January 2017 Newsletter
2016 Year End Summary:
Message from the President
By any measure, 2016 was a successful year for the Phoenix chapter of the STC.
- We held 15 events with an average attendance of 14 people per event.
- Our seminars on intellectual property, DITA, Agile, and MacCap Flare were highly rated by the attendees.
- Fifty-four new members joined our Meetup site in 2016 and we’ve successfully recruited a number of new faces for supporting roles and elected positions.
- Financially, we operated within our revenue stream, ending the year as we began, with approximately $5000 in reserve.
As president, I want to acknowledge the contributions of the people who helped make 2016 a success.
First of all, a huge thank you to our executive members:
- Kim Rosenlof, Immediate Past President, for her invaluable advice and assistance
- Dr. Barry Maid, Vice-President, for providing operational support and for helping us make major inroads into area academic communities.
- Alisa Sever, Treasurer, for her discipline and diligence in keeping our finances in order.
In addition, I would like to thank the following people:
- Warren Johnson, LL.B, from Early Warning, for delivering the seminar “Intellectual Property in the Internet Age.”
- Steve Ballard from Intel Corporation.
- Joe Connolly and Paul Manago from NXP Semiconductors, for the many hours they spent developing and delivering the “DITA Hands-on Workshop.”
- Miachelle DiPiano for photographic assistance at the Expose UX filming.
- Jeff Meisner and Alan Vickers, from the TriZetto Group, for their hard work and dedication in developing and delivering the seminar “The Tech Writer’s Role in Agile Development.”
- Julie Anderson, from WorldatWork, for organizing and managing the fall barbeque.
- Dr. Erika Konrad, from Northern Arizona University, for facilitating and providing a venue for the seminar “An Overview of MadCap Flare.”
- Steve Ballard and Andrew Soller, from Intel Corporation, for managing seminar logistic support with Intel.
- Kim Rosenlof, from AeroInk, Inc, and Maggi Thickstun for their consistent, timely production of our newsletter.
- Rachel Houghton, from Rockwell Automation, for her herculean efforts in maintaining our website.
- Michelle Parcell, from Pitney Bowes Software for maintaining our job bank.
Finally, I offer my sincere appreciation to all of you who have provided so much encouragement and support throughout the year.
My best wishes to all of you for a happy, healthy, and successfully 2017,
Lou Kummerer
President, STC—Phoenix
February 2017 Newsletter
Urgently Seeking New Treasurer
Our recently elected STC Treasurer has been forced to resign due to an employer imposed policy and regulatory restrictions. We are desperately seeking someone to replace her in that position for 2017.
As President, I will commit to keeping the Treasurer responsibilities to a bare minimum. I believe we can limit the time commitment to less than 24 hours/year (i.e. 2 hours/month) as follows:
I will own all of the ground level functions (maintaining records of income and expenditures, collecting entrance fees at events, etc.) The Treasurer will be responsible for submitting two reports to the National—a Financial Report in May and a Budget in October. In both cases, the National provides an Excel spreadsheet and the Treasurer reviews our bank statements (plus my financial records) and filters the data into the appropriate spreadsheet categories.
Each report takes a maximum of 8 hours (usually less). Once a year, the Treasurer must revalidate our tax-exempt status with the IRS. This requires nothing more than going to the IRS website and submitting a simple form. The procedure takes about 15 minutes.
Twice a year we do a review with the executive committee. I will roll up the data, but will depend on the Treasurer to validate my work.
Although the Treasurer is invited to attend our monthly executive committee meetings, attendance is critical only when we do the financial reviews. The meetings have been running about a half hour per month. In all cases, we will provide whatever support the Treasurer may need to fulfill these responsibilities successfully.
If you are willing to help, please contact me at louk247@centurylink.net.
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Pesto's Pizza and Wine Bar Thursday, February 9, 5pm
1960 W. Ray Road, Suite 4, Chandler, AZ (map)
Join us for the first happy hour of 2017 at this pleasant and subdued East Valley wine bar and Italian restaurant. Eat, drink, network and learn about our plans for the coming year. |
March 2017 Newsletter
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April 2017 Newsletter
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May 2017 Newsletter
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June 2017 Newsletter
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July 2017 Newsletter
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Tech Comm in AI World
Technical Communication in an AI World
NAU East Valley Campus, Mesa AZ
Saturday, December 2 10am to noon
145 North Centennial Way
What will you be doing when the robots take over?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will likely replace humans in most manufacturing and service positions. But how will AI affect technical communication roles? A self-driving car may take you to work in the morning, stopping along the way at a Starbucks where robots have your latte ready for pick-up. But once you arrive at the office, then what?
On Dec. 2, the Society for Technical Communication (STC) Phoenix chapter will host a symposium that explores how AI might reshape the way technical writers and illustrators will work in the future. Join us as Dr. Mariano Phielipp, a senior AI researcher at Intel Corporation, guides a panel of academic and industry representatives in examining AI’s possible impact on the things technical communicators do today.
Admission price includes refreshments and snacks.
$20 Non STC Members
$15 STC Members
$10 Students
RSVP at our Meetup Site
December 2017 Newsletter
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