#28163
To get the most out of your STC membership--take action. Join a committee, write an article for the newsletter, go to a workshop, volunteer for the chapter conference.
Feldman, Diane. Carolina Communique (2006). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#26252
Celebrate Technical Communication
he recognition activities of STC generate a key component of the value provided to its members. Establishing a Technical Communication Week celebration can help boost your community’s profile and the perceived value of our work.
Barnett, Thomas P. Tieline (2005). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#25019
Circles of Leadership: Resources for Chapter Committee Managers 
Every chapter relies on volunteers for its success. The secret to successful chapters, then, starts with recruiting the right people, training them well, delegating to them carefully, nurturing them along the way, and rewarding them for a job well done.
Brown, Dennise C. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#23855
Communities of Practice: Dealing with the Changes in the Technical Communication Field
STC has been challenged by the changing economy and the evolving nature of our work and career development. These challenges have required Society leaders to look carefully into how the STC should change to better serve a diverse and global membership.
Bachmann, Karen L. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#29633
Consistently Leading A Successful Community
Boston, one of the founding chapters of STC, has a distinguished 50-year record of accomplishments. Boston recently won its third consecutive Chapter of Achievement award. We strive to consistently provide an outstanding level and value of services to our members.
Sztaimberg, Ilana. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#30748
Defining Moment for the Eastern Iowa Chapter 
The Define-a-Thon is a new word game from the editors of The American Heritage Dictionary. The idea is that you can spell a word without knowing its meaning. So why not develop a competition where the contestant has to pick the right word after its definition has been given?
Crawley, Charles R. Tieline (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#30073
Discover Buried Treasure at Your Local STC Chapter Meetings
You don't have to be an officer to benefit professionally from your local STC chapter meetings. Start attending your local chapter meetings and discover the many forms of buried treasure. These treasures will result in a new perspective of your writing, an increased library of professional resources, professional writers being hired at your workplace, and the chance to view the 'Best of Show' writing. You can reap rewards such as these with a small investment of personal time.
Lunemann, Rhonda S. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#30498
Have Chapter Meetings that Members Love to Attend!
To improve your chapter meetings, begin by forming a vivid ideal of how you would like the meetings to be. You can realize your dream if you: (1) find out what chapter members want, (2) form an enthusiastic team to do the many tasks involved, (3) publicize meetings beyond your membership list, (4) ensure good presentations, (5) energize the audience for lively meetings, and (6) keep looking for ways to meet your members' wants. For advice and encouragement in doing these things, participate in a support group with leaders of other chapters.
Dean, Morris. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#26251
Hosting the Traveling Exhibits: A Primer
In April 2005 the Vermont Chapter STC hosted the STC traveling exhibits, which include award-winning entries from the five major STC competitions: the international technical art competition (ITAC), international technical publications competition (ITPC), international online communication competition (IOCC), Society newsletter competition, and Society public relations competition. If your chapter, like ours, is in a small market, you probably don’t get the opportunity to network with technical writers from different industries or to see documentation for other markets. Hosting the traveling exhibits is a great way to see what other technical writers are doing in the field.
Myers, Patricia. Tieline (2005). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#30747
How Can We Attract More Members to Our Meetings?
Make the meetings fun--after a long day at work, we need to relax. If you can help them relax at the meeting, you are a step ahead. Some chapters use a relaxation technique at the beginning of their meeting. One California chapter president responded on the listserv that he wears a Santa suit at his chapter's December meeting, so don't be afraid to try something new!
Laurent, J. Suzanna. Tieline (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#26253
All STC community leaders know the difficulty of finding volunteers. In recent years, the Orlando chapter has seen steadily increasing membership counts and meeting attendance figures, implemented creative and successful chapter initiatives, and even won consecutive Chapter of Distinction awards. But when it comes to soliciting volunteers for chapter leadership positions, you may as well be asking them to wrestle the sharks at SeaWorld! On the other hand, there are some things you can do to at least lessen the pain.
Murray, Mike. Tieline (2005). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#29947
In order for chapters to stay relevant to their members, they must provide intrinsic value to their members and show themselves as professional and authoritative leaders in the field of technical communication.
Opsteegh, Michael. Tieline (2007). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#30746
Lead Volunteers to Superstardom
Thanks to the Orlando Chapter, we now have a program that our volunteers enjoy. Whether or not you decide to do something like this for your community is up to you. But remember this: someone out in the world of STC has tried something. Rely on their expertise. You don't need to reinvent the wheel.
Haughton, Mel. Tieline (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#21237
The Marathon of Chapter Presidency
This panel discussion takes shape as the audience molds it. Each panelist is a past STC chapter president. Issues are audience-dependent but may include topics such as handling volunteers, managing money, recruiting members, and so forth. Join this informal discussion to share ideas, quandaries, and solutions for successfully leading a chapter.
Blankinship, Ann, Barbara B. Brogan, LaVonna F. Funkhouser, Gary L. Higgins and Gary M. Smith. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#23697
Many chapters have membership drives in the Fall. Not a big deal, something we’ve always done. However, today membership drives can play an important role in sustaining STC.
Baker, Jonathan W. MetroVoice (2002). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#26255
Rechartering: Taking the Pulse of Your Community
Rechartering, as many of you know, means examining and refining your community’s purpose, mission, goals, and plan for delivering value to your members. Through the recommendations of STC’s regional directors and of the communities transformation committee, the board approached about thirty communities and asked them to participate in the pilot program. Twenty-four communities (eighteen professional chapters, three student chapters, and three SIGs) agreed to the experiment.
Oestreich, Linda L. Tieline (2005). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#31851
Showcase Your Talents in STC: Reflections from a Leadership Day 2008 Panel
Once you prioritize time for involvement in STC activities, you have good opportunities to show your talents to your peers. Yes, it is scary. The technical communication community is a very difficult audience. But isn't that a fantastic learning opportunity?
Mardahl, Karen. Tieline (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#23676
STC Recognition Helps Build Community
The best benefit of my STC membership and leadership volunteerism is that the STC name recognition helped me get the jobs I wanted.
Byron, Barrie. MetroVoice (2003). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#23390
STC Transformation Project: Focus on Communities
I’m talking with you today because I was part of a three-person team that took the lead on thinking about communities for the STC Transformation Project. The two other members of that team were Fred Sampson and Whitney Quesenbery. Fred, Whitney, and I based our work on the goals and principles that the STC Board established for the Transformation Project. As we worked on the concepts for communities, we thought about how to apply these principles to meet the goals.
Redish, Janice C. 'Ginny'. STC East Bay (2004). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#26256
Strategic Plans: Focusing Chapter Energy
If your chapter has never created a strategic plan, or if it has been a long time since plans were updated, it's a good idea to develop one now. Those first plans can require one or two years to create, but don't be intimidated by the commitment. The phases of the plan are easily broken down into small, manageable sessions for which you can set reasonable or flexible completion dates.
Silvi, Deborah H. and Jamie H. Diamandopoulos. Tieline (2005). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#26254
Strength In Numbers: Forging Bonds with Nearby Communities
Although the economy in Northern California has improved, people are not clamoring to become technical communicators the way they were in the boom days of the late 1990s. Finding volunteers for chapter positions is difficult, and those who do volunteer often have to do more with less. An organization of local chapters can facilitate inter-chapter communication and sharing of resources.
Maki, Victoria J. Tieline (2005). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#24886
Technical Publications, Art, And Video Competition Forum
STC's local, regional, and international-level Technical Publications, Art, and Video competitions provide the society with the opportunity to showcase its members' talents. A great deal of work goes into making these competition successful, and an open dialogue between participants, competition managers and judges is important at all levels. This forum give local, regional, and international competition managers, and anyone else interested in competitions, the chance to discuss all aspects of STC competitions.
Hoyt, Thomas B. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#30749
"Thursdays @ STC Chicago" Provide a Unique Networking Opportunity
In March 2007, the Chicago Chapter STC started a program that has become quite popular with its members. If your community covers a large geographic area, or has a large number of members, this program may work well for you too.
Friend, Russ. Tieline (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#31850
Using Constant Contact to Communicate with Your Members
Using Constant Contact helped us distribute mass emails to (the former Region 4) STC members to promote a regional conference that we held in October 2007. This was a successful and professional-looking campaign. We signed up for a 60 day trial account to evaluate the Constant Contact service. The trial was so successful that our board voted to purchase an account for the NEO STC Community.
Spayer, Tricia. Tieline (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
#31770
Over the last few months as I've settled into my new employment arrangement and my STC administrative duties, I've occasionally reflected on my decision to join STC. I can easily see how much of an impact STC membership has had on my personal and professional life. Further, I can easily see how I will continue reaping the numerous rewards associated with membership in this organization.
Parson, Clyde. Between the Lines (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>STC
