Program Year Summary
by Cathy Bettoney, Vice President of Outreach & Planning
Reaching Out to Students
STC Houston sponsored the Science Writing Contest in connection with the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston for junior- and senior-high-school students. Judging took place on March 1, 2008, at the University of Houston-Downtown campus, with the help of university faculty and chapter members Aimee Roundtree and Patricia Golemon. The awards ceremony was in the George R. Brown Convention Center on March 15. Chapter President Linda King and VP of Outreach Cathy Bettoney presented the winners with books and gift certificates, as well as a $500 scholarship for the 1st-place winner in the Senior division. The top winners in each grade-level group were entered in the STC international competition.
Reaching Out to Satellites
STC-LA, which includes members from Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lake Charles, and Lafayette, concluded a successful year with the election of next year’s officers, President Rachel Vernon and Vice-president Jen Fanguy. Many thanks to the leadership of President Alise Hagan through 2007–2008. The satellite chapter maintains an active website, http://www.stc-houston.org/stcla/index.html. Program changes are being considered for next year, and the group is beginning to investigate applying for full community status.
Reaching Out with Scholarship
Offering two $1,000 scholarships this year to students engaged in technical communication studies on the college level, STC Houston is looking forward to evaluating the applicants and making the awards at the June program meeting. Many thanks to Jennifer Smith and Martha Dutton for their work in overhauling the scholarship application and requirements, and to Alice Lee for publicizing the scholarships to area colleges.
Reaching Out with Community Service
STC Houston has joined the recycling effort with the year-long magazine drive, donating all kinds of gently used magazines and books to the Houston Seafarer’s Center.
In March, the chapter participated in the Girl Scout Career Fair. Stephanie Weiss, Doug Brown, and Cathy Bettoney worked a booth, handing out STC Houston pens and brochures and explaining just what it is that the chapter does. Cathy gave a PowerPoint presentation on job interview skills and résumé writing. Ann Jennings, Doug Brown, and Cathy Bettoney joined in a panel discussion of technical communication as a career, with Ann handing out information and showing examples of professional portfolios and Doug explaining the process of documenting software.
An initiative still in progress is presenting information on writing as a career to area high schools.
