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 Li-At Ruttenberg, candidate for Director. Click on her name to take you to her election page, or visit the main STC election page for information about all candidates.
Note: Translations below may be affected by foreign language limitations in WordPress.
Hello, and thank you for taking interest in the STC Elections. I’m honored to be a Director candidate. I’ve helped bring value to STC on the local, regional, and virtual levels. I’d love to take it to the national and global levels.
I’m not saying I have all the answers. I’m saying I want to bring immediate changes to STC so that it can finally be a truly global organization. And I’m saying I want your help.
אני לא אומרת שיש לי את כל התשובות. אני אומרת שאני רוצה להביא שינויים מידיים שסוף סוף יהפוכו את STC לארגון בינלאומי אמיתי. ואני אומרת שאני רוצה את עזרתך.
Je ne dis que j’ai toutes les réponses. Ce que je veux dire, c’est que je veux apporter des changements immédiats à STC de sorte qu’elle soit enfin une véritable organisation internationale. Et donc je sollicite votre aide.
我不是说我有所有的答案。我说我要给STC带来直接变化; 这样, 它终于可以成为一个真正的国际组织. 我想得到您的帮助。
In conversation with some of the other candidates, John Hedtke (who’s running for the Nominating Committee) wrote, “Being available [to STC members] makes the members happy.”
I couldn’t agree more. I began volunteering with STC on the first night I attended a meeting (in 2000, at the Los Angeles chapter), and only slowed down twice: once when my grandmother passed away at the same time that I was moving to Santa Barbara and once when a car-accident drained me of almost all energies. But, even during those times, I tried to stay abreast of events and contribute to the council.
I’m now able to fully volunteer again, and so I am!
- The Technical Editing SIG needed a Fundraiser Events Manager, so I took on that role. And, although the “Watercooler Chats” aren’t a part of that role, I helped with those, too. (We’re finalizing plans for a co-presentation by someone in India and someone in the US who work on projects together. They will discuss challenges that arise while working in cross-cultural environments.)
- The Santa Barbara, California, chapter has been nearly dead for several years. Thanks to the efforts of Ann Holmes, Wayne Kliman, and others, the chapter did not collapse entirely. But it also didn’t thrive and it was not providing much in the way of benefits to members and would-be-members. After hearing the frustration this brought to at least one member, I decided there were others out there who would love to take part in a vibrant SBSTC. So I’ve embarked on this mission, and I’m pleased to say we’ve made great strides.
I try to listen to our members and bring value to whatever part of STC I’m helping with. Space is limited in this blog, so I’d like to direct you to places where I’ve already discussed my background, my qualifications, and my plans:
- Podcast interview: https://www.stc.org/images/stories/audio/Ruttenberg.mp3
- Candidate bio: http://stc.org/election/item/li-at-ruttenberg?category_id=69
- Q & A responses: https://www.stc.org/candidateqanda/1298-dqa
I want to apologize for an oversight in one of my Q & A responses: I failed to mention that STC India has successfully run the “STC India Conference” for 13 years in a row, and even added an “STC India Summit” last year—free to STC India members! Kudos to all the volunteers who made this happen! Good luck in future endeavors; please let me know how I can help. Also:
- What’s your opinion about partnering with TWIN (Technical Writers of India) and tekom? Specifically, do you think joining forces with them for conferences—and perhaps as a general partnership—would strengthen STC and increase member benefits, or would this somehow diminish these?
- Do you think that STC India and its members would benefit from having the official STC Summit rotate globally, including in India? That is, what, if anything, was lacking in your STC India Summit (or STC India Conference, for that matter) that would be improved if it were the officially rotating “STC Summit”?
Again, I thank you for your time. Please vote, and please consider voting for me.