LSC Committees
In this section, you'll find the following committee reports by scrolling down:
- Debut of Lone Star Lowdown (LSL)
- Holiday Community Service: Salvation Army
- Denton County Adoption Day and LSC’s contribution
- Competitions (Jackie Damrau)
- Member Recognition (Mel Haughton)
- Scholarship (DeAndrea Laub and Heather Steele)
- Volunteer Committee: Want to help a little? (Susie Lynn Fox)
Debut of Lone Star Lowdown (LSL)
by Dale Erickson, Fellow, and LSL (IPIC) Manager
The Lone Star Community's e-mailing list is now officially the Lone Star Lowdown (LSL). It replaces the IPIC, the e-mailing list originally created for the community's Internet Professional Interest Committee in 1995.
For a few more weeks, the LSL will continue to use the Mailman service, which has text-only features. A new mailing service is currently being tested and evaluated. The new service features HTML templates and graphic support. Look for more colorful and professional-looking messages soon.
Holiday Community Service: Salvation Army
by Kathryn Poe, Associate Fellow, and Community Service Manager
At the December 18th meeting, let's collect items for the teenage angels (these are the Lost Angels that don't get as many donations). They get tons of items for the little ones because they are more fun to buy for, but the 12 -16 years olds get left out. That being said (or typed), lets see if we can collect tons of stuff for these kids:
- CD Players
- Headphones
- Movies (DVD)
- Books or Games
- Bath & Beauty stuff for girls
- Art Supplies
- Batteries of all types
No clothes, gift cards, or food please.
Just think about what you wanted or what your teens want now. It's not as cheap or easy as buying for little kids, but we can help them and they need us.
Denton County Adoption Day and LSC's Contribution
by Louellen Coker, Senior Member
On Friday, November 7, 2008, the Denton County Courthouse was transformed from a subdued set of courtrooms to a vibrant cruise ship filled with costumed characters, stuffed animals, and happy families, as Denton County celebrated its first annual Adoption Day. Twenty-three children who had been in State custody because they were the victims of abuse or neglect were officially adopted into their new families thanks to the wonderful pro bono work of the attorneys of the Denton County Bar Association and volunteers from CPS, CASA, and other groups.
One of those other groups is the Lone Star Community of the Society for Technical Communication. In October, we conducted a teddy bear and book drive to help make this day a special memory for all. November is National Adoption Month, and this was part of the nationwide effort to celebrate families that are welcoming new members from foster care and to draw attention to the continuing need for foster and adoptive homes.
Judges finalized the adoptions of twenty-three little ones into twelve families that, due to the wonderful efforts of everyone involved, will be well-prepared for their new lives thanks to hundreds of donations, from teddy bears, books, and family portraits to jewelry. After the formal adoption ceremony, children were able to choose a teddy bear of their own, pose for their first family portrait, pick out a book for their personal library, and spend some time celebrating their new life.
The Denton County Adoption Day committee awarded the Lone Star Community a Certificate of Appreciation for our efforts in making this event a success.
Competitions
by Jackie Damrau, Fellow, and Competitions General Manager
Saturday, December 6th, the Competitions judges met at ASSET InterTech (hosted by LSC member, Darice Lang) in Richardson to do the Consensus Judging.
We had three onsite teams and four remote teams. Thank you to all for your commitment to judging your entries, in meeting deadlines, and in providing your skilled critiques on the Twin Cities entries.
2008-2009 LSC Competition Key Dates
- Awards Banquet - Thursday, January 15, 2009
2008-2009 Competition Judging Statistics for Twin Cities entries
| Award & Competition | Lone Star | Twin Cities |
|---|---|---|
Distinguished
|
2 3 – |
– 4 2 |
Excellence
|
2 4 – |
3 2 1 |
Merit
|
3 3 1 |
3 6 5 |
No Award
|
4 12 – |
1 9 1 |
Diane and I have had a great time this year with managing the Competitions. Now on to the final phase of Competitions, the January Awards Banquet. A surprise awaits you…details will be revealed in January's Technically Write column.
Member Recognition
by Mel Haughton , Senior Member and LSC Past President
Do you want to be a Superstar?
Each year, from August 1 to June 1, volunteers receive points when they participate in LSC activities. The only way to get the Superstar shirt is to volunteer and earn those points. Contact your volunteer wrangler to learn how you can help.
You automatically receive points each time you participate in LSC activities. Points are based upon the activity and its point values and are listed in the table below.
LSC Activity |
Points |
Attend a monthly meeting |
1 |
Attend a council meeting |
1 |
Volunteer at an event |
2 |
Contribute to a community service effort |
1 |
Judge competitions |
3 |
Contribute an article to newsletter |
1 |
Bring a guest to meeting |
1 |
Be a mentor |
5 |
Present at an STC event (Local, regional, or international) |
2 |
Speak to a student group about Technical Communication and STC |
2 |
Convince a guest to join |
5 |
Send an e-mail to volunteers@stc-dfw.org to learn more about volunteer opportunities.
Scholarship Committee
by DeAndrea Laub and Heather Steele, Scholarship Committee Co-Managers
- Last month we had a great turnout for Mel and Clare’s excellent presentation. And a great turnout for meetings means a great opportunity for scholarships fund raising!
Our November Scholarship Raffle Winners were:
- Heather Steele: Won the picnic backpack donated by Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANS)
- Darice Lang: Won a basket with a Journal, Pens, and Advanced Data Exchange (ADX) flash drive
- Mike Hyatt: Won the goodie bag also donated by ANS
Congratulations to the lucky winners, and a big thank you to those who donated the prizes for the month, ADX and ANS.
The spring scholarship deadline is Friday, March 27, 2009. To find out more about these scholarships please visit the Scholarships page.
Thanks to everyone who has helped and will continue helping us make scholarships possible this year!
Volunteer
Committee: Want to help a little?
by Mel Haughton, LSC Volunteer Wrangler
Do you want to get involved, learn new kills, network, and make a difference? It's your time to shine! Take a look at our current openings and let me know where you fit in! Just email me at volunteers@stc-dfw.org and let me know where you want to help!
Mentoring Manager and Assistant Manager: Help set up programs for LSC mentors and protégés so they can share knowledge, bond with new members in our community, and avoid common mistakes. This job requires about 3 hours of your time every month.
LSC Fort Worth Satellite Manager: Do you live and Ft. Worth and want to get a group together in your neck of the woods? This job requires about 3 hours of your time every month, and you'll help set up meetings in Ft. Worth.