from Yvonne Wade Sanchez
I’m not going to lie. I have personally questioned whether I should renew my membership to STC. This is a decision I have struggled with the last few years. Does membership have value to me? Should I spend my dollars elsewhere? Do I need to be a member of a local community focused on technical communication? These are all questions I have asked myself, and I imagine you have asked yourself as well each year when you receive a renewal request from STC.
I want to request that you consider membership from a different point of view. How would you feel if there were no organization (at least in your community) that represented our profession? Would that make you value our profession less? Would that make employers, educational institutes, or other professionals value the field of technical communication less? I don’t know the answers to these questions because, for as long as I’ve been a technical communicator, my community has had a professional org devoted to techcomm. My community chapter, STC Houston, recently changed its name to STC South-Central because the Austin and San Antonio chapters of the STC folded (those chapters no longer exist). Therefore, STC Houston absorbed Austin and San Antonio in an attempt to ensure technical communicators living and working in those regions are supported.
Change happens, but it doesn’t scare me. It does sometimes make me uncomfortable, which often makes me more aware. The change I mentioned earlier triggered me to take a leadership role in STC South-Central. Our local chapter now has more technical communicators (i.e., new graduates, professionals, retirees, etc.) to support. I personally benefited from my local STC chapter for years (e.g., educational programs, competitions, job postings, networks, etc.), so it’s my turn to give back. That’s why I volunteered to serve as a director this program year, and why I renewed my membership. I hope you join me as a renewing member and as an active member of STC South-Central because we now have more responsibility and reach.
Join us: https://www.stc.org/membership/
We’re embracing this change, and we are going to do great things this program year! Most important, we need your help both as a renewing member, participating member, and as an STC volunteer.
Here is what we have planned for the 1st quarter
— Virtual programs (every other month)
— Networking programs (every other month)
— Student event at Praire-view A&M (Feb)
— Student event at Austin Community College (Mar)
— Mini (Regional) Conference at Texas State University (Apr)
Join us: https://www.stc.org/membership/
Thanks,
Yvonne Wade Sanchez
