By Aiessa Moyna | STC President
The following is a transcription of STC President Aiessa Moyna’s speech delivered at the Annual Business Meeting on 26 April 2022.
As incoming president, my role is to look forward to the coming year, and I’ll do that in a moment. But first, I want to look back at the past year and thank Kirsty Taylor for her service as STC President during a challenging time.
Most of us never expected the global pandemic to continue for a year, much less two years — and counting. It has taken a toll on many, both physically and mentally, but throughout the past year Kirsty has remained focused on the Society, our members, and others involved in technical communication. She committed to being a transparent leader, and she has done just that. Through her regular columns in Intercom and frequent activity on Slack and social media, Kirsty has engaged the STC audience practically on a daily basis and has been a visible, accessible representative of the Society. And she did it from Australia, many miles and multiple time zones away from those of us in Europe and North America! She has been a role model of dedicated leadership, and I ask you to join me in thanking her for service.
Now, I would like to look back a little further — to 1953. In Asia, Mount Everest was summitted successfully for the first time. In Europe, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place. And in the United States, the Society of Technical Writers and the Association of Technical Writers and Editors were founded — a few years later they would merge to form the Society of Technical Writers and Editors, which eventually would be renamed the Society for Technical Communication.
This means that in a few months, we will mark the 70th anniversary year of STC, and just over a year from now we’ll host our 70th annual conference in Atlanta.
And that is something to look forward to!
It’s hard to predict what the coming year holds for any of us, but from an STC perspective there are a few things you can count on, including:
- Top-notch educational offerings, from one-hour webinars to multi-day conferences to multi-week courses;
- The ongoing expansion of our certification program, which already offers Foundation and Practitioner levels with Expert-level certification coming soon;
- Information — and opportunities to publish — in our award-winning publications, our website, and our Body of Knowledge;
- A range of honors and awards recognizing achievements in the field of technical communication;
- A scholarship program and other activities for students, to help prepare the next generation to step into roles as technical communicators and educators;
- Networking opportunities to help those who are new to our field find out about the career options available and learn from the experience of those who have been working in tech comm for a while;
- Programs, conferences, competitions, and communications driven by our chapters and special interest groups;
- Training and support for our community leaders offered through the Community Affairs Committee;
- And a renewed focus on securing the financial future of our organization by creating new offerings for our members and others involved in the profession of technical communication.
There will be challenges along the way — there always are — but I’m looking forward to working with the STC board, staff, and our entire membership to build on our past success and build for the future. It will take all of us working together, and with that in mind, I’m especially interested in hearing from you. You can share your suggestions and questions with the entire board anytime by writing to board@stc.org — and I hope you will.
AIESSA MOYNA (amoyna.stc@gmail.com) is the 2022-2023 president of STC. Her recurring column will provide updates and insights on Board activities and solicit member feedback to guide ongoing decision-making.
