are back again this year, committed to doing even better in 2004-2005.

In the coming year, our job bank will have a new manager, as we say goodbye to longtime manager Kim Thorton and hello to Myra Day. Kim has moved to Charleston, SC — we’ll miss you, Kim! I’ve heard many people say how much they appreciate the job bank and the resources those web pages provide. We will continue to make that a big part of our service to members, and we plan to continue improving it based on your feedback.

All our hard work over the past year paid off. We tested new venues for membership meetings and found that the best location is one that’s centrally located in RTP. Through your response to our online surveys, we found that you want to have another local conference, so Steven Meeks and crew are working on TriDoc ’05. We conducted a 2003 local salary and employment survey, which compares salary data collected over five years. It showed the type of knowledge, skills, and tools that Carolina technical communicators use, and gave a snapshot of how much money we’re earning.

As chapter president, I have learned a tremendous amount about leading, managing, delegating, and networking. Some people thought I was nuts when I agreed to serve a second term, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This chapter has become a big part of my life and career, and I cherish the experiences and friendships I’ve acquired along the way.

Best of luck to Anjela and all other chapter leaders in the upcoming year! I pledge to support the board as immediate past president, and I look forward to continued involvement in our chapter.