by Kristy Nolan, Senior Member

After proclaiming the benefits of attending an STC conference for years, I am proud that my entire workgroup attended this year’s conference in Philadelphia. Granted our group consists of only five people, but collectively we were able to attend many more sessions than before. Libby Mazur, manager of our group, said, “It’s good to know that no matter the industry or the specific type of writing, we all have the same issues.” One of our first-time attendees, Sam Iannuzzi, said, “The contacts and resources made attending the conference extremely valuable.”

Louellen, Kathyrn (early mornings, no fun!), Susie

We did not stay at the conference hotel (found a better deal elsewhere), which meant our five-block walk could be spent discussing what we had just heard or determining who was going to which session. It was fascinating to hear all of the information we picked up. We each had our own areas of interest, from the joys of structured writing to the ever-changing English language. Sarah McDonald, first-time attendee, said, “The STC Conference was well organized and informative. I loved the venue!”

“Overall I thought the conference was well organized, and I enjoyed the session timing (not too long and plenty of time in between with a good long lunch break in the middle), and location (near the Reading Market and within walking distance of a multitude of worthy sights),” said Leah Schooling. Leah even made time to see the Rodin Museum before catching the flight home. All of us were impressed by the number of people walking everywhere.

Sam Iannuzzi said, “ Philadelphia was a great host city.” As one who grew up in the area, Sam was able to get us a whirlwind tour of the city with his cousin Marian Deal Smith, who runs Alternative Tours. The evening included Benjamin Franklin Parkway and its fabulous museums, Independence Hall, the history of the city plan, and finished with dinner on the river. I know I learned more history in those couple of hours than all through high school!

Upon our return to Dallas, we met formally to discuss our overall impression of the conference and wrote up how each session we attended can benefit us here at Southwest Airlines. This information will help us in our research and provide rationalization for future attendance at the conference.