STC President Michael Hughes
It’s a new calendar year and just about the halfway point of my term as president. It’s a good time to reflect on where we are and where we still need to go.
Project Phoenix has received a lot of visibility. It is an intense project to redefine our Society and maintain our professional relevance for the future. Two critical activities have dominated the project so far. The first has been a series of surveys aimed at learning what members want and need from STC, what programs they value, and where they want to see more activity. We’ve gotten some very insightful input from those surveys. For instance, while I’ve been pushing an á la carte model, I hear the members asking for the all you can eat buffet instead. Not sure how to resolve that gap, but I’ve heard the message. The second critical activity has been the redesign of our entire IT infrastructure, most notably www.stc.org, but also the back-end systems that will control content, customer service, etc. I am very pleased by the content management and service delivery platform we are moving to.
Not so visible has been the work that board members Judith Herr and Tricia Spayer have been doing with communities. They have recruited a stellar group of community leaders for the Community Affairs Committee. STC leadership at all levels stays committed to the belief that strong communities of practice promote a strong profession.
We launched a redesigned Competition, thanks to Jackie Damrau‘s committee. We have shifted the emphasis from the documentation product to the communication goal. The emphasis has also shifted to forms that provide constructive feedback to the authors.
Our Summit in Sacramento is shaping up nicely. I’m excited by the program and arrangements Alan Houser and his team have put together.
The Board of Directors has approved the 2011 budget, and again, it is a balanced budget!
And the last highlight: We have made significant progress on the certification program. Steve Jong has led that group through significant milestones, and we hope to release the program at the Sacramento Summit. This program will promote technical communication as a profession, establish STC as the authoritative body within our profession, and draw employer attention to the importance of using qualified professionals (whether they are certified or not—certification increases the professional status of a practice as a whole). I keep coming across misconceptions people have about the program, and we will continue to communicate to clarify the program.
Our biggest challenge is how to stimulate membership growth again. With growing membership, all things become possible; with declining membership, all programs are at risk. We are looking at ways to be more visible to our potential members and offer solid benefits for affordable fees. Why is something that is so easy to articulate so hard to achieve? Now that we have dealt with a website and IT structure that were a collective albatross around our neck, we can move forward and focus on meeting the information, networking, and professional development needs of the technical communication professional.
Finally, an issue I addressed in my inaugural message was the need to elevate the professionalism of our debates. I feel the difference. Criticisms are constructive, not derisive; members in these debates are engaged at a positive level and looking for solutions, not just throwing jabs. I’d like to thank everyone for trying so hard to help us find our heart again.
