STC’s Honorary Fellow for 2003

STC’s honorary fellow for 2003 is Natalie Angier, a science writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. Angier’s most recent book, Woman: An Intimate Geography (Anchor, 1999), has won critical acclaim—Salon praises it as “a tantalizing, witty journey through female biology, debunking many entrenched stereotypes and myths and a lot of questionable science”—and international recognition as a finalist for the National Book Award. Woman was also nominated for the Samuel Johnson Award, Britain’s most lucrative nonfiction literary prize.

Coming Soon: Member 100000

In the next few months, STC will achieve a milestone of sorts. Some lucky new member will be assigned member number 100000! That’s a measure of how many technical communicators over the years have recognized the personal and professional value of STC membership. (Note: The Society did not start assigning membership numbers until 1985, when it computerized its membership records. Since the founding of STC in 1953, more than 115,000 individuals have been members of the Society.)

2003 Elections: Second Vice Presidential Candidates

The annual STC election will be held in early 2003, and only those members who have paid their dues by February 28, are eligible to vote. This year, STC has established new procedures to streamline the election process.

The single most-important election at STC is for the post of Second Vice President. The selected candidate automatically becomes the First Vice President the following year and President after two years. INDUS presents a brief vision of 2 candidates who are contesting for the Second Vice President’s election. The vision is written by the candidates have not been edited, and are for your information.

Suzanna Laurent | Deborah Sauer

Suzanna Laurent 

SLaurent@dcaweb.net

Suzanna Laurent is an Associate Fellow STC and is a candidate for Second VP STC.

While visiting Detroit’s Henry Ford Museum, I learned about Ford and the automobile he made so successful. Many people have the mistaken idea that Henry Ford was an inventor, but Ford did not invent the automobile. He didn’t even “invent” the assembly line.

So what did Henry Ford do? He learned from other people’s experiences as well as his own. He took risks. He saw failure as a lesson, and he applied everything he learned to improve the product, the process, and the policies that shaped the American automobile industry. In short, he was a great innovator. And because he was so willing to share the lessons he learned, he became an inspiration to many others.

I am running for second vice president because in my own way, I want to do as Henry Ford did. He wanted to “learn from other people’s experiences as well as his own.” I want to use the lessons that I have learned in 25 years of management and leadership positions to create solutions that will ensure STC becomes an organization that is vital to the diverse careers of technical communicators. One innovative thing I did as a director-sponsor (1999-2002) was to attend conferences and give chapter programs in every region to meet our members and listen to their ideas. As a result, I have presented 103 conference sessions, leadership workshops, and chapter programs in locations from Toronto to Hawaii. In addition, I have written 30 articles that have been published over 500 times in STC newsletters. This “listening tour” instilled a greater understanding of the unique challenges facing us, some of which are addressed in my articles. 

While serving as director-sponsor, I gained a thorough understanding of the issues and concerns about STC at many levels. Working individually with leaders and other members is an invaluable experience that is crucial to being the most effective leader in the “presidential chain of offices.” Ford also “took risks.” Failing to be innovative and leaving things at the “status quo” is a risky business for STC and technical communicators. We must make it part of our role as technical communicators to show the value we add. We must continue to learn more, do more, and before. It is important that STC become the “premier” organization for technical communicators. One way we can do that is by listening to what our members want, because the organization that best meets the needs of its members is the one that retains its members and attracts new ones. Ford “saw failure as a lesson, and applied everything he learned to improve….” During the process of defining STC’s brand, we discovered where we were making our mistakes and that we were not being perceived as we wanted to be, so we’ve made changes to correct some of those misconceptions. As we seek new ways to prosper, we must improve our processes and the quality of our member services. 

STC members work in more diversified environments than ever before, with experience, skills, and talents that vary widely. Nevertheless, we share the desire to be recognized for our contributions to the workplace. By more proactively promoting technical communication, I believe that STC can make a difference in the careers of our members.

There are other important strategies to consider as we seek to progress. To learn more about my experience and what I have contributed pertaining to these strategies, read the expanded version of this article at pages.prodigy.net/slaurent or contact me at slaurent@prodigy.net.

With experienced leadership and guidance, STC can become the catalyst that enables technical communicators to achieve the professional status they have earned. When that is accomplished, we will have fulfilled my vision for STC to become an organization to which technical communicators feel membership is essential to their careers.

I would sincerely appreciate your vote for me as the next second vice president, because I firmly believe that when a collection of minds, hearts, and talents work together, great things can happen!

Deborah Sauer 

dsauer@sauer-design.com

Deborah has been President of Boston Chapter of STC and is a candidate for Second VP STC.

I started in this profession 20 years ago and I still write user manuals. However, now I also develop Help systems, design user interfaces, and perform usability tests. I also provide training in skills (such as technical writing and editing) and tools (such as FrameMaker and RoboHelp) in public workshops, customized courses, and at universities. In addition, as an independent consultant, I make business decisions on a daily basis. 

I have been an independent consultant for five years. I decided that, to be successful, I needed to diversify in terms of clients, the technologies that they represented, and the tools that I used in my work. As a result, my work is far more interesting and rewarding than it was five years ago.

To research potential clients, I worked on the local STC chapter competitions and perused the winning entries at the awards banquet. I focused on companies taking new approaches to delivering content and developing innovative products. I actively pursued those companies as clients, many of whom I could connect with through STC relationships.

Now, my clients represent a variety of industries from computer chips manufacturers to consumer electronics companies. They range in size from 20 to 200,000 employees. Working with such varied clients has given me the opportunity to learn a broad range of business practices.

I can also directly attribute my business skills to my work for the STC. As president of the Boston chapter, I managed teams and budgets, made cold calls, and initiated the development of a chapter strategic plan. I then became involved in the STC annual conference, first as a stem manager, later as a program manager, and now as the assistant to the president for conferences. These roles have given me experience in managing projects and teams, and working with large budgets. 

To expand my business, I decided to pursue user interface design. I provided interface design feedback while documenting products. My contributions were seen as valuable in making products more usable and, therefore, less likely to be returned. Managers included me in design discussions, user interface design went on my resume, and, before long, became part of the scope of the project when a client hired me. 

Attending STC program meetings and sessions at the annual conference and brainstorming with colleagues has given me ideas as I look for innovative ways to deliver information. For example, I worked on a web site that customers can tailor to their needs. I also developed a voice guidance system that talks the customer through procedures as they perform them.

It was this new approach to delivering information that brought home for me the global nature of my work. I received a cell phone call from my California-based product manager, who was in Singapore, telling me that he had played my voice guidance recordings at a board of directors meeting with representatives from Europe, India, Hong Kong, and the United States. That gave me perspective on just how far-reaching my work had become.

Over the years, I have worked in many capacities, both in the profession and in my STC roles. All this enables me to view the challenges and opportunities that face the profession and the STC from a broad base of experience. I can provide the leadership needed to make sound business decisions as the STC creates programs to address the needs of our growing and diverse membership. Also, I can offer a voice on the Board to multiple interests. The office of STC second vice-president is an important one because the elected individual automatically becomes first vice-president and then president of the Society. I hope you will consider giving me your vote.

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