Each of the candidates for the upcoming STC election were invited to submit a blog post to STC’s Notebook in support of their candidacy. Below is the post submitted by John Hedtke, candidate for Nominating Committee. Click on his name to take you to his election page, or visit the main STC election page for information about all candidates.
The STC Is a Hard Habit to Break
Part of the selection process for becoming a candidate for any office in the STC is an interview with a couple of Nominating Committee members who want to find out more about what you want to do and why. Not surprisingly, the first question I was asked in this interview was, “Why do you want to run for the office?” My initial response was a bit flip: “A habit is a hard thing to break.” But as I discussed my reasons with the Nominating Committee, this proved to be an important part of my decision to run for office once more.
I’ve been involved with the STC since 1986. The STC means worlds to me. As a result of being a member for the last 25 years, I have:
- developed an incredible number of professional skills: writing, speaking, teaching, business analysis, management, and others.
- met many of my closest friends.
- made professional contacts around the world.
- received many professional awards and accolades.
All of these experiences have been incredibly enriching, and have also led to another important outcome: I’ve made $1,000,000 that I wouldn’t have made otherwise if I hadn’t been a member of the STC. And the benefits keep flowing in: I keep making new friends and professional connections through the STC, I became an STC Fellow in 2003 (which I’m still incredibly happy about), and I definitely keep making money because of contacts I’ve made here. The STC helped me be a success in my career, and as part of that, I’ve gained friends and professional satisfactions I couldn’t even envision a quarter-century ago.
With all these benefits that have come into my life from being in the STC, it’s been important for me to pay back some of what I’ve received. I was president of a couple of STC chapters. Since the late 1990s, I’ve served continuously on STC committees and even chaired a few. In 2001, I was elected to the STC’s Nominating Committee and in 2005, I became the last Region 7 Director and served for three years on the Board during what may have been the STC’s most turbulent period ever.
But even though I’ve served the STC in many ways, I still believe that when I get called and asked to run, I have an obligation to say “Yes.” By serving on the Nominating Committee, I can continue to pay the STC and the profession back by recruiting candidates who will make the most of the STC for future generations of members and give to them at least some of the personal and professional satisfactions I’ve received.
So my initial response to the Nominating Committee about why I’m doing this really was correct. I believe in service to the organization that has helped me and many other people become better technical communicators and have a lot of fun while doing so. Volunteering to help the STC really is a hard habit to break.