stcpmc Archives - Page 2 of 3 - STC-Phila. Metro Chapter

A Chapter Update—a Big One

July 7, 2021 by Danielle Villegas

Hello STC-PMC members,

We haven’t had a big update on things going on in the chapter for a while, so that needs rectifying. Because we had absolutely no candidates for president and only one candidate for treasurer, we could not hold our elections for a new council. We had held the nomination period open for at least six weeks, and with the only qualifications being that you had to be both a member of the STC and a member of the PMC, it was incredibly disappointing that no one who was eligible stepped up. Jen Meservey fulfilled her role as president for the past year but declined to run again nor continue as she will be pursuing her PhD this coming year.

Because I could see where this was going fast, I contacted the STC Community Affairs Committee (CAC) Chair for guidance. The options were to start steps to close the chapter or figure out something else. It didn’t seem fair that with at least 40 members currently and a very healthy treasury that we should throw in the towel too quickly. If we closed the chapter, not only would we leave 40 people interested in belonging to our chapter in a lurch, but we’d also be losing our treasury money. When a chapter closes, the treasury reverts to STC, and we cannot get it back if we restarted the chapter later. With this in mind, the CAC Chair and I joined forces to find other solutions.

The solution—for now—is that we’re starting over in some respects. The CAC Chair asked me to return as “acting President” and have our current treasurer, Steve Adler, remain as “acting treasurer”. As two veteran STC-PMC past presidents, she knew we could be relied on to keep things alive and safe. In my role as acting President and with the CAC Chair’s approval, I’ve formed a small provisional committee that will keep things together until we can grow our current membership and volunteer base so new people can come in and confidently take up the council mantle and continue to move us forward.

I’ve also put in place what I call, “The Clean Slate Protocol”. If you’ve ever seen Iron Man 3, you know that after the final battle of the movie, Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) decides to start over, and he blows up every Iron Man suit he’s built to date to start over—a clean slate. That’s what we’re doing here. We’re starting over. While we have a small membership in place, being that we are in a large tech region, we should have a LOT more members than we have, despite any pandemic or economic issues going on, especially now that things are starting to improve in the industry, economy, and people are getting back to work. This provisional committee that I’ve formed is spending the summer focused on putting together strategies to pull in more members as well as get all members more involved. We’re going to approach this as if we are starting new and build from there.

We have a good foundation. We’ve continued to win awards, produce prominent leadership from this chapter that have moved up high in the STC, and we continue to make connections locally that not only bolster our professional network, but—as our recent Year-End Picnic proved—many friendships as well. This provisional committee is made of STC-PMC veterans who I’ve chosen that share that same drive to put things right and go to great lengths to do it—including trying some very different approaches not done before with this chapter. We can be so much more and do so much better. We need to bring in a fresh council to move us forward. This committee is going to be focused on bringing our membership forward in this respect.

Stay tuned for updates on programming that we’re going to pull together for you. This will include both educational and social opportunities. All is not lost, and the 2021-2022 program year might be off to a quiet start, but we don’t plan to end the program year that way.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at pastpresident@stcpmc.org.

The chapter appreciates your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you at our chapter events this upcoming year!

Until our next update,

Danielle M Villegas
Acting President, STC-PMC

The Secret to Saving the STC-PMC Chapter? You!

May 11, 2021 by Maureen Scallatino

If you have ever been a member of an organization, work-related or not, that you liked–you know how it makes you feel: accepted, wanted, appreciated, and gives you a sense of belonging. Now, if you knew your organization was to disband then how would you feel? Sad? Dis-heartened? Even afraid, maybe? Well, this could happen to STC’s Philadelphia Metro Chapter. How can the possible closing of the chapter be avoided? You! You can happen. You can make it possible for the continued life of the chapter.

How? Simple. Run for an elected office or step up to volunteer for an operating committee: Membership, Programming, and Communications.

This year, the chapter transformed from a four-person elected Board to a two-person elected Board with multiple volunteer at-large director positions. This is the minimum that the chapter can survive with. If we do not maintain this Board, then the chapter will either disband or be merged into another. Help us keep our chapter alive!

How can you do this? Nominate yourself or a fellow tech communicator to one of the two elected positions: President and Treasurer/Secretary. The other At-Large Director positions are volunteer, but the entire council works together to coordinate webinars, get-togethers, CONDUIT, and other activities bringing outstanding educational topics to the membership. And the good news is all positions are for a one-year term.

More good news! Nomination deadline has been extended to May 15^th. Go ahead, nominate someone – even yourself! And bring it!

If you have any questions or want more details, contact Jen or Danielle.

Election Nominations and Volunteer Nominations 2021 – 2022

May 6, 2021 by Lyrae Johnson

As many of you know, STC-PMC re-imagined the structure of our Administrative Council in 2020. A year has passed and thus far we think the process has served our members well. It is time once again to elect a new slate of officers – President and Treasurer/Secretary, as well as bring in new volunteer Directors-at-Large. To that end, we are looking for nominations for the following roles:

President (elected): The role of the STC-PMC President is to represent the chapter for the STC and to act as its liaison to the Society. The President serves as an advisor/project manager for the entire chapter, leading the Council team in delegating and completing chapter activities that help to educate, network, recruit, and maintain the chapter membership. The President determines and sets the main plan for the programming year, and communicates the information to the STC office liaisons and other STC presidents. The chapter President supports the Treasurer and the Directors at-large in their activities and helps to ensure that the activities succeed, including running regular meetings to ensure that things are running smoothly. The President is also responsible for facilitating the STC applications for Distinguished Service Chapter Awards, Community Achievement Awards, Associate Fellow nominations, and Community Pacesetter Awards.
Treasurer/Secretary (elected): The chapter treasurer is in charge of tracking all incoming and outgoing monies for the chapter. The bulk of this work is tied to chapter activities, such as monthly meetings, expenses, and conference expenditures. The Treasurer and President have debit cards associated with the checking account. This enables them to buy things for the chapter without requiring reimbursement, although receipts must be submitting for all transactions, and those transactions are reconciled with the chapter’s bank account on a monthly basis. The treasurer is also responsible for the submission of the yearly budget to the STC Office, and submitting any short tax forms on behalf of the chapter. The treasurer’s role is important as that person helps the chapter understand how to budget for the activities they want to do. The Secretary part of the role involves attending all the STC-PMC Council meetings, and keeping notes based on the meeting agendas.
Directors at-Large (volunteer): A Director at-Large is part of the Council team who, in turn, supports the President’s initiatives for the program year. The Council team shares the responsibilities for running the chapter. These responsibilities include:
- membership
- programming
- publicity/promotion
- conference/sponsorship
- academic outreach
- mentoring
- business partnerships
- chapter digital management (e.g., website, emails, email contact list, etc.)
All Directors-at-Large can participate in any of the chapter’s three committees: Membership, Communications, and Programming. To ensure effective job sharing, however, they must participate in two Committees. Furthermore, responsibilities will rotate or change on a regular basis as the President assigns, so no one person is on the hook for always doing the same thing. This is a great opportunity to build leadership and soft skills with support from your fellow Directors, not to mention to help shape the chapter going forward.

Nominations are due May 12^th, with elections beginning the following week. While you must be a current STC-PMC member to run for an elected position, anyone can make nominations or volunteer to be a Director at-Large. If you enjoy being a member of STC-PMC, how about seeing what a few hours a month of your free time can do to keep the chapter going strong?

Click Here to Submit a Nomination!

Got questions? Email Jen Heller Meservey president@stcpmc.org.

In Memoriam: Donn R. DeBoard – 1954-2020

August 28, 2020 by Danielle Villegas

On August 25, 2020, STC Fellow and longtime member Donn DeBoard passed away. He was 66.

Donn was one of the first people I became friends with in the STC. I had just finished attending my first STC-Philadelphia Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference (now known as CONDUIT) back in 2013. I was very nervous about meeting new people at the post-conference social. However, once I arrived at the restaurant, I sat down next to a quiet, reserved, yet very friendly individual. He introduced himself as Donn DeBoard and started to put me at ease and pull me out of my shell. We chit-chatted about our families–his daughter was just about to graduate from college, and he was rather proud of her accomplishments. He patiently listened to me tell him about how I had just restarted my career in tech comm, and about raising my own son. That night, a friendship with Donn DeBoard was forged.

During my short friendship with Donn, I came to learn about how passionate he was about tech comm–as much as I was. The trick was that he’d been doing it a LOT longer. I was among the proud attendees from Philadelphia who were able to see Donn receive his STC Fellow award in 2014. It was truly an honored moment for him, for sure! I had also gotten to know Donn for his work within our Philadelphia Metro chapter supporting the academic outreach program. During his tenure, he had built up incredible partnerships with local colleges and universities, but especially with Drexel, his alma mater, and was able to create a viable scholarship competition program for students. On the Society level, he was on the Nominating Committee, worked hard on the scholarship program, received the Distinguished Chapter Service Award, and presented at many local, regional, and international conferences. He was a force to be reckoned with!

The things that I remember most about Donn was his joy and willingness to help others out in the field–which is probably why he gravitated towards students and new technical communicators. As I shared the news of his passing with others from STC-PMC who had worked with him, several had said that he had helped them get a job in tech comm when they needed it most, or he was a fantastic mentor to them as they got started. He always jumped at the opportunity to serve as a mentor to many new professionals seeking guidance in this field. He was always curious, always open to learning new things in this ever-changing field, and adapt with the times.

For me personally, he was a different kind of mentor. As I ascended the ranks of the chapter leadership, Donn was always available to lend an ear and give advice. His wisdom influenced many decisions on chapter leadership. He was dedicated to protecting the chapter that he’d helped to build and maintain over the years. After dealing with some health issues, Donn came back after a sabbatical from the Philadelphia chapter council to help with our chapter rebuilding, and ran for the new role of Secretary/Treasurer this year. We were so happy to have him back in the fold as we just kicked off our program year. Alas, he was unable to see the changes going forward with his passing.

All those I’ve talked to since passing along the news of his death have said the same thing. Donn was one of the nicest people you’d ever meet–a truly kind, good, soft-spoken person, who was easily amused by the silliest jokes from those around him, and someone who contributed so much to the STC. He was always wanting to help and support those around him, and took every opportunity he could to do so. He was passionate about his activities with the STC, as it made up a prominent part of who he was. Even his obituary prominently highlighted his activities and accomplishments with the STC.

https://www.maugergivnish.com/obituary/donn-deboard

Donn was a member of the STC for almost 35 years, and his exuberance for the STC was with him right up until the end. The STC will certainly miss this bright light, but not more than those of us in his own Philadelphia Metro Chapter who will miss him the most.

–Danielle M. Villegas, STC-PMC Immediate Past President

Donn in action:

Council 2016 — Donn as a member of the STC-PMC 2016 Council

Council 2012 — Donn in the STC-PMC 2012 Council

Donn presenting at CONDUIT (He also presented often at STC Summit, too).

Donn representing STC-PMC at a local event.

Donn attending an Introverted Leadership workshop at CONDUIT.

Donn receiving recognition as one of the STC-PMC’s first recipients of our award for 30th anniversaries with the STC.

Donn getting recognition at an STC-PMC Year-End Banquet and Awards event.

Donn when he received his Associate Fellow at the 2011 STC Summit.

Donn when he received Fellow at the 2014 STC Summit.

Meet The New STC-PMC 2020-2021 Council

July 20, 2020 by Danielle Villegas

We are pleased to announce that we have a new STC-PMC council. We were not only able to bring on new officers, but we also have some new faces that will be part of our council going forward. Between our new President, new Treasurer/Secretary, and our new Director-Volunteers, we are confident that our chapter is going to take off in a positive direction with our new leadership and operational model.

Our Officers:

President:

Jen Heller Meservey

Treasurer/Secretary:

Donn DeBoard

Immediate Past President:

Danielle M. Villegas

We’d also like to introduce you to our new team of volunteers for this year (as of this writing):

Directors:

Jamie Sanecki
image of Jamie Sanecki

Jamie Sanecki is a staff writer at the University of Pennsylvania and a freelance editor specializing in academic writing. She served as Vice President as STC-PMC from 2019-2020 and worked as a technical writer at Comcast after earning a Ph.D. in art history and working in academia. When she’s not busy with professional activities, you’re likely to find her on a trapeze, in a kayak, or at a museum.

Lyrae Johnson

Lyrae Johnson is a 20+ year IT professional who recently realized she has been a technical writer for almost as long. Her career has included stints in project management, application development, production support, and vendor governance in both private and public sector organizations. Heeding an inner voice calling for ‘Lyrae 2.0’ and feeling shifting winds in the labor market, she enrolled in Drexel University’s MSc Communication program in pursuit of the Technical Communications major. Armed with shiny new skills in structured authoring, web design and usability testing; she is wading – sans floaties – into the tech comm community. Lyrae, a proud Bostonian living in Wilmington DE, is a French-speaker and travel geek.

Lori Meyer

Lori Meyer is a technical communicator in Northern California, where she develops and edits cybersecurity software documentation. During her years as an STC member, she has served many STC communities in a variety of roles, including chapter president, SIG co-manager, secretary, treasurer, webmaster, employment manager, communications manager, and conference co-chair. She is the new president of the Rochester Chapter and current membership manager of the Instructional Design and Learning SIG, and also volunteers for the Washington DC-Baltimore and Florida chapters. Lori has received Distinguished Community Service awards from five STC communities, President’s Awards from three chapters, and the Spotlight Award from the Florida chapter. In 2015, Lori was honored as an STC Fellow. Lori has been a member of the Philadelphia Metro chapter for more than five years, and is looking forward to serving the chapter.

Angelina Simms

Angelina Simms believes in the importance of giving back and helping others. In addition to her Information Systems studies at Immaculata University, she assists families and caregivers in finding community resources for their loved ones with disabilities. She also has a deep interest in how technology intersects with education and healthcare to help empower people. When Angelina is not at her day job in digital healthcare or trying to keep up with her son’s assistive technology devices, she is often reading, learning about cybersecurity leadership through her mentor-led networking cohort, connecting family and friends, and spending as much time as she can outdoors.

Maureen Scallatino

Maureen came to the STC-PMC last year and served as Publicity Chair. Her 30 years of marketing, and five years of social media and web experience enable the chapter to promote its events, services and news across multiple online channels. Her design background enriches our monthly newsletter with colorful layouts and interesting content. Currently, Maureen is a freelance social media strategist and web content writer.

If you would like to volunteer this year, contact president@stcpmc.org.