Public Relations Documents: Templates to Use for Your Community Publicity Plan

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By Garret Romaine, Associate Fellow, Willamette Valley Chapter, and Rachel Houghton, Member, Nominating Committee, and Senior Member, Willamette Valley Chapter

In our January Tieline article, we outlined the steps to take to create a community publicity plan (including premeeting planning, team building and goal setting, and staying organized) and some recommended items to prepare (a publicity contact list, sample press releases and templates, photos of community officers, a generic publicity plan for a community meeting, and a list of community activities requiring publicity).

Now that you’ve done the groundwork for your publicity plan, it’s time to plug all your information into a publicity plan document and put your plan into action.

Publicity Plan

At a minimum, your publicity plan document should include the following information:

Goals. These should be as specific as possible to create measurable objectives.

Objectives. Include one to three objectives per goal, and make sure each objective is measurable.

A plan and timetable for the current year. Create a table with the following information:

• Meeting and event dates
• Dates to target for marketing each meeting or event
• Marketing strategies (press releases, e-mail or Web site announcements, and so on)
• Audience (members, media, colleges, etc.)

Your publicity manager should be the driver of the plan, but it takes a team effort to publicize effectively. The program, SIG, and event managers are the most important people in this effort. They need to make this information available to all parties in plenty of time. A lot of media outlets have a three-week lead time, so it is important to know the dates for the publications or venues you are targeting.

You can see an example of an effective public relations plan on the STC Web site.

Press Releases

Press releases are an important part of any public relations effort. The intent is to convey information succinctly and concisely, with minimal extraneous text. This is key to holding the audience’s attention.

Your press release document should include the following:

• Chapter, SIG, or other community logo
• Contact information of the publicity person (including name, phone number, and e-mail address)
• Attention-grabbing headline
• Date and location (city, month, day, year)
• Information to be released about event or meeting
• Information about STC and the community you are in

This is where having an updated list of publicity contacts comes in handy. If your list is not updated, this is a great chance to recruit a volunteer. Make sure you don’t forget about online business and meeting calendars; while you may not be able to fax or e-mail contacts at these Web sites, having your information updated regularly for meetings and events is a good idea.

Don’t forget to follow up on your press releases. Recruit volunteers who receive the target publications to cut out or photocopy listings and/or mentions, and send these to the publicity manager. Doing this on a regular basis also makes it much easier to put together your entry for the public relations competition. You should also ask your meeting or event attendees to identify where they are hearing about your activities. These numbers can show where your publicity is most effective, and help set objectives for the future if you are not getting the response you intended (see the “Publicity Plan” section). You can see examples of press releases for both print and e-mail on the STC Web site.

Media-Tracking Report

The media-tracking report works hand in hand with the press releases and your list of publicity contacts. Once you’ve identified your list of contacts, generate a report with the following information:

• Date of communication and date sent
• Publication venue (e-mail, program, Web site, newspaper, newsletter, etc.)
• Topic (meetings, special events, workshops, calendar)
• Circulation (this makes the numbers you collect from your members mean that much more)

This report will make documenting your efforts for the public relations competition much easier. If you’ve gotten into the practice of tracking everything publicity related, it’s a snap to write enthusiastically about the measurable benefits you’ve received because you’ve got a plan in place. You can see an example of a media-tracking report on the STC Web site.

Publicity Contact List

As previously mentioned, your publicity contact list is the cornerstone of your publicity effort. Without this information, you have a haphazard communications strategy. If you’ve got a list already, you’re ahead of the game. Just make sure it’s current (a good time to update the list is when the office of publicity/event manager is transferred). If you don’t already have a list, create one with the following information:

• Media outlets (all local and semilocal newspaper and television stations)
• Professional organizations: American Society of Indexers (ASI), American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), to name a few
• Online business meeting/event calendars
• Other chapters or communities in your region

You should have an e-mail address, a phone number, and a contact name for each contact on your list.

All examples were generously provided by Aiessa Moyna, former publicity manager of the Phoenix Chapter STC. You can also see the templates at the STC Web site.

July 2007–June 2008 at a Glance: Calendar for Community Leaders

Features

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July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

LCR Web Site Provides Valuable Information for Leaders

Administration

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The Leadership Community Resource (LCR) was launched at STC’s 54th Annual Conference this May. With technology maintained by the STC office, the LCR comprises people and processes supporting current community leaders or those considering community leadership positions.

The LCR Web page, found on the STC Web site, features a Leadership Toolkit area and a Leadership Training area. Available content includes the LCR Process Flow Chart (a resource that shows how to engage the LCR for support), New Leaders—Start Here (providing discussion lists and other important information), and the Leadership Workshop (an online training resource for anyone in STC entering into a leadership role or wanting to do so). The workshop can also help members and administrative councils build strategic leadership plans.

The LCR is pleased with the positive feedback it has received so far. “My chapter president [Kristen Sweet] just referred me to your online leadership training,” said Carolyn Kelley Klinger, Second Vice President and Membership Committee Manager of the Washington, D.C. Chapter STC. “Thanks so very much for developing it. It is very well done and I’m so happy it’s there. We plan to ask our new volunteers to read through as much of this training as they can, doing exercises as they prefer, before our upcoming planning meeting. We may bring blank copies of the Leadership Plan with us in case people haven’t done it on their own yet. I hope that this will be a great springboard to planning our year.”

The LCR team will continue adding resources to this page. You can help its growth and usability by sharing your templates, handbooks, or other leadership information. Please send these to lcr@stc.org for consideration.

Jackie Damrau Named Leadership Community Resource Volunteer of the Year

By Rachel Houghton, Member, Nominating Committee, and Senior Member, Willamette Valley Chapter

On Leadership Day at this year’s annual conference, the Leadership Community Resource (LCR) Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Jackie Damrau, DBA, an associate fellow in the STC Lone Star Community. LCR Manager Mary Jo Stark praised Jackie’s contributions in the plaque citation:

“For your leadership, passion, desire, and willingness to seek and encourage members to help STC and our profession continue its growth. This includes your work with the IDL and Management SIGs, the funding model project, the LCR Training Planning and Development Committee, and the Newsletter Competition team, as well as your service as a Technical Communication book reviewer, 2006 Region 5 Conference chair, 2006 Lone Star competition general manager, and as a contributing newsletter editor.”

In the past year, Jackie accomplished a major goal for the LCR. As the LCR Training Planning and Development committee manager, Jackie oversaw the creation of the STC Leadership Training modules, available on the LCR Web page. These eight modules are available for any STC member interested in leadership roles at any level and debuted online at the STC conference this year, just in time for the official presentation of the LCR at Leadership Day.

Jackie’s passion and desire to encourage volunteers stands out in every effort she is involved in throughout STC. She dedicates numerous hours of her time outside of work to her responsibilities, but still finds time to help others by recognizing potential volunteers and steering them toward the perfect leadership opportunity.

New Associate Fellows Nominations Encouraged

Administration

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By the Associate Fellows Nominating Committee

Each fall, the Associate Fellows Nominating Committee invites STC communities and members to recommend senior members for the rank of STC associate fellow. This honor recognizes members’ achievements in the field of technical communication, contributions to STC, or both.

Any voting member of STC may submit a candidate’s nomination to the Society office. The office, in turn, sends the nominations to the Associate Fellows Nominating Committee. The committee reviews each candidate’s package carefully, contacts the identified references, and—based on the information collected—forwards the names of selected candidates to the STC Board of Directors for consideration.

To be considered for selection as an associate fellow, the candidate must have been active in the field of technical communication for at least fifteen years and a member of the Society for at least ten years. The ten years do not necessarily have to be consecutive, as long as the candidate has “bridged” the years of membership and met the qualifications for being a senior member (refer to the sidebar for guidelines on nominating associate fellows).

The candidate must also have accomplished at least one of the following: (1) performed important work and attained distinction in the field of technical communication, (2) done notable original work that has contributed to the advancement of that field, (3) made a significant contribution to the Society.

In August, each community will receive an e-mail message describing the nomination process, including the information required for a candidate’s consideration by the Associate Fellows Nominating Committee. This information is also available on the STC Web site. Upon request, the Society office will e-mail community presidents/managers a list of all eligible candidates in their communities. Please e-mail your request to Lloyd Tucker, Director of Education and Membership.

Communities and individuals should use the associate fellow nomination form and refer to the completed sample forms on the STC Web site. The instructions on the form will help submitters assemble a nomination package that is complete and effective.

Please note that there has been a slight change in policy from years past. The Associate Fellows Nominating Committee encourages submitters to work with candidates to ensure that the nomination packages submitted are complete and accurate. The committee also recommends involving associate fellows, fellows, or members who are experienced in submitting associate fellow applications. And most important, the committee strongly recommends that the submitter be fully convinced that the candidate meets all the criteria for nomination as an associate fellow.

One other note to communities: Nominating a community member for associate fellow is no longer a criterion for consideration as a Community of Distinction. Instead, the requirement is that a community review its membership to consider whether any members might be good associate fellow candidates. Thus, if a community reviews its membership and concludes that there are no current candidates for associate fellow, it can still earn credit toward becoming a Community of Distinction.

Completed nomination packages are due to the Society office no later than October 7, 2007. The STC Board of Directors will consider candidates for selection as associate fellows in January 2008. The Society will recognize those selected at an honors banquet in June 2008 at STC’s 55th Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

For more information, refer to the Associate Fellows Nominating Committee Web page or contact any member of the committee:

New STC Mission Statement

Administration

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During the March 2007 Board of Directors teleconference meeting, the Board unanimously approved a new mission statement for STC. The new mission statement reads as follows:

STC advances the theory and practice of technical communication across all user abilities and all media.

Communities who include the Society mission statement in the masthead or other sections of their newsletters, Web sites, or other community materials should begin publishing the updated statement.

Audio Recording of Bylaws Forum Available on STC Web Site

Administration

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During the recent STC conference, the Board of Directors convened a special meeting to encourage STC member participation and feedback on proposed changes to the STC Bylaws. The discussion was led by the then-chair of the STC Bylaws Committee, Bob Dianetti. An audio recording was made of this meeting and can be heard at www.stc.org/audio/bylaws.mp3.

The STC membership will be voting on new bylaws in fall 2007. To learn more about STC’s proposed bylaws change, please visit www.stc.org/stcmembers/bylaws01.asp.

If you have questions about the proposed new bylaws, please direct them to Mary Wise, 2007–08 STC Bylaws Committee Chair.

Send Contact Info to STC Office

Administration

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As a new year of programming approaches, many community leadership positions will change. Please send the names of the 2007–08 community leaders to the STC office at +1 (703) 522-2075 (fax), or e-mail Lynn Anderson, Membership Manager.

The office must have current information on the following chapter positions: president (or student chapter advisor), first vice president, secretary, membership manager, treasurer, newsletter editor, employment manager, and webmaster. The office also tracks the following SIG positions: manager, newsletter editor, secretary, webmaster, and membership manager.

Community leaders can check the monthly reports they receive from the Society office to verify the leader names that the office has on file.

Thank you for your cooperation!

How to Contact STC

There are several ways to determine whom to contact at the Society office or on the STC Board. The following list should help steer you in the right direction as you seek answers to your questions.

• Based on the job titles listed in the STC staff directory, see which staff member looks like the right person to answer your question. Call or e-mail using the detailed contact information on that page.
• Based on the detailed information in the STC organizational chart, see which Board member or committee chair looks like the right person to answer your question. Call or e-mail using the Board contact information.
• Post a question on the presidents’ mailing list. Most Board members monitor that list and reply. If you are a chapter president and not a member of this list, you may join at lists.stc.org/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=stc_pres.
• Post a question on the STC Forum.
• Call the Society office main number at +1 (703) 522-4114 and ask for information.
• If the question is about chapter operations, contact the Leadership Community Resource (LCR). The new LCR Web site is specifically designed for community leaders or those looking to become more involved in leadership opportunities.

Letter to the Editor

Administration

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Dear Editor,

I really appreciated the list of religious holidays (“Religious Holidays and Events Planning: Some Thoughts for Communities”) that was published in the March 2007 issue [of Tieline].

Making chapters aware of these holidays and suggesting that they take holidays into consideration when scheduling events is a means of making STC a more welcoming organization.

As a member of a religious minority, I thank you for this effort.

Saul Carliner
Fellow, Montreal Chapter

Editor’s response:

Thank you for letting us know that you found the article valuable, Saul. We are rerunning the article in this issue of Tieline; the list of holidays has been updated to include dates from July 2007 through June 2008 to aid new community officers in planning events for the coming year.

STC Welcomes Manager of Community Relations

Communities

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STC is pleased to announce the creation of a new position, manager of community relations. Evelyn McCamey began her work in this role on July 16, 2007. She will be responsible for working with STC’s communities to learn their needs and addressing them accordingly.

Evelyn is working on her Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation and has a BA and MBA from American Intercontinental University. She was previously the manager of executive services at the Navy League of the United States, an individual membership organization representing retired naval officers. She served as the national liaison to 300 chapter presidents and handled community and national awards programs. Prior to that, Evelyn served as the international projects manager at the National Architectural Accrediting Board, where she oversaw the international credentialing processes. She also worked for ten years at the American Institute of Architects (AIA), where she was the key liaison to AIA’s 250 communities (called “components”) on educational issues. She helped design and set up systems to assist communities in ensuring that their educational offerings were in compliance with AIA’s new requirement that architects earn a certain number of learning units (LU) to keep their membership in the association.

Evelyn may be contacted at evelyn.mccamey@stc.org  or +1 571-366-1919. 

New Survey Policy for Communities

Communities

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Reflecting the increased visibility of and interest in technical communication, STC is receiving a growing number of requests for surveys of our members’ activities. Some of these, such as the study conducted last year by the Aberdeen Group titled The Next-Generation Product Documentation Report: Getting Past the “Throw It over the Wall” Approach (see the article summarizing this report in the May 2007 issue of Intercom or visit www.aberdeen.com for more information), can be of great value to STC and its members by providing valuable information to support the profession’s continued advance. One of the side effects of the heightened interest, however, is what statisticians call “respondent fatigue”—or what happens when too many surveys are conducted. Such fatigue leads to lower response rates, less accurate answers, and—perhaps of greatest concern—the growing irritation of those being continuously surveyed.

After learning of this phenomenon, STC’s Board of Directors discussed looking into the number of surveys that members receive from both chapters and special interest groups (SIGs), as well as those sponsored or endorsed by the Society staff. STC strongly prefers to “self-police” the survey process rather than set a formal policy identifying a specific number of surveys that may be distributed. As part of the self-regulation process, STC would like to make communities aware of the possibility of respondent fatigue.

So that the Society office may remain cognizant of the number of surveys that communities are interested in distributing, the Board recommends that individual communities set their own limits on the number of surveys that they conduct. Communities need to obtain Society office approval for surveys of a substantive nature—defined as those that seek to collect information in the purview of the Society as a whole. Examples would include a survey examining issues affecting technical communicators working in the banking field, or one that explores training needs or certification issues within the technical communication profession. Surveys related to community matters, such as those requesting ideas about speakers and topics that members would like to see at community meetings, do not require Society office approval.

In addition, please note that if a community wishes to engage Society staff in the survey process, or plans to ask the Society office to publish or otherwise distribute survey results, then Society office approval is needed.

To obtain approval to conduct a survey for your community or for more information, please contact Maurice Martin, Director of Communication and Marketing.

Thank you very much for your cooperation. Keeping the Society office informed about any substantive surveys you conduct helps it gauge the risk of respondent fatigue and both identify and prevent duplicate efforts.

Chapters: Make Sure You Are Added to STC’s Liability Policy

As business entities that conduct private and public meetings, chapters are responsible for securing insurance to protect themselves against potential claims or litigation. Coverage is easily obtained by contacting the STC office and requesting that the chapter become an “additional insured” to the national policy. There is a one-time $150 charge to add a chapter to the national general liability policy.

General liability insurance is an important service that provides chapters with coverage in the event of property damage or a “slip and fall” at a meeting. These are everyday occurrences that can leave an unprotected chapter in a dire financial situation. Please be sure to secure this coverage. If you are not sure whether or not your chapter is currently included on the national policy, please contact Evelyn McCamey, Community Relations Manager.

Community Funding

Communities

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Community funding is based on each chapter’s membership as of June 30, 2007. As part of STC’s efforts to find a future dues value that provides adequate funding, a task force comprising two or three representatives—presidents, past presidents, treasurers, and past treasurers who self-selected each other—from each of STC’s six chapter size categories will be working throughout July to gather input from other community leaders about their thoughts on the dues value that chapters should receive. The task force will share this input with the Board of Directors in preparation for its August meeting.

Current chapter leaders have been informed about the formation of the task force by Cindy Currie, STC Second Vice President and Community Affairs Committee (CAC) Chair. If your chapter has not been informed, please send the updated contact information for your leaders to Lynn Anderson, Membership Manager.

Please note that chapter financial reports are due by September 30, 2007.

Chapter Financial Reports Due September 30

In July, the STC office will mail forms to chapter presidents and treasurers for their annual chapter financial reports. (Note: Student chapter financial report forms were mailed in April, and were due back to the STC office by June 15, 2007.) The form can also be downloaded from the STC Web site. Chapters must submit these forms to the STC office by September 30, 2007, to qualify for community funding.

Please fill out the form to cover fiscal year 2007 (July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007, for professional chapters). The cash balance for the beginning of the year should agree with the cash balance reported for the fiscal year-end in last year’s report.

Chapters must include the following supporting materials with the chapter’s financial report form:

• June 2007 reconciliation statement balancing the chapter’s checkbook against outstanding items (a sample bank reconciliation form is on the STC Web site)
• Photocopies of the chapter’s bank, money market, and certificate of deposit account statements as of June 30, 2007

Those chapters that realized more than $25,000 in income are also required to complete an IRS 990 form and return it to the Society office before their funds will be issued. The 990 packages are mailed to the appropriate chapters in mid-July.

Completed financial report forms and supporting materials should be mailed to:

Society for Technical Communication
Attn: Chapter Financial Reports
901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904
Arlington, VA 22203-1822

Ask the Office: Can My Chapter Offer Documentation Services?

Editor’s note: The following information is intended to be helpful and should not serve as a substitute for legal or professional tax counsel.

Q: My chapter would like to offer documentation services to companies for a fee. Is this permissible?

A: The following information is provided by Jacqueline Henson, STC’s legal counsel.

Associations do not typically offer such services to businesses for a price because this is clearly in competition with businesses providing the same services. The IRS would consider this to be providing consulting, and the income would therefore be considered taxable. STC was granted 501(c)3 tax-exempt status based on its charitable, educational activities. Such activity could cause the IRS to question the chapter’s tax-exempt status.

New Chapter and Special Interest Group Approved

During the June 2007 Board of Directors teleconference meeting, the Board unanimously approved the Atlantic Canada Chapter STC’s petition for provisional status as well as the Europe SIG.

For more information about the Atlantic Canada Chapter STC—based in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada—please contact William Gill.

For more information about the Europe SIG, please contact David Farbey.

STC's Newsletter Competition

 Competitions

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By Elizabeth Bailey, Manager, Newsletter Competition, and Fellow, Lone Star Community

The STC Newsletter Competition rewards excellence in chapter, student chapter, and special interest group (SIG) newsletters that communicate news about and develop interest in the Society for Technical Communication. All communities are encouraged to enter the competition.

Three consecutive issues of either a paper or online version published between February 1, 2007, and January 31, 2008, must be submitted (yes, the competition year has already started). Online entries must include a URL and a note on the entry form stating the three consecutive issues to be evaluated. For paper entries, nine copies (two may be photocopies) of each issue must be submitted. The Newsletter Competition Entry Form and Newsletter Competition Supplemental Checklist, along with the Rules for the STC Newsletter Competition, are available for download from the STC Web site. Remember to include a completed supplemental checklist for each issue you submit.

Please note that the STC Newsletter Competition has two deadlines:

• The entry form, supplemental checklist, and at least the first issue are due at the Society office by October 15, 2007 (postmark date for paper-based entries).
• The remaining issues, along with supplemental checklists, are due at the Society office by January 11, 2008 (postmark date for paper-based entries).

Please send all physical entry materials to the Society office (Society for Technical Communication, Attn: Newsletter Competition, 901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904, Arlington, VA 22203-1822). E-mail all electronic entry materials to Lloyd Tucker, Director of Education and Membership (with “Newsletter Competition” typed in the subject line).

An entry packet including a copy of the competition rules, an entry form, sample evaluation forms, and instructions will be e-mailed to all chapter presidents, student chapter advisors, SIG managers, and newsletter editors on record with the Society office. If you hold one of these offices and have not received an e-mail by September 15, 2007, please access the packet materials online.

For more information about this competition, please contact Elizabeth Bailey, STC Newsletter Competition Manager.

STC’s Public Relations Competition

Competitions

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By George Slaughter, STC Public Relations Competition Manager and Senior Member, Houston Chapter

The STC Public Relations Competition recognizes chapter and Society-level special interest group (SIG) performance in public relations programs while encouraging chapters and SIGs to establish and maintain quality public relations. The competition evaluates the ability to inform technical communicators in and outside STC about chapter, SIG, and Society activities and to improve the image and visibility of the technical communication profession, chapters, SIGs, and the Society.

Entrants submit copies of the public relations materials they have distributed as well as a public relations plan, which includes a timetable, planned materials, media, measurable goals, and results. Judges evaluate the plan outline and implementation, considering the public relations materials as the means to implement the plan, as well as the overall results of the public relations effort.

The competition does not have an entry fee.

Who Is Eligible

The competition is open to chapters, Society-level SIGs, and Society-sponsored events. This is a yearlong effort, starting with your planning sessions over the summer and going through the end of the program year or event. Start collecting the information for your entries from your very first meeting, and don’t wait until the end to put together your presentation.

Categories and Awards

The STC Public Relations Competition has four categories. If you are entering more than one category, please submit materials in separate binders for each entry.

• Category 1, Chapter Public Relations Program, covers a chapter’s entire publicity campaign, including a chapter brochure, outside media coverage, and promotions advancing the status of STC.
• Category 2, SIG Public Relations Program, covers a Society-level SIG’s entire publicity campaign and is judged similarly to a chapter public relations program.
• Category 3, Specific Event or Service Publicity, covers publicity for an event or service, such as a conference, employment service, or speakers’ bureau. A group of chapters or international SIGs that worked together on an event may enter this category.
• Category 4, Promotional Communication, covers specific publicity pieces, such as brochures, media kits, posters, slide shows, electronic mail, and direct mail. A group of chapters or international SIGs that worked together on a piece may enter this category.

Entries can receive Best of Show, Distinguished, Excellence, or Merit awards. Award winners are to be announced in April 2008. Entries receiving either the Best of Show or Distinguished Award are displayed at the STC annual conference. Winners receive their plaques after the conference.

Submitting Your Entries

Entry information and forms are included with the competition rules document. The competition rules are on the STC Web site. Entries must be received by the STC office by March 4, 2008. Entries should include public relations pieces for events and services from May 1, 2007, through April 30, 2008. (News releases or preliminary publicity information for events between March 4 and April 30, 2008, can be included in the competition entries.)

Send entries to:

Society for Technical Communication
Attn: PR Competition
901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904
Arlington, VA 22203-1822

Although the rules do not require entries to be submitted in a specific format, most entries are submitted in a three-ring binder and divided according to the judging criteria. The judges appreciate the three-ring binder presentation for clarity and simplicity. The judges evaluate the presentation of your program as well as the program itself. Prepare your entry with sufficient explanations for each subsection and label each subsection with tabs. The easier it is for the judges to view your entry, the more time they will spend on it.

Additional Guidance and Templates

The STC Web site offers both articles and templates that provide guidance in preparing your public relations campaigns and competition entries. For past Tieline articles on preparing public relations materials, see the Tieline knowledge base and click “public relations.” For templates that can help you develop your public relations materials more quickly, see the Chapter Resources page of the STC Web site.

For more information about this competition, contact George Slaughter, STC Public Relations Competition Manager.

Educational Outreach through Student Competitions

Competitions

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By Candice McKee, Manager, ISTCC, and Senior Member, Oklahoma State University Chapter

Hosting a high school competition is a great way for your chapter to promote technical communication in your community and to further your educational outreach efforts. STC encourages and supports such programs at the international level through the International Student Technical Communication Competition (ISTCC). Winners of chapter-sponsored competitions are eligible to compete for recognition and cash awards in ISTCC. The competition is open to students in grades ten through twelve in the United States or the equivalent levels in other countries (qualified entrants will typically be fifteen to eighteen years old when they write their entry). Students can submit papers and Web site content that they have completed between June 1, 2006, and March 1, 2008.

The deadline for submitting winners from the chapter-level competitions to the ISTCC is March 15, 2008. Submit entries to ISTCC, c/o Candice McKee, English Department, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, OK 73034, USA. Professional technical communicators will judge entries, awarding cash prizes of $1,000 for Distinguished, $500 for Excellence, and $300 for Merit. Additionally, the winners’ high school libraries will receive a free one-year subscription to Intercom. Other entrants are eligible for honorable mention.

If your chapter plans to host a high school competition this year, complete the ISTCC chapter-sponsor form, available from the STC Web site, and send it to the Society office by September 17, 2007. If your chapter is not hosting a high school competition, let interested students in your area know that they can submit entries to other chapters doing so. The list of chapters hosting high school competitions and their deadlines for entry will be posted on the ISTCC page of the STC Web site in early October.

The complete ISTCC guidelines are also available on the STC Web site. For additional information, contact Candice McKee, ISTCC Manager, +1 (405) 714-1168.

Advice for Competition Managers

Competitions

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By Karen Baranich, Chair, International Competitions

Has your community seen fewer entries in the International Technical Publications, Technical Art, and Online Communication Competitions in the last few years? Would you like to boost participation and income? The Florida Technical Communication Competition increased the number of entries fourfold last year, from twelve entries to forty-eight. Here are ten suggestions to make your competition successful, courtesy of Mark Hanigan of the Orlando Chapter STC.

1. Send out something tangible—such as a postcard—to announce the competition and to point to the location of your call for entries and other important information.
2. Make sure that all of your competition materials are flawless in terms of layout, content, and best practices. Include a reminder that people can enter more than one competition. Remember that there are new entry forms this year; you can find them on the STC competitions Web page.
3. Read descriptions of competition categories carefully. Make sure your competition uses the same categories and definitions as the international competitions. Some of these are changing for this year, so verify categories in the Guidelines for Competition Managers, to be posted on the STC Web site in July.
4. Solicit any chapters adjacent to yours that are not having a competition. Offer to share revenue in the form of a rebate; this will encourage more proactive support from their leadership.
5. Plan carefully if you are exchanging entries with another chapter. Remember to factor shipping costs and time into your plans. Make sure you have a clear understanding of what each chapter expects to contribute and receive. Put your agreement in writing.
6. Try to assign each judge no more than three to five entries, depending on entry size. Train your judges well, make sure they understand the process, and tell them to provide substantive comments on the judging forms.
7. Price the competition so that it generates revenue for the chapter, taking into account all of the expenses associated with it. Remember to adjust fees if necessary to cover the $125 per entry necessary to send Distinguished entries to the international level.
8. Involve as many volunteers as possible in the process—many hands make light work! When asking someone to volunteer, do it personally—either face to face or by telephone—and privately so that the person is not put on the spot in front of others.
9. When asking someone to volunteer, offer two or more choices of specific tasks instead of a general request.
10. Be sure to thank all, sincerely and publicly!

Some things in the competitions are changing this year. Expect more dramatic changes next year. If you have questions, are not sure about something, or have suggestions, feel free to contact any one of the following managers:

Note that January 18, 2008, is the deadline for sending winners of the Distinguished Technical Communication awards as entries to the international competitions. Plan your competitions and awards so that you don’t wait until the deadline to send in your entries. Here’s to a successful competition. Good luck!

Competition Contacts to Be Posted

Lists of STC communities holding Technical Art, Technical Publications, and Online Communication Competitions will be posted to the STC Web site. The lists will include entry deadlines and names of community contacts, and will be continuously updated as more information is received.

Bylaws Referendum to Be Held in Fall

Elections

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By Mary R. Wise, Chair, Bylaws Committee

In early fall, STC will conduct a member referendum to determine whether the Society will adopt a new set of bylaws. Because the current bylaws contain many inconsistencies and are out of compliance with New York state law, STC’s Bylaws Committee worked with the Society’s legal counsel to completely rewrite the bylaws. For more information about the need for new bylaws, please see the following articles:

• “STC Bylaws, Version 2.0,” January 2007 Intercom, page 31
• “The New STC Bylaws: A Leaner Approach,” February 2007 Intercom, page 32

Both articles are available from the Intercom archives.

At the recent Technical Communication Summit in Minneapolis, STC held an open forum to listen to members’ concerns about changing the bylaws. An audio recording of that forum and several supporting documents, including texts of both the current and proposed bylaws, are posted on the Society Web site.

The deadline for members to tell the Bylaws Committee what you think about the new bylaws is Monday, July 16. We want to hear from you and consider your opinions!

Region 1 Election

By Suzanna Laurent, Chair, Nominating Committee

In April, STC members elected Region 1 Director Cynthia C. Currie as the Society’s Second Vice President, creating a vacancy on STC’s Board of Directors. To fill the Region 1 Director position in time for the next Board meeting, STC will hold a special election in July.

Although STC no longer elects Directors by region, New York state law requires the remainder of Currie’s term to be filled by a vote of the members who live in the same region as those who originally elected her. All members in good standing who reside in Region 1 as of July 1, 2007, are eligible to vote. (Note: According to STC’s bylaws, student members do not have voting rights.)

When candidates are selected, they will be posted on the election voting site, which may be accessed via www.stc.org. 

The election will open in mid-July. By the end of July, paper ballots will be mailed to eligible voters who indicated on their 2007 membership applications and renewal forms that they do not wish to receive election materials electronically. Members who intend to vote by paper ballot are urged to return their completed ballots immediately.

The person elected as Region 1 Director will begin serving on the Board immediately after the election and continue until STC’s annual meeting in June 2008. On the advice of STC’s legal counsel, no petitions can be accepted for this position.

Religious Holidays and Events Planning: Some Thoughts for Communities

Events

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As part of STC’s efforts to acknowledge the diversity of its members, the office staff and members of the Board would like to remind STC leaders to be aware of religious holidays that members of their communities may celebrate. Whenever possible, STC events should be scheduled to avoid conflicts.

STC’s recent adoption of a diversity policy reflects this desire to be conscious of our members and their various cultures and backgrounds. See the STC Web site for the text of the policy.

The following list of religious holidays was compiled from various online sources. We are also grateful to Board member Leah Guren for her assistance in identifying Jewish holidays. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, and does not include government holidays. To learn more about holidays that may be relevant for members of your particular community, be sure to ask your members for more details and additional information to consider when planning events. You may also find this list of resources helpful:

• Buddhist holidays
• Earth calendar
• Iafrica.com, 2007 religious holidays
• Worldwide public holidays, 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

Send Regional Conference Announcements to Tieline

Community leaders are reminded to send announcements about upcoming regional conferences for inclusion in the Tieline “Society Events” listing to tieline@stc.org.

Society Events

October 12, 2007 CONFERENCE

STC’s Region 4 Conference, “The Crucial Communicator,” will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn and Gateway Conference Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Sessions will feature presentations and discussions on how technical communicators can more effectively demonstrate their indispensability in the workplace. Melvin Smith, an assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Behavior and a faculty director of executive education at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, will deliver the keynote address on the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace and social settings and demonstrate its potential to an organization. The ISO JTC 1 SC7/WG2 group—comprising international experts in standards and user documentation from the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States—will be in attendance. For more information, please visit the Northeast Ohio chapter Web site.

March 14–15, 2008 CONFERENCE

The Atlanta Chapter STC will host its annual conference, “Currents 2008,” at the Southern Polytechnic State University campus in Marietta, Georgia. Jean-luc Dumont is scheduled to be one of the conference’s speakers. For more information, please watch the Atlanta chapter Web site for updates.

June 1-4, 2008 CONFERENCE

The Technical Communication Summit—STC’s 55th Annual Conference will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More information will be posted to the STC Web site.

Send announcements of your community or regional events to tieline@stc.org.

2006–07 Community Award Winners

Honors and Awards

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During STC’s 54th Annual Conference in May, Society President Paula Berger and incoming Second Vice President Cindy Currie announced the winners of the annual Community Achievement Awards. These awards honor STC chapters and special interest groups (SIGs) that have distinguished themselves through exceptional accomplishments in fulfilling the goals of STC.

To earn awards of Merit or Excellence, communities—including student chapters (STs)—complete key activities and apply to the Community Achievement Awards Evaluation Committee (CAAEC) for recognition. A community that earns an Excellence award may also apply for recognition as a Chapter or SIG of Distinction. After reviewing applications and nominations from the CAAEC, the STC Board of Directors selects the Communities of Distinction. (Only one Community of Distinction is selected for each of the size categories established at the beginning of the fiscal year.) The 2006–07 Community Achievement Award recipients are listed below.

Communities of Distinction

Chapters with more than 600 members
Silicon Valley

Chapters with 301 to 600 members
Chicago

Chapters with 151 to 300 members
Lone Star

Chapters with 76 to 150 members
India

Chapters with 41 to 75 members
Southern Arizona

Student chapters with 20 or fewer members
North Carolina State University (ST)

SIGs with 1,500 or more members
Instructional Design & Learning

Communities of Excellence

Atlanta
Berkeley
Boston
Carolina
Houston
Mercer University (ST)
Northeast Ohio
Orlando
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
Rocky Mountain
Washington, D.C.

Communities of Merit

AccessAbility
East Bay
Eastern Ontario
Philadelphia Metro
Trinitite (ST)
Vermont
Willamette Valley

Community Pacesetter Awards

The Community Pacesetter Awards recognize STC communities for highly innovative and successful activities. This program is being revised for next year.

For more information about the Community Achievement Award program, download the guidelines from the STC Web site.

Get a Head Start on CAA 2008

By Dale Erickson, Fellow, Manager of the Community Achievement Award Evaluation Committee, and Tom Barnett, Fellow, Manager of the Community Recognition Committee

Recognition of outstanding community efforts will be broadened this year, with a major overhaul of the Pacesetter Awards, modifications to the Community Achievement Awards (CAA), and new recognition opportunities for outstanding operational excellence.

Each spring, community leaders are invited to submit an entry to the Community Achievement Awards recognition program. Since 2004, entries have been evaluated by the Community Achievement Awards Evaluation Committee (CAAEC).

The CAAEC confirms the activities listed on entries and qualifies award levels of Merit and Excellence. Communities earning Merit and Excellence awards are announced at Leadership Day during STC’s annual conference. An outstanding Excellence award winner from each community size category is recommended to the Board of Directors for the top award of Distinction. Communities of Distinction are announced at the Honors Banquet during the annual conference.

Veteran submitters of entries to the Community Achievement Awards know that documenting a CAA entry requires some good record keeping during the evaluation period—April 1 through March 31—or a good memory. You can make the task easier by downloading the 2008 CAA guidelines and forms from the STC Web site and logging your activities as the year progresses. You can also use the CAA form’s list of activities as a reference for planning your year.

The 2007 CAA guidelines and forms were overhauled to include activities that support STC’s strategic plan. The revised guidelines and forms emphasize community achievement and eliminate most activities that highlight individual accomplishments.

New in the Community Achievement Awards

The 2008 forms contain a number of changes. Last year the rules allowed substitution at all levels, and there were no restrictions on the number of substitutions. This year the Fundamental-level criteria must be completed to be eligible for an award. However, we reduced the number of criteria in the section by one-third and made it easier to complete. You should begin to use the appropriate form to record activities that qualify as CAA activities and to gather the supporting material that is required for most items.

This summer, a group of volunteers began building a set of examples that illustrate what the judges have found to be activities that meet the criteria.

Within the criteria system above the Fundamental level, for a criterion that cannot be accomplished, two activities at the next higher level can be substituted. The CAA guidelines allow innovative activities to be offered as substitutions for activities on the CAA form on a one-for-one basis. If your community has an activity that you want the CAAEC to consider before the submission deadline, send a description of the activity to stc_caaec@hotmail.com with a cc to Evelyn McCamey, STC Manager of Community Relations. The CAAEC will approve or comment on the proposed activity.

The CAA submission deadline is April 18, 2008. As a community leader, you want to make the best use of your time. Avoid the last-minute dash to complete your community’s CAA entry form by getting started now.

Sigma Tau Chi, Alpha Sigma Applications Due November 1, 2007

Honors and Awards

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The Society encourages qualified students to apply for membership in its honorary societies, Sigma Tau Chi and Alpha Sigma.

Sigma Tau Chi recognizes students enrolled in a baccalaureate or graduate technical communication program who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above, are exemplary participants in STC, and demonstrate the potential for significant contributions to the profession.

Alpha Sigma recognizes students enrolled in two-year and certificate technical communication programs who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above, are active participants in STC, and demonstrate the potential to contribute to the profession.

In early September, details and applications will be sent to all directors of academic technical communication programs, Society directors, and advisors of student STC chapters. If you meet these qualifications or know of a student who does, please request an application from one of these contacts. The application materials are also available on the STC Web site. Students who are accepted into Sigma Tau Chi or Alpha Sigma receive one year’s membership in STC, a pin, and a T-shirt. The STC Board of Directors will notify the selected students after its January meeting.

Completed application forms and supporting documents should be e-mailed as attached Word or PDF files to David Dayton no later than November 1, 2007. By the same deadline, an official transcript must be mailed directly from the applicant’s school to this address:

David Dayton
2006 Glenhaven Place
Silver Spring, MD 20902

For answers to questions about the application process, please e-mail David Dayton, Manager, Honorary Societies Committee.

Conference Wrap-up: Highlights from Minneapolis

STC Conference

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STC’s 54th Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, provided members with the most current information on topics of interest within the technical communication profession, as well as leadership tips and happenings at the Society level. A summary of conference highlights follows.

Leadership Day

STC leaders held progressions on topics related to producing community newsletters, recruiting volunteers, planning chapter programs and educational events, managing a Society project long distance, and much more:

• Cindy Currie, Second Vice President of STC, explained how the Society envisions the “STC Community of the Future” during a progression titled “What the Society Does for Communities.” For a community to best serve STC and its members in the future, Currie stated that it should be “self-defining, within STC rules; able to provide value from within; an incubator of ideas; part of a worldwide profession; and one of many different avenues through which STC serves a typical member.” For more on “STC Communities of the Future,” see the March/April 2007 issue of News & Notes.
• Char James-Tanny, STC Secretary, and Lisa Pappas, AccessAbility SIG Comanager, shared nine tips about using technology during a session titled “Tools for Collaborating Virtually for Communities.” Among many helpful tips, they recommended finding other chapters or special interest groups (SIGs) that are using the technology you are interested in incorporating, and asking such communities to mentor you. Also, promote the added value of working with these tools to community members; for example, volunteers who implement and consistently use a particular tool can add this to their résumés and promote their new knowledge at the workplace.
• Judith Herr, SIG Advocate, and Carolyn Kelley Klinger, Second Vice President and Membership Committee Manager of the Washington, D.C., Chapter STC, offered suggestions for recruiting volunteers. These included ensuring that all current volunteers share the responsibility of recruiting new volunteers, adding a volunteer application form to your community Web site so that interested volunteers can apply online, and making an effort to recruit one-on-one rather than relying strictly on mass communication that reaches many members at once (such as e-mail).
• Jackie Damrau, the new manager of the Leadership Community Resource (LCR), was named “LCR Volunteer of the Year.” See the article “Jackie Damrau Named Leadership Community Resource Volunteer of the Year” in this issue for more about Jackie.

Bylaws Forum

During the bylaws forum, members were given the opportunity to ask questions about the newly proposed changes to the STC Bylaws that will be voted on this fall. The new bylaws were updated to ensure they are in compliance with New York State law and are written as a policy-driven document. Supporting documents, including a text of the proposed bylaws, an audio recording of the entire forum, and a comparison of the proposed bylaws and current bylaws, can be found on the STC Web site.

It was also mentioned at the bylaws forum that SIG financial issues were still under consideration. Members were reminded that a special election to select a Region 1 director (which became necessary after previous Region 1 Director Cindy Currie was elected second vice president in the 2007 election) will be held shortly. See the article “Region 1 Election” in this issue for more about the special election.

Noteworthy Conference Changes and Offerings

• Fewer conference sessions. The program committee accepted only 21 percent of the session proposals for the 2007 annual conference. The result: a larger proportion of high-quality presentations.
• Certificate programs. The combination of seminars and sessions exposed participants to a broad range of thinking in many given topic areas. Attendees who completed the programs received a certificate of attendance.
• Institutes. Designed by well-known experts, these “conferences-within-a-conference” featured speakers with extensive and unique experience. This year, STC offered Institutes in content management, sharing corporate knowledge, information design and architecture, and Web 2.0.
• Biggest-ever EXPO. More than seventy vendors of technical communication products and services filled the exhibit hall at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Adobe, Inc., the Platinum Sponsor of the Technical Communication Summit, also offered a number of sessions on best practices for technical communicators using Adobe products.

Attendees’ Observations

• “The Summit was a great success. And I am completely amazed by your office staff. I [was] worn out—and I was only there a few days, for a few hours each day. It seemed like your staff was there every minute of every day. As always, the energy of the STC office astounds me. Thank you to everyone for devoting that energy to us!”
  —Becca Taylor, Immediate Past President, Houston Chapter STC
• “I wanted to thank everyone at STC for putting together a fun, inspiring, and educational conference in Minneapolis this year. It was my first time attending the STC conference and I came away with a lot of energy and enthusiasm for our profession. The keynote speakers to open the show and close the event were both excellent. The variety of sessions, the EXPO, [and] the networking luncheons were great. I appreciated the emphasis on networking that was delivered in messages from the conference leaders—it’s something that other conferences should do more. I was fascinated by the diversity of businesses and industries represented at the event—there’s a lot of potential in that.
  Keep up the great work. I hope to attend next year’s conference if I can arrange it.”
  —Chris Norred, Member, Puget Sound Chapter STC

Conference Photos Available for Use

Community leaders who are interested in seeing photos from the conference in Minneapolis may visit gallery3.stc-cdx.org. Also posted are photos of the Board of Directors. Newsletter editors and webmasters may feel free to use these images for community newsletters and Web sites.

Conference Proceedings CDs Recently Mailed

The STC office has recently mailed CD-ROM copies of the Proceedings from this year’s Technical Communication Summit in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to conference attendees. The CD-ROM contains papers that showcase the work of those conference speakers who chose to submit material for inclusion in this year’s Proceedings.

Please note that the papers written by speakers may not necessarily correspond to the content they presented at the conference. The CD-ROM does not include session material, such as bulleted handouts and PowerPoint presentations detailing the highlights of a speaker’s conference presentation. These materials can be found on the STC Web site.

If you have questions, please contact Lloyd Tucker, Director of Education and Membership.

Call for Proposals to be Posted Soon

STC’s 55th Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will be held June 1–4, 2008. The call for proposals will be posted on the STC Web site. Anyone interested in presenting at the conference will need to submit a proposal online via the site. Please check www.stc.org for more information and updates.

July/August At-a-Glance

Mailings from the STC Office

• In July, the Society office will e-mail a letter to chapter presidents requesting chapter competition information. Please return the chapter competition response form to the STC office as soon as possible to be included in the list of chapter competitions. STC will also e-mail a letter to chapter presidents and competition managers alerting them of the updated guidelines and entry forms for the Online Communication, Technical Art, and Technical Publications Competitions.
• Chapter financial report forms will be mailed to chapter presidents and treasurers in mid-July. Completed forms must be returned to the Society office by September 30, 2007.
• In August, chapter presidents will receive a letter reminding them about associate fellow nomination and evaluation procedures, including a list of all eligible candidates in their chapter. Nominations are due by October 7, 2007.
  

Community Leaders’ Monthly Reminders—July/August

• Send your chapter’s end-of-year financial report, bank reconciliation form, and June 30 bank statement to the STC office. Chapters with more than one bank account must submit reconciliation forms and statements for each account. Deadline: September 30, 2007. (Student chapter financial reports were due June 15, 2007.)
• Chapters failing to file a chapter financial report form before the deadline may forfeit their community funding. It is recommended that outgoing treasurers and incoming treasurers work on the report together to ensure that incoming treasurers are familiar with their new responsibilities.
• Have the chapter’s financial books informally audited after the financial report has been filed with the STC treasurer.
• Transfer the outgoing treasurer’s records to the incoming treasurer and change signature cards for the chapter’s bank accounts.
• Review the past chapter officers’ files and request any missing information from the STC office.
• Hold an organizational meeting with the new chapter administrative council.
• If your chapter plans to hold one or more competitions, submit completed chapter competition response forms to the Society office.

Membership at a Glance

As of July 5, 2007:

Total members: 14,139
Members residing in the U.S.: 11,913
Members residing in Canada: 1,337
Members residing elsewhere: 889
Total communities*: 155

*Includes 104 professional chapters, 30 student chapters, and 21 SIGs.

Masthead

July/August 2007
Volume XX
Number 6

Editor
Cecily Farrar

Tieline is published for STC leaders. The purpose of Tieline is to improve communication and serve as a link between STC communities, volunteer leaders, and the Society office. Distribution to other community leaders is encouraged. Reprints from Tieline are permitted if credit is given and a copy sent to the editor. Electronic copy is available at www.stc-cdx.org/tieline.

STC Office Staff

Executive Director
Susan Burton, CAE

Membership Manager
Lynn Anderson

Director of Information Systems
Merrick I. Bechini

Assistant Editor
Cecily Farrar

Meeting Manager
Elaine Gilliam, CMP

Director of Communication and Marketing
Maurice P. Martin

Community Relations Manager
Evelyn McCamey

Membership Sales Manager
Stacey O'Donnell

Publications Manager
Ed Rutkowski

Webmaster
Shafqatullah Syed

Director of Education and Membership
Lloyd Tucker

Society for Technical Communication
901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904
Arlington, VA 22203-1822
+1 (703) 522-4114 • +1 (703) 522-2075 fax

stc@stc.org • www.stc.org • www.stc-cdx.org

Send Tieline feedback to:
tieline@stc.org

Copyright © 2007 by the Society for Technical Communication. All rights reserved.

Annual Business Meeting at Conference

The STC Annual Business Meeting will be held Monday, May 14, from 6:00–7:00 PM in Room 102 - EF of the Minneapolis Convention Center. STC members who have paid their dues in full may vote at the business meeting.

STC Election Results

STC is pleased to announce the results of its 2007 election. Winning candidates appear in bold below.

Online voting concluded at 12 noon ET on Apri