Ars Communica

Five volunteers were presented with Chapter Recognition Awards for their service to the community of technical writers at the STC-Montreal banquet in June.

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The Montreal chapter of the Society for Technical Communication has gone through a challenging and interesting year — may we all begin living in somewhat less interesting times in the months to come!

Before taking on the role of chapter President last year, I was aware that the Society faced some major financial challenges, and knew that these challenges would also affect our local chapter. As it turns out, the challenges facing the Society were much larger than I anticipated. We used the chapter website to communicate the substance of these issues as they unfolded, but here they are in a nutshell: The Society lost well over a million US dollars last year, put out an appeal to all its geographic chapters and special interest groups (SIGs) to return surplus funds to help cover this budget shortfall, and began cost-cutting activities across all of its program areas.

A major change that affected us in Montreal was the decision by STC’s Board to significantly raise its dues for 2010. Our chapter membership declined by nearly 50%, and members and non-members alike engaged in an ongoing discussion about the role of a geographic STC chapter, the value of membership and the kind of chapter benefits they would like to see. Despite this membership decline, Montreal retained over 60 dues-paying members, and a newly-elected Administrative Council now looks forward to a new year of local professional development programs and social events. Our chapter in Montreal is currently over 20 years old, is financially sound, has a core of activist volunteers, and it continues to provide a professional context for technical communicators in the Montreal area.

I’d like to thank this year’s Administrative Council — VP Charles Roburn, Secretary Ming Sabourin, and Treasurer Rolf Hecken — for their stalwart service during an uncertain time. I’d also like to thank immediate past presidents Poppy Quintal and Andy Gural for their energy, support and encouragement. People of this caliber are what makes the Montreal chapter a viable organization, and it has been a pleasure working with all of you.

Thanks also to everyone in STC Montreal; this is your organization and it will continue to become what you choose to make it. Please join me in welcoming a new Administrative Council — President Charles Roburn, Secretary Lydia Shuster, and Treasurer Rolf Hecken — to a new year of chapter service beginning in September 2010. Keep an eye on the chapter website for news and programming announcements, and I’ll be seeing you at an STC Montreal meeting soon.

Everett Larsen
STC-Montreal President 2009–2010

From left: Rolf Hecken, Everett Larsen, Charles Roburn, Ming Sabourin. Photo: Jim Royal. (Click for larger size)

Should STC-Montreal become a more independent entity, or even separate from the Society?

This has been a topic of discussion here at STC-Montreal for a little while now, and at our March 9, 2010 event, it was a hot issue. Many ideas and questions about the chapter’s future were put forward by those in attendance, but no clear direction emerged from the discussion.

A major issue for our chapter is funding. For the last few years, there has been less and less money coming from the Society to help STC-Montreal pay for its educational events and workshops, and there will be no more money coming from the Society for the near future. It is uncertain when the chapter’s funding will resume, if ever. STC-Montreal faces a future of dwindling resources, which not only limits our ability to serve the community, but will sap the energy and drive of our volunteers.

Several STC chapters in the US and Canada have already folded, unable to muster funds or volunteers.

One way forward might be to break with STC and form an independent non-profit organization that can better serve the needs of Montreal technical communicators. Affiliation with other Canadian chapter(s) might be another possibility. In the immediate future, our chapter’s relationship with STC International will be determined by the wording of a new International Affiliation Agreement. Terms of such an agreement are still being drafted by the Society.

Taking a more independent route will demand even more effort from our volunteers, however. We would need more people from the community pitching into help plan and deliver compelling professional training for technical communicators. It would have to be a collaborative effort, backed by volunteer commitment, and it would have to be self-sustaining.

We need to know what you think. Nothing has been decided thus far. Any substantive change must be approved per the chapter bylaws by a vote of current dues-paying members.

What do you want to see from STC-Montreal? This is your organization, and your opinion matters right now. Leave your comments below, and don’t hold back.

The presentation slides from Jon Druker’s presentation “Expert Tips for Gaining Feedback” are now available for download.

The presentation was held Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at Le Nouvel Hotel.

Download the presentation slides from the event’s announcement page.

Aiessa Moynam, the Treasurer for STC International, posted the following message to the STC President’s mailing list:

As STC Treasurer, I have been intimately involved in reviewing chapter budgets and reserves over the last couple months. It’s been an eye-opening experience, giving me insight into the programs and services that chapters feel it is important to offer their members (and other technical communicators), how they generate income, and how they spend their money … or don’t spend it.

Thanks to Richard Mateosian for raising the issue of IRS guidance on excessive reserves. As Richard put it, “a small reserve — no more than two years’ expenses — is prudent and acceptable to the IRS.”

As Cindy Currie indicated in a recent posting, chapters that are able to end 2010 with a surplus will be able to keep it to build their reserves. (The identification of chapter surplus funds that could be reallocated to the Society this year was a one-time event required to help us resolve our financial crisis; we don’t expect it to be an annual event.) Those reserves will help chapters to cover operating expenses and fund programs and services in 2011 and beyond. Going forward, chapters that are planning a big-ticket activity in the near future — for example, a conference or competitions — may plan to accumulate a larger reserve to ensure the activity is fully funded. Other chapters may build more modest reserves. All chapters should avoid building up excessive reserves, which could attract the interest of the IRS. Instead, they should plan to reinvest their surplus funds into programs and services that deliver value at the local level.

As we transition to zero-based budgeting for chapters, it’s important to understand that passthrough payments are ending. In the future, the Society will have a different funding model for chapters, and it will rely on a number of factors, including:

• Membership numbers
• Programming, as reflected in the chapter budget

Looking ahead to 2011, chapter funding will be influenced by the number of members in both 2010 and 2011. It definitely is to your chapter’s advantage to encourage members to join your chapter when they renew their STC memberships for 2010, and when new members join in the coming year.

This year, the support of the chapters literally has kept STC’s doors open. The surplus funds you’ve reallocated to the Society have been critical to our survival. But STC is still not out of the woods.

Your continued support will be crucial, and this support may take many forms: boosting membership renewals and encouraging new memberships; promoting membership in chapters and SIGs; encouraging participation in your local programs; promoting attendance at the 2010 Technical Communication Summit in Dallas; and encouraging participation in Society-level offerings that are driving new sources of revenue (like the very successful online certificate programs introduced in September).

As I said, my first few months as STC Treasurer have been eye-opening … in many ways! I’ve been inspired by your commitment, engagement, dedication, enthusiasm and passion for our Society and profession. Your hard work on behalf of STC, the chapters and the SIGs has been acknowledged and is deeply appreciated. Thank you for caring so much, and thank you for all you do.

Aiessa Moyna
Treasurer, STC International

Earlier this month, STC announced new membership pricing, featuring an à la carte fee structure. As part of this new structure, members will be charged additional fees for membership in local chapters or SIGs.

This week, STC announced that fees paid for chapter membership would not be passed along to the chapters during the 2010 fiscal year.

The 2010 fee structure is as follows:

Basic Membership $215 USD
Students $75 USD
Retirees $145 USD

Basic dues will not include membership in a chapter or SIG, as they have in past years. Chapter membership will be an additional $25 USD and SIG membership will be an additional $10 USD.

In response to questions posed on various STC-related forums about membership fees, STC posted a list of questions and answers on its web site (original article here). This is a excerpt:

Why has STC dropped the “pass thru” of monies to chapters?

Chapters are not separate entities. They are an integral part of STC and, as such, receive a number of services from the parent organization. The “pass thru” was suspended temporarily for 2010 because of the significant surpluses held in some chapter bank accounts. Chapters were asked to create zero-based budgets for 2010, utilize the surplus funds for 2010 activities, and return the remainder to STC to help resolve the cash flow deficit anticipated for the fourth quarter of 2009. A portion of the returned funds will be set aside to fund chapters that lack sufficient resources for 2010 budgeted activities. The Board is very grateful to the chapters for returning their surplus funds and the collegial support given the leadership during this difficult and stressful period.

Basic dues no longer includes a chapter and SIG. If I pay the extra $25 for a chapter and $10 for a SIG who gets the money?

Chapters and SIGs are an integral part of STC. The money collected is used for their support. STC provides communities with a variety of services, such as legal IRS compliance, liability insurance, payment processing, marketing, sales, advertising, online publications, education (some is free to members), conference planning, negotiation, and management.

Why isn’t the money collected for chapters and SIGs being given to them?

Basically, through 2010, chapters that were struggling financially before The Crisis will receive STC funds. Chapters that had cash will be living on the cash. Each chapter submitted budgets for the last quarter of 2009 and all of 2010 projecting spending, and working with the Society to return money that wasn’t needed during that budget period or to receive money for unfunded needs. These budgets went through (and some are still going through) a Society approval process.

Although the chapter fee remains $25, it is seemingly unrelated to the amount of money that a chapter receives. Funding from the Society is currently needs based. Also, it is unclear whether money flagged as chapter money is necessarily going to be spent directly on chapters. The current thinking is that it is all Society money, which is why the Society felt okay with recapturing money that was largely originally received from members for the chapters. So when a chapter member gives the $25 chapter fee, the chapter may not directly benefit. The indirect benefit would be the vitality of STC as a whole, and the support of struggling sister chapters (perhaps chapters in geographic locations where unemployment is high, for instance) and perhaps SIGs.

STC-Montreal is pleased to announce that Rolf Hecken has assumed the role of Treasurer on the STC-Montreal administrative council.

Rolf volunteered on short notice to handle the chapter’s books when former treasurer Paul Giovannetti stepped down for personal reasons. Rolf said, “Working in the linguistic field, the STC provides me with an important opportunity to exchange with the creators of the very content which we transfer into different languages. I found it essential to understand and exchange with the writers community to help improve the seamless transfer into multilingual environments. The STC and its vast knowledge exchange are vital to raise awareness and simplify each other?s work. The open communication within this sector keeps me coming back for more.”

Rolf has been an STC member for several years.

Rolf’s participation in the activities of the administrative council begin immediately. As Treasurer, Rolf is a voting member of the council.

Marta Cepek, former president of STC-Montreal, has received the Distinguished Chapter Service Award for 2009. The award was presented at the most recent STC-Montreal event on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 by the current chapter president, Poppy Quintal.

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The presentation slides from Mélanie Sisley’s presentation “Effective eLearning Design Principles” are now available for download.

Photos from the presentation are available, too. The presentation was held Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at Ruby Foo’s Hotel.

Download the presentation slides from the event’s announcement page.

Photos from Daniel Guay’s presentation “InDesign CS4 for Technical Writers” are now available. The presentation was held February 26th, 2009 at the Nouvel Hotel.

There is no downloadable presentation available, as Daniel’s seminar was entirely a live demonstration of the use of the software.

View the photos on the event’s announcement page.

The presentation slides from Ahmed Ibrahim’s presentation “Podcasting Tips for Technical Communicators” are now available for download.

Photos from the presentation are available, too. The presentation was held January 28, 2009 at the Nouvel Hotel.

Download the presentation slides from the event’s announcement page.

Despite the severe weather, the event was attended by approximately 15 people, and was followed by a lively discussion.

It is time to start thinking about renewing your STC Montreal membership.

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The 2008 season opening event was held at Hotel Europa in the “Aqua Lounge” on September 17th. Photos from the event are below.

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STC-Montreal held its town hall meeting on April 28, 2008 at the Nouvel Hotel. The highlights:

• Elections for positions on the administrative council are coming up. The chapter is seeking a candidate for vice-president.
• The chapter is financially healthy, with funds in both the chapter’s regular chequing account and in short-term investments.
• President Andy Gural said that improvements were made this year in recruitment, marketing, and attendance at chapter events, all to varying degrees. The volunteer team has new members this spring, and a new web site was launched this year. Chapter events are being promoted through general media outlets.
• A volunteer is also needed as Workshop Coordinator. The chapter hopes to hold two workshops in the 2008/2009 season.

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It’s Your Turn to Participate

This is STC-Montreal’s call for candidates and volunteers for positions on the chapter’s administrative council.

For nearly 20 years, STC-Montreal has provided a variety of services to the Montreal technical writing community, including monthly speakers, educational seminars and workshops, publications competitions, a website with online forums and job listings, not to mention social networking events. Now is your opportunity to make a difference to the Chapter and develop and expand your leadership skills.

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Your Turn to Participate

Greetings STC-Montreal members:

The following individuals are candidates for the STC-Montreal Chapter Executive Board for the 2007-2008 STC Year. Their terms of office will run from July 2007 through June 2008.

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Your Turn to Participate

This is STC-Montreal’s formal request for candidates for positions on the chapter’s administrative council.

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

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Reminder: Deadline is Nov. 3rd

Have you or your company produced technical communication products that you think are worthy of awards? Would you like your work to be recognized by your peers? And would you like to get solid, constructive feedback about your work from fellow technical writers in the Montreal area?

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Everyone’s a Critic!

Here’s your opportunity to use and strengthen your constructive criticism skills! See what other professional technical writers in the Montreal area are producing and provide the kind of objective feedback that can help take their work to the next level.

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STC-Montreal is seeking volunteers to make this year’s technical publications and online communications competitions a success.

Between now and the end of November 2006, there are volunteer opportunities waiting to be filled:

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