STC-Montreal is issuing its annual call for candidates for the elected positions on the chapter’s Administrative Council.

Do you have great ideas about how to improve our chapter? Would you like to gain experience that can open the door for new job opportunities? Take a moment to read further. It could steer your career in a new and exciting direction.

Close of nominations is Sunday 17 May 2009, to be followed by the election.

STC-Montreal’s election is being held as per the STC’s Bylaws (March 2008), Article IX section 8A.

Become a Community Leader!

The STC-Montreal Chapter is a volunteer-run organization that has been providing its members with a variety of services since 1998, including:

• Monthly speakers on subjects related to technical writing or of interest to its members
• Full-day educational seminars and hands-on workshops
• Publications competitions
• An active job bank
• A website with news, blogs, employment listings, an events calendar, and other relevant STC-related information
• Opportunities for local professionals to develop their public speaking skills by giving talks in their areas of expertise
• Recognition of members’ professional and community service achievements
• Increasing the value and visibility of professional technical communication
• Networking opportunities with other technical communicators and with members of other associations in related fields
• And of course, our social events and banquets

None of this happens spontaneously – a dedicated team of talented people give their time, dedication, and enthusiasm to continue bringing all of these services to the community. If you are ready to become one of the leaders on this team, this is your call to make a difference to the Chapter and develop your leadership skills.

Elected positions

The STC-Montreal calendar runs from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. The STC-Montreal Chapter must elect officers to respect the STC Bylaws, to ensure the Chapter’s continuity, and to expand its value to you, its members. The chapter’s leadership has both elected and unelected positions.

The elected positions are President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Descriptions of the positions follow below.

For the elected positions, we have a formal nomination process and a formal (online) election. If there is only one candidate for a position, the election is a ratification vote (Yes/No) for the one candidate for that position.

Candidates for all elected positions must be current STC members, and remain current through their term of office.

President

• Exercises general supervision over the affairs of the chapter
• Presides at meetings of the Chapter and of the Executive Council
• Appoints heads of Chapter committees subject to Council approval
• Is an ex-officio member of all Chapter committees

Vice President

• Assumes the duties of the President in the absence or incapacity of the President
• Performs other duties as the President or Council may assign

Secretary

• Keeps minutes of all Chapter and Council meetings and distributes these in accordance with set procedures
• Conducts official correspondence
• Maintains records so that they are available at any time to the President or the Council
• Performs other duties as the President or Council may assign

Treasurer

• Supervises the Chapter’s financial affairs
• Prepares an annual financial report for submittal to the Treasurer of the STC
• Prepares and submits an annual declaration to the Quebec Government
• Maintains books and records so they can be inspected any time
• Authorizes disbursements

If you are willing to serve in one of these positions, please nominate yourself by sending an email to the STC-Montreal Elections Committee.

Other positions

There are many volunteer positions on the council that do not require election: Education Coordinator, Job Bank Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, and several more. For a list of the current positions and the names of the people who hold them now, visit the contact us page of the STC-Montreal website.

Since these positions do not entail election by the community membership, when a vacancy arises we put a notice on the Chapter website and actively look for volunteers among Chapter members. Coordinator positions are held for the entire STC-year (that is, to the end of June). Coordinators are expected to participate at the monthly Executive Council meetings and to attend as many of the Member meetings as they can.

If there is a position you are interested in, even if it is already filled, let us know. We can always use some help, and if we know you are interested there is a good chance you can take it over when it becomes vacant. If there is a position you don’t see listed but would like to create it or revive it, for example, Newsletter Editor, let us know too.

What next?

If you are interested in serving in any of the elected or unelected positions, or have any questions, please contact the STC-Montreal Nominations Committee at election [at] stc-montreal [dot] org.

The STC-Montreal chapter is your chapter! Your participation is needed to ensure that it continues to thrive. We ask you to step forward if you are ready to serve.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Manuel Gordon, & Marta Cepek,
Nominations Committee
election [at] stc-montreal [dot] org

Important Notice to Current STC Members

Some current STC members will not receive any Chapter Election notices because:

1. STC-Montreal Chapter Election notices are sent only to the email address on your STC membership record.
2. You renewed your STC membership after this announcement was issued.
3. Your email address does not appear on the STC-Montreal member list if you did not join the Montreal Community.

If 1) or 2) is true for you and you want to receive election emails, please advise us.

There will be no postal mailings concerning the Election.