This entry is being posted on behalf of Ben Woelk, candidate for Vice President in the 2018 STC election. More information about Ben can be found on his STC election page. You can ask questions of the candidates on the STC Election Forum. The election begins 26 February and runs through 9 March.
Hi Everyone,
I’m Ben Woelk and I’d like to be your next STC Vice President!
Why I’m Running for STC VP
I’m running because I love STC and want to see it flourish, I see the challenges we’re facing, and I believe I can make a difference. (I’m also running because I’ve been approached by many STC leaders who have asked me to run, one of whom said, “we love you and we need you.”)
My goals for STC and bio are listed on my official election page: https://www.stc.org/wiki/elections/2018-election-slate/ben-woelk/, but here’s a more succinct statement:
STC faces many of the same challenges faced by other membership organizations—changing demographics, perceived value and relevance, and competition for our limited time and resources.
- We need to recognize and embrace changing demographics by ensuring that we’re addressing today’s issues, attracting and retaining new members while continuing to serve and honor our long-time members.
- We need to prove our value in serving our members by ensuring they're prepared for changing careers in a rapidly-evolving workplace. STC’s education program continues to grow in breadth and format.
- We need to maintain a global leadership role in the profession by engaging internationally in standards development and in partnering with similar organizations.
- We need to ensure that STC is structurally sound; being fiscally responsible while making needed changes and growing in the areas we can have the most impact.
- I want to build strong geographic communities and SIGs by providing a robust leadership mentoring program and improving their ability to serve members locally and in outlying areas.
Why You Should Vote for Me
- I understand the issues facing STC at the Society level and at the Community level. I understand that we need to ensure that STC remains relevant and thrives. More importantly, I understand that our membership needs our support as a spokesperson for their value to employers and to ensure that our membership is equipped for careers that are changing in a rapidly-evolving workplace.
- I have a track record of innovation and effective change at the local level (STC Rochester Chapter), the Society level (Director at Large, Community Affairs Committee, STC Scholarship Committee), and in industry (Rochester Institute of Technology and EDUCAUSE).
- I’m a consensus builder and vision caster who can work with the STC Board and Office to ensure that we’re growing and serving our membership and the profession.
- More than 80 STC leaders, members, and industry colleagues have publicly endorsed my candidacy because they believe in my platform and my ability to build consensus and execute.
I greatly appreciate your support and will do my utmost to serve the Society and our membership well as your Vice President and future President!
Read my endorsements at https://benwoelk.com/vp-candidate-stc/.
Selected endorsements
Over many years, it has been my privilege and pleasure to share service to STC with Ben Woelk, on the Community Affairs Committee (CAC) and on the board. If there’s one thing I know about Ben from that sometimes turbulent period, it’s that he approaches everything – from daily business to crisis management – with the same calm and aplomb. He examines issues on the merit, and makes considered judgements, based on data, facts, and reasoning, rather than on emotion of the moment. His intervention style during debates has often helped to keep us on track, looking at the elements that really count. For many years, now, STC has been wrestling with the need to reinvent itself, to be relevant to a new generation of technical communicators whose needs and problems rarely resemble the ones we older professionals had to face. I am convinced that Ben is prepared to take leadership in hand and carry STC forward in a positive direction that will bring that process closer to fulfillment. I am very pleased that he has decided to run for VP, and endorse his candidacy wholeheartedly.
-–Ray Gallon, Former STC Director and Past President, STC FrancePresident and
Co-founder, The Transformation Society
...His professional background and his visionary orientation give him a firm foundation for leading STC into the future. He has always been a strategic thinker. He has had a breadth of experience in his 20-plus years in the profession: consulting to Fortune 500 companies, helping manage a small business, and working in Higher Education as a practitioner and professor. He clearly understands the importance of reinvention and transformation when necessary to stay current with the needs of the market and the changing pace of technology. He understands the process of determining when initiatives need to be re-evaluated and possibly adjusted or even eliminated.
I cannot think of anyone more qualified to serve in the position of Vice President and throughout the presidential chain. Ben will serve STC very well.
–Judith L. Glick-Smith, Ph.D., STC Fellow, STC Past President
For more information
Campaign Video: https://youtu.be/kQECWWZa03U
Platform and endorsements: https://benwoelk.com/vp-candidate-stc/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benwoelk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benwoelk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ben.woelk