Once more with feeling!

I can't believe it has been this long since my last post. Whew! too much going on! I have had seven interviews in the last three days. Almost too much to take in. Still unemployed, though I have some interesting prospects.

Much is happening in the world of STC Atlanta.

First, I would like to congratulate Dr. Michael Hughes for his nomination as 2nd VP for the Society! I hope all of you will join me in congratulating Mike and in supporting his candidacy! His expertise, foresight, and sense of humor will be an asset to the Board of Directors for the Society. He has been an academic and a working stiff, and will bring a unique perspective to the office. (And having a representative from the Atlanta chapter on the board will be cool!)

Our last chapter meeting was a joint meeting with the Atlanta interactive Marketing Association (AiMA). If you missed it, you missed an excellent panel. I know there were at least nine members of the chapter there. Several of them remarked as to how this was a great idea and opened up a side of technical communications that has long been ignored. If you are a consultant or independent contractor, you missed an opportunity to learn much about generating leads and the entire nurturing of leads process. Thanks to Robert for arranging this meeting.

Our next chapter meeting will be on Tuesday, November 20, and will be back at our usual location in the Mirant building in the Perimeter area. Please see our website for more information: www.stcatlanta.org. In this chapter meeting, Dr. Mike Hughes will present on "The Anatomy of a Help File: An Iterative Approach." Mike always provides very interesting presentations. So don't miss it!

Our Holiday party is coming up on December 18th. The details are being worked out by Robert as we speak. I will post the details as soon as they are available. But it will be a very festive affair and I look forward to seeing all of you there. It will be in Alpharetta and we will be supporting the same charity as last year. Julie Brock is handling this part of the party, but if you bring a new, unwrapped gift, the $10 cost of attending the event will be waived! What a great deal!

In January, Mark Wallis will present on "How to Run a Successful Pilot Project for DITA (or Any User Assistance Project)." Long title, but very useful and timely information. I know a lot of us are getting into DITA. Come and learn!

We have a tentative schedule for the rest of the chapter year that includes Scott Abel, the Content Wrangler; Paul McKeon; the Awards banquet in April; and much more. Stay tuned!

And don't forget the Currents conference! It is scheduled for March 14 and 15 at SPSU in Marietta. Check out the information at: http://www.stcatlanta.org/currents.htm. The Call for Presenters is currently available at: http://www.stcatlanta.org/currents08/callforpresenters.htm.

Do you have something you would like to present? Get out there and present! Send us a proposal!

Are you preparing a presentation for the STC Summit in June? What better way to rehearse your presentation than in front of a friendly Atlanta area audience?

If you have questions that aren't answered in the above links, contact our Currents conference manager, Dirk Bender.

Well, I hope to post on a more consistent time frame for the rest of the year. I hope to see some of you at Consensus Judging Day this Saturday. BTW, I would like to thank Roger Siegel and Macy's for allowing us the use of their facilities for this event.

Until next time!

Where have I been?

Hello readers of this blog. I have been meaning to post to this blog and just haven't gotten around to doing it. I have been busy acclimating myself to the role of unemployed technical communicator. But I haven't been sitting around at home with nothing to do.

I have been performing my duties as STC Atlanta Chapter president. I have been to a board meeting for TCAB (Technical Communication Advisory Board for SPSU - I serve on the Communications committee). I have been to a meeting of the TCAB Communication Committee. I have been to the Parisian Soiree'. I have been to Florida 3 times in 6 weeks (Once for a wedding, once to plan a 40th birthday surprise party for our great-nephew, and finally to attend the surprise party.) I have had about 6 interviews (not all with the same company, although one of the companies had me interview with about nine different people - it was fun, though). I just hope I get one of these jobs soon! It is rough sitting around sending resumes, writing cover letters, waiting for calls for interviews, and going to interviews!

It doesn't seem it has been more than a month since my last post. I really apologize. It is taking more than I thought to acclimate to unemployment. And, my family seems to like my unemployed status! They give me things to do with my "long empty days." I mean, I don't have anything to do, so I can just do this or that for them! And, it is really not a big deal because I really do like to stay busy. (I'm not complaining Paulette!)

This is a short post. I will post more later today about STC Atlanta. There is much going on from the competitions, to the successful speaker recruitment for our Currents conference this nest March to a joint meeting tonight, and on and on! Stay tuned!

Parisian Soiree - Where great minds meet and mingle

As you may or may not know, I am a member of the Technical Communications Advisory Board for Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU). We are having our 2nd Annual Fundraiser on Tuesday, October 23, 2007, at Atmosphere, a mid-town Atlanta restaurant, from 7 Pm until 10 PM. The funds we receive support the technical communications programs at SPSU.

This event will include a silent auction with many neat items.

The cost includes a 3 course meal including appetizers, dessert, tea and coffee. (Adult beverages are on your own.) All this for a donation of only $55 per person! Come and join your fellow technical communicators and SPSU grads for a fun night. I hope to see you there!

If you want to attend, send a check made out to: SPSU Foundation to: Claudia Ludlow, 3350 Summer View Drive, Alpharetta, GA. 30022. Closer to the event there will be a PayPal link on the TCOMmons website for those of you wishing to pay by credit card.

T-COMmons Meet & Greet

Last night was the T-COMmons Meet & Greet event at the Delkwood Grill. Lots of people I haven't seen in a while showed up! It was a fun evening with discussions ranging from SPSU to TCAB to things related to technical communications. There were several students in attendance. This was a good thing since students and the TCOM program at SPSU is the reason for these events.

I really enjoy these events. I am happy to support the technical communication program at SPSU. I thought I graduated such a long time ago (2003), but I was at a table with some who graduated from the Master's program in 1997 and earlier! It is a great program and was well worth the time and effort I expended to get my Master's. If you are thinking about the possibility of getting a Master's you need to investigate this program and what it offers for your career. It will be worth the effort.

T-COMmons Event

As a member of the Technical Communication Advisory Board (TCAB) for SPSU, I felt it important to post this. Hope to see you there.

Looking to broaden your network of technical communication peers?

Want to socialize with other SPSU students? Want to connect with alumni and other professionals?

You need to attend the T-COMmons Summer Meet and Greet!

WHAT: T-COMmons Summer Meet and Greet

WHERE: Delkwood Grill, 2769 Delk Road, SE, Marietta, Georgia

WHEN: Thursday, June 21, 2007, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. Come mingle with other technical communication professionals, students, and supporters.

Order off Delkwood Grill’s menu of Americana food and learn more about the T-COMmons community. Information available on www.tcommons.org/events.htm or email events@tcommons.org for more details.

Thanks, Carol!

Dr. Carol Barnum of Southern Polytechnic State University sent me an email recently that she was unable to comment on this blog because she didn't have a Gmail account. I had inadvertently set up commenting for logged in members only.

I have since changed that and opened commenting to one and all. So please comment.