We return with our first Spotlight in a while, this one shining a spotlight on STC Alberta. The chapter celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, so what better way to share the good news than with a Spotlight!? The answers below are courtesy Alberta president Jessie Channey. Want a Spotlight on your community? Email me and we’ll do one!
When did your chapter originate?
On 30 January 1980, we applied for and received Branch status, which was for an organization with less than 15 members. We started out with six members: Doug Hare (a local technical writer), Marion White (a technical editor for the Energy Resources Conservation Board), Susan Noble (a freelance technical editor), Maria Fogarasi (a professor in chemical engineering at the University of Calgary), Vic Humphreys (editor of Oilweek Magazine), and Marten Bot (president of his own industrial photography company). Just a few months later in April, the membership grew to 18 and we applied for and received full Chapter status.
So that means you’re celebrating your 30th anniversary! Can you tell us your plans for that?
We’re celebrating our 30th Anniversary with a Gala in both major cities of Alberta: Edmonton and Calgary. Edmonton held their event on 30 September and Calgary will celebrate on 4 November. We’ve invited past presidents, STC members, nonmembers, students, and related professional associations to join us for an evening of food, fun, and festivities.
Those first six members who formed the chapter—are any of them still active?
Over our 30 years of history, our founding members have mostly retired or expanded into related fields. We also continue to honour Ken d’Albenas, a 21-year member of our Chapter; Ken was our Treasurer and Programs Manager in 1992 and went on to become President and Public Relations Manager in 1993. Sadly, Ken passed away on 1 September 2010, but his memory will live on in the rest of us who will remember him for his contributions to our Chapter, his sharp wit, and his love of hiking in the Canadian Rockies.
Who makes up your Chapter leadership?
Our elected leadership is comprised of:
- President: Jessie Channey, an 11-year member of STC with 10 years of technical writing and management experience in Calgary’s Oil & Gas, Software, and Technology sectors.
- Past President: Lucille Worone, a six-year member of STC with six years of technical writing and management experience in Calgary’s Oil & Gas, Software, and Technology sectors.
- Treasurer: Ken Schatzke, a 12-year member of STC with 10 years of technical writing experience in Calgary’s Software and Technology sectors.
- Secretary: Brian Thompson, a four-year member of STC with 35 years of imaging technology experience in Calgary’s Institutional sector.
We also are extremely fortunate to have the support of 17 other volunteers on our Administrative Council who ensure the tactical execution of work supporting our Chapter objectives. Many volunteers have contributed for years in various roles, and we have several teams, which present an easy opportunity for new volunteers to jump in.
How many members do you currently have?
As of 1 October, we have 155 members: 23 student members, 58 members, 73 senior members, and 1 associate fellow. Our members come from Alberta and nearby province Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. The Alberta Chapter was also recognized during the Chapter Renewal Challenge for 2010.
Can you provide a one-sentence description of your chapter?
STC Alberta is dedicated to the advancement and recognition of the technical communication industry in our region.
What are a few of the things you’re most proud of regarding your chapter?
Although the Chapter started with only six members, we’ve spent the past 30 years building a stronger, more stable organization that provides valuable benefits to our members: our local salary survey, newsletter, website, email lists, and our events and affiliations with other related professional organizations that make for expanded networking opportunities.
What types of technical communicators are prevalent in your chapter?
Our members have diverse backgrounds: We’ve got web developers, marcom writers, trainers, graphic artists, editors, managers, online help developers, indexers, and educators. From contractors and full-timers, to students and new graduates, STC Alberta has a healthy mix of members that possess a wealth of knowledge and experience that members can readily access.
Describe a generic chapter meeting for us.
Our Program Nights feature a local speaker that discusses a topic of interest for our attendees, who register in advance using our website. From financial planning to DITA, from contracting to web development, we try to bring forward a variety of interesting presenters. Currently, most of our regular Programs are held in Calgary, but in an effort to expand our reach, we’re introducing webinars in 2011. Our attendees can take part in person, in another city, or even in another country!
Is there a Chapter that you consider sort of a “parent” Chapter? Or maybe a sibling? How about a second cousin, once removed?
The Canada West Coast, Toronto, and Puget Sound Chapters are like siblings (but without the rivalry!). In the past, we’ve collaborated by bringing their experts to Alberta; Rahel Anne Bailie from West Coast in 2003; Bernard Aschwanden, STC Toronto president, in April 2010; Front Runner (a Toronto company headed up by an Alberta Senior Member) in November 2010; and Joe Welinske from Puget Sound in February 2011. In 2009, the Canadian Chapters formed an STC Chapter Presidents group; we were pleasantly surprised to reconnect with Fei-Min Lorente, president of Southwestern Ontario Chapter, who used to be an Alberta STC volunteer. It’s important to us to continue cultivating partnerships across the Canadian Chapters and with Northwestern United States Chapters due to proximity. Not that distance has ever been an issue where technology can connect us; in March 2010 we shared a webinar with STC Phoenix.
Who’s your funniest member and why?
Mellissa Ruryk, who has expertly managed our annual New Heights workshop for the past two years, is super fun with boundless energy and just the right balance of enthusiasm that draws everyone to her. What’s more, she is able to stay funny and light-hearted even in the midst of stressful moments that arise in event planning. We’ll miss her next year as she moves to Vancouver, but we know she’ll fit right in with the Canada West Coast Chapter (who should consider this fair warning!).
Who’s your smartest member and why?
We’re a vast collection of intelligence and we’re all smart enough to recognize that we’re an unstoppable force together. We often rely on each other, and in fact, regularly consult our past presidents and volunteers. Whether it involves reviewing scholarships or advising on the design of our new website, we’re always ready to help! But if we identify one person, it would be our one and only Associate Fellow. Aside from being the only one of us with this distinction, Brian O’Malley has played an integral role for our Chapter. Over his 19 years of membership, he’s been our president twice, incorporated our Chapter, created our annual educational seminar New Heights (our biggest money-maker in the past few years), set up scholarships and served as an advisor for Alberta’s first ever technical writing degree, built our first newsletter in 1992, developed our highly coveted salary survey, organized competitions, and managed our Region 7 Conference in 2003. The list is endless, but that’s what you can expect from someone that is our smartest member.
How about most talented overall?
The entire Council is filled with skilled professionals that have made our Chapter thrive, but, hands down, it’s our stellar Web Team that get this honour. Brian Thompson (also our Secretary), Janice Liwanag, and our resident UX expert Namgyal Damdul have brought to fruition our magnificent new website. For numerous years, we sorely needed a new site that volunteers could update on their own, but the complexities of our old clunky one prevented this from happening. Thanks to their technical know-how, designer savvy, project management skills (and super night vision capabilities), we’ve now got a fancy new website to brag about! See it here.
Say Broadway makes a musical about your chapter. What would be the title of the production and of the hit song?
“The Producers” of course!
Any final thoughts? Brag a little bit, about anything you’d like!
Ok, twist our rubber arms, we’ll brag some more: Not only have we had record attendance at our events in the past few years, we’ve also had great volunteer turnout (keep it coming, Alberta!). Some of our volunteer roles even have teams: Our newsletter actually has five copy editors that rotate editing duties. We highly recommend this concept to other Chapters, as it makes volunteering much easier by splitting the workload. Kudos to the Alberta Chapter and to the tireless Council for giving us so much to brag about! And finally, don’t forget to check out our aforementioned magnificent new website.
Well said! I’m proud to be part of the Alberta Chapter and I’m looking forward to the Gala in Calgary November 4.
So how was our 30th Anniversary Gala?
Our evening was more than a success, it was fantastic! The energy and enthusiasm of nearly 50 attendees made for an enjoyable evening of networking with lots of new faces in the crowd making it one of our best attended events. A big thanks to our affiliate organizations that came out to show their support.
The drinks were flowing and the appetizers were plenty thanks to the staff at The King & I in downtown Calgary. From talks of travels to corporate perks, no topic was left untouched that evening—including volunteerism. We had a number of enthusiastic volunteers step forward to take their place on the 2011 Council. It’s not too late to get involved, so if you’re in Alberta and looking for a worthwhile venture with a growing organization, just contact me at president@stc-alberta.org.