The President’s Corner (Special Edition)

The President’s Corner (Special Edition)

Debra 2016By: Debra Johnson
President
Orlando Central Florida Chapter, STC

president@stc-orlando.org

Hello all,

It is with mixed feelings that I write my last message as President. I know it’s time to pass the gavel to the next generation, however, it’s just a little bittersweet. I’ve really enjoyed my time in such a key role for a chapter that has accomplished so much.

Added to the three years as Vice President, the last three years as President have been very rewarding ones for me. I have learned exactly what goes into leading a chapter of such committed and gifted professionals and students. Everyone has taught me so much about dedication, support, commitment, and the importance of volunteering.

It’s been an interesting reign. We have had our challenges: operational, logistical, technological, and membership. We have merged with one chapter and anticipate merging with another shortly.  We have seen changes to our Community Achievement Award process. I can say for sure…we are resilient.

In the past six years that I have been a member, the STC Orlando Central Florida Chapter has been recognized for its contributions to the Society’s goal of providing high-quality programming, resources, and networking opportunities for technical communicators multiple times.

Because of the concerted effort of all and the determination and hard work of certain key members, I am proud to say we have earned the international society’s top honor of Chapter of Distinction, four times. We have earned the Pacesetter Award twice and earned Community of the Year twice. We submitted and received nominations for Associate Fellow Karen Lane and Fellow Mike Murray.

My service to this community has brought me more than words can express…It has brought me many friends, abundant networking opportunities, a job, wisdom, joy, and a deep sense of satisfaction.

I salute all of you…for it is you who make the Orlando Central Florida STC Chapter such an outstanding community. It is you who have been instrumental in my tenure as president. THANK YOU!

While I will be personally thanking individuals at our banquet who have supported me as President, as well as those who have guided me with their wisdom and experience over the years, it is in this setting I want to say thank you to everyone. Thank you to all who ever attended a chapter meeting, helped with setup or cleanup, wrote articles for the Memo to Members newsletter, anyone who contributed ideas and asked questions, everyone who offered to search for information, or whose questions inspired others to think in new directions about common practices and generally accepted knowledge.

If you are a chapter member, thank you for your continued support of the chapter; support that enables the Orlando Central Florida STC Chapter to provide services to the community of technical communicators in our local area and even world-wide. If you are not a chapter member, but you attend our meetings, thank you for providing us ideas for programs as well as an attentive audience.

I want to welcome the new Officers.  These members will direct the operation of the chapter through their insight and discussion.  They will determine the initiatives considered each month, not only at our Administrative Council (AdCo) meetings, but also during the intervening weeks as we consider various topics of chapter governance via our online discussion list.

The members of the new board will be:

Alex Garcia (President-Elect), David Coe (Vice President-Elect), RD Sharninghouse (Incumbent Secretary – Re-elected), Bethany Aguad (Treasurer-elect), David Coverston (Incumbent Director – Re-elected, membership manager, and recognitions manager), Karen Lane (Director-elect), and myself (Immediate Past President). Good Luck to all of you!

In addition to these positions, we have a few other committee heads and managers who deserve our appreciation. Thank you to W.C. Wiese (Active Member chair), Dan Voss (Education Chair and Mentoring co-chair), Nick Ducharme (Memo to Members editor), Jon Kessler (webmaster), and Loretta Lott (employment chair).

At our June end-of-year banquet, we will be reviewing our accomplishments and celebrating our successes. It is at that meeting that I pass the gavel to our new president, Alex Garcia, and welcome our new officers to their 2016–2017 positions.

I offer a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all who have served the chapter, and I wish our incoming officeholders all success as they lead our chapter to even greater heights.

Thank you!

Debra

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