About 3 weeks before for the conference, Pawan broke the wonderful news. Indus had won the Distinguished and Most Improved Newsletter Award in the STC Newsletter Competition! I was delighted because I too had contributed a few articles to Indus, which were well received. The committee had requested Pawan to attend the Newsletter Editors’ Session during the conference. Since he was not going to make it, I asked him if I could attend the session. He liked the idea and agreed almost immediately. He gave me some points to put across during the session. I met Subash in Bangalore and discussed the plans of Indus’ editorial team with him. He briefed me about the focus areas and the upcoming features.

Just a week before I left for the conference there was more good news. Susan (President of STC India Chapter) informed me that India Chapter had got the Excellence Award as well and we were therefore automatically nominated for the Distinction Award. She suggested that I attend the Honors Banquet.

I reached New York on 7^th evening and Baltimore on 9^th morning. From the airport, I went straight to the conference venue. There were many pre-conference and leadership sessions arranged on 9^th. I could attend 3 sessions on that day. There was a relaxed ambience and when the sessions were packed, we sat on the carpet taking notes.

It was pleasant to meet communicators whose names were familiar thanks to Intercom, Technical Communication, and STC web site. Michele Berkes, the outgoing Director Sponsor of our region, who welcomed me, gave me some general tips about the conference, and also made sure that I was introduced to STC’s other Director Sponsors. I met Bonni Graham and others. I also met an old friend, Douglas Dow (he has attended two STC India Chapter Conferences) at the International Members meet. He introduced me to members of his (Lone Star) chapter. During the next 3 days that followed, he introduced me to 50 or more people. He also gave me good tips about sharing lunch tables and selecting the dishes to suit my vegetarian diet. It was the company of friends like him and Prashant that made the conference memorable! Although it was my first trip to Baltimore and my very first STC conference, I felt quite at ease.

The sessions were great! We met with some speakers and panelists. I participated in three sessions related to outsourcing and presented the perspective of the Indian Technical Writers and discussed various issues of cross-cultural and multi-site teams, which were well received. One of the panelists also suggested I talk on this topic in the next conference. Prashant talked about how the offshoring experiment has worked for Siemens and what were the lessons learnt. The session had a very participative audience.

There was an Employment Booth giving details of job opportunities. The award winning entries of the competitions were arranged on display tables. One of the display tables had copies of Indus with the remarks of the judges. I felt proud to see it there, with my article. At the same time, I also looked at other prize-winning entries and realized that professionally, I still had a long way to go.

Many exhibition stalls demonstrated the latest tools that we all use- RoboHELP, FrameMaker 7.1 & AuthorIT to name a few. There were stalls offering services and contract employment too.

The enthusiasm at the STC Jam session was contagious! Many members took the floor to show their skills and have fun. People sang songs composed on Technical Writing profession. I could not help but remember the night we had spent in Pune during last year’s STC India conference.

On the eve of Banquet Dinner the tension was probably visible on our faces. First, the dinner was served and then the ceremony began. The past president and newly elected President made their speeches. Then all the Fellows and the Associate Fellows were honored. Then came the chapter reward announcements! All the recipients of the Excellence Award were called near the stage. As we stood there, our hearts were pounding. The name of India Chapter was declared as the winner. Prashant literally jumped around and I almost followed suit! We were called upon to receive the award on behalf of the STC India Chapter.

Success smiles on STC India Chapter

After we received the award, everyone in the room congratulated us. It was yet another moment for me to feel proud as an Indian. For me, that was the highest point of the conference. Many people (including some members of the judges panel) congratulated us and told us that many other chapters have a lot to learn from the India Chapter. I remembered the day the chapter was formed. We were only 17 members then. Now the strength has crossed 70. While doing so we have overtaken many other chapters without actually working towards that goal. We just tried to deliver the best that we could. We tried to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to us, be it as an office bearer, as membership manager, as program manager or even as an unnamed volunteer! The hard work of all the volunteers (too many to name here!) has thus been acknowledged. I also took this opportunity to chat with the STC President Andrea Ames and our Region’s Director Sponsor Jim Romano, about the problems faced by our chapter and what can be done to improve our performance and membership.

Getting this award this year has a special significance in the light of the outsourcing debate going on in the US. In the conference, we could hear that argument very openly. Wherever appropriate, we tried to put our point across. Based on the reactions that we got, I would say that we were fairly successful in doing so.

The final session we attended was the Newsletter Editor’s meet. There, we could convey the points on behalf of Indus’ editorial team. It was nice to see Indus projected and Dow reading out its good points. The participants clapped to it and I wondered what Pawan or Subash’s reaction to that applause would have been!

This trip turned out to be one of my best and most successful voyages. I learnt a lot from it. I made many new friends and interacted with some of the most experienced professionals in the world. More than anything else, we left an impression that the Indian Technical Writing Community has come of age and is on the way to make it big. There will be many more lessons on the way though!

(Makarand Pandit is CEO of Technowrites Pvt. Ltd.)

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