By Karen Lane
President
Orlando Central Florida Chapter STC
president@stc-orlando.org
This month your STC chapter has something very special in store. We are having our monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 16, and we’ve invited a very special speaker, Paul Mueller. You can read more about this meeting elsewhere in this issue. We are fortunate to have a speaker of Paul’s caliber here in Central Florida, so I hope you’ll make every effort to attend.
To make this month especially, well, special, we also have another gathering planned. By the time you read this, some of our local technical communicators will have had the privilege of meeting and speaking with our colleague from Shanghai, Shuoyi Li, who shares with us the state of technical communication in China. This meeting on October 11 was announced several times on the Orlando Announcements mailing list. If you didn’t receive your notice, make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss out in the future when new events are being planned. The mailing list is open to everyone who is interested in our Orlando Central Florida STC Chapter activities, regardless of membership status, and subscription information can be found here: http://mailman.stc.org/mailman/listinfo/orlandostc_announce
Speaking of membership status, are you aware that membership renewals have begun as of October 1? This year the Society is trying something new that I think you will like: Everyone who joins or renews a classic membership for 2013 by December 31 is eligible for a discounted rate of $195 (regularly $225). Your chapter and SIG dues are in addition to this basic rate. In addition, memberships are prorated from the time you join. As a benefit to new members, you can sign up for your 2013 membership now and have your coverage begin today, all for the same price: That’s 15 months for the price of 12. Pretty good, right? But wait: there’s more! Check out the new Member Get a Member program: http://www.stc.org/membership/join-or-renew-now/mgam. Recruit new members by January 15 and get a $25 credit toward your 2013 membership for each referral, up to the price of a classic or student membership. Such a deal!
In other chapter news, we will be announcing a new meeting location for our 2013 meetings. As many of you know, we’ve been meeting at the Winter Park Civic Center for a number of years, and we have been glad to do so, as the location has been convenient for many (but of course not all) attendees. October’s meeting will remain at the Winter Park Civic Center, but beginning in February 2013 our chapter meetings will be held in a new, even-more-convenient location. Stay tuned for further news on this subject.
At September’s meeting you may have noticed some attention being paid to the technical aspects of the program and its presentation. We’re glad to let you know that the chapter has acquired an account with Meeting Burner, which should enable us to distribute our meetings to distant locations and to archive those for which that would be appropriate. Since our chapter covers such a wide geographic area—including our member in Sweden!—we’re excited about the possibilities that will now be open to us. We will let you know when we have more of the details figured out.
And last for now: Don’t forget our two holiday get-togethers: Our November 13 Dinner of Thanks and our December 11 Holiday Reunion. Both these events will provide occasions for you to interact with your friends and colleagues in a social setting, and your spouses, partners, adult family members, and friends are welcome. You will receive specific information about these events as the times draw nearer.
For now, enjoy what passes for autumn in Florida!