By Nicky Bleiel | STC President
Editor’s Note: Nicky Bleiel was formally installed as STC President at the Annual Business Meeting during the Summit on Monday, 6 May. Below is an early draft of her planned remarks, provided to Intercom to share with the entire Society.
It is truly an honor to stand before you today. It is a privilege to serve my profession through STC.
The growth of our profession is dependent on a robust, active, and vibrant STC. I take very seriously the responsibility you’ve entrusted me with, and I am so excited that I get to work together with the dedicated volunteers, members, staff, and Board of Directors of STC on the important work of advancing the profession of technical communication.
In this, our 60th year, many opportunities are before us.
We have a long history. In 1953, two organizations—The Society of Technical Writers and the Association of Technical Writers and Editors—were founded. They merged in 1957 to form the Society of Technical Writers and Editors. STWE merged with the Technical Publishing Society in 1960 and in 1971, the organization changed its name to the Society for Technical Communication. We were born.
We have a strong foundation. Over the past 60 years, STC has built a variety of programs to grow the profession and serve its members, including award-winning publications, geographic and virtual communities, educational opportunities—including this annual Technical Communication Summit—competitions, work with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, recognitions, certification, and so much more.
We have a new executive director, Chris Lyons. Chris is only the sixth executive director in our long history, and I am confident in his ability to work with the members, Board, and staff to move STC and the profession forward. Welcome to STC, Chris!
And most importantly, at the core, is our interesting, ever-changing, valuable profession. We provide the world with the information it needs to get all kinds of jobs—big and small—done safely and accurately, in situations as diverse as maintaining an airplane, obtaining a grant, dispensing medications in hospitals, or purchasing an item online. We don’t work only in words, graphics, and video using a wide variety of tools and technologies; we design that information so it is findable, accessible, concise, and appropriate. And we are always looking for ways to do it better, to serve an audience that is not only diverse but accessing that information in a myriad of ways.
We need to embrace these opportunities. And we plan to.
Albert Einstein said, “All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.” STC is about opportunity, pure and simple. There are opportunities to lead, teach, learn, mentor, write, serve, judge and win awards, and interact with other professionals. Every technical communicator should want to be a member, because STC is a rich source of opportunity. And every STC member should be secure in the fact that STC is working hard on everyone’s behalf to advance the profession of technical communication.
Thanks for your kind attention, and thanks for your support of STC. Let’s all take the opportunity to make STC’s 60th year one of its finest.
