STC Newsletter

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Elisa's Milling About:
All Those Who Made Her Year Successful

by Elisa Miller , 2008-2009 LSC President

I'll close out my year as your president, with a brief state of the chapter. It’s been a rewarding as well frustrating year for me, as well as STC. 2009 has seen the highest unemployment in the last 25 years, although the pace of layoffs seems to be slowing. Many of you are still worried about keeping your jobs and many, like me, have found themselves looking for work. Some of you have opted not to renew your STC membership—either from financial hardship or just from circumstances beyond your control—be confident that Lone Star STC will be here when you are ready to return.

We did...

On the other hand, Lone Star has a new logo, designed by Dallas Art Institute student Tyler Evans, as well as a new web site, guided by web masters Paul Holland and Heather Steele. We also received the designation as Chapter of Excellence for 2009. One of our members, Jackie Damrau, received the President’s Award at the Summit just days ago. And we still have a wonderful group of members and volunteers who contribute to the value of Lone Star STC.

We also held a successful competition, exchanging entries with the Twin Cities chapter, followed by a very nice Awards Banquet. Our programs have covered topics of interest to both new and seasoned members, and many of you have participated in community service events and other volunteer activities.

Our challenges...

So, our community may be smaller in size, but not in stature. We may have fewer people at our meetings, but what they lack in number they make up in enthusiasm. I have a lot of hope for this group—even with the shrinking economy. I only hope that as the economy improves, we remain an organization that offers value to our members and that each of you benefits from your participation.

Thanks to...

There are many people that I have to thank for all their help this year:

The Executive Council:

Kristin Kirkham – you did a great job with the programs and the headaches presented by the hotel.
Arroxane Ullman-Eber – you were able to manage the changes in registration procedures associated with the new web site, while planning a wedding and the April presentation.
Chris LaPorte – thanks for taking on the Treasurer role one more year, while training our new Treasurer.
Rob Brown – nice job as our “minuteer,” making sure all our deliberations are a matter of record.
Mike Hiatt – thanks especially for your review of our bylaws in light of the changes from the Society.
Past Presidents: Susie Lynn Fox, Mel Haughton, Kathryn Poe— for all your guidance, feedback. and suggestions.
Kristy Nolan – thanks for your willingness to be a treasurer in training. This is one role where transition is key and the 2009-2010 executive council will benefit from your work this year.

Our Committee Chairs:

Jackie Damrau – I don’t know how we could have gotten through the year without you managing BOTH the newsletter and the competition.
Dale Erickson – You’ve done a wonderful job transitioning IPIC to our newly designed LoneStar LowDown.
Louellen Coker and your PR team for managing the move to Mail Chimp and the updated Media Alerts, as well as the articles for the web site and Technically Write (a special thanks to Jim Korth for his monthly articles).
DeAndrea Laub for managing the scholarships applications and the items for the monthly scholarship fund raffles.
Kathryn Poe – thanks for handling Community Service this year. Working with Louellen on the program for the kids awaiting adoption in Denton was a winning project for everyone.
Jeanne Foster – as membership manager, you’ve really taken this role to the next level. Your work with SIN SIG and welcoming new members, and managing the member survey this year are so appreciated.
Paul Holland and Heather Steele – many thanks for your extraordinary efforts in bringing us a new web site, a new hosting service and a new way of involving more people in the web publishing process. Special thanks for your training sessions both webinar and live.

To those who participated in the many projects such as BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) led by Kathlyn Auten and Ann Balaban; the mentoring program led by Kathryn Poe, and the Binion Amerson Leadership Award Selection team led by Mel Haughton, we want to thank you for your willingness to volunteer and your enthusiasm (particularly those who participated in BEST!).

As we move along...

I only have one thing I’d like to ask of you as you move into the summer months. If you run across a professional position that you are not going to apply for, please post it to the Job Forum on our web site. Or, better yet, send a letter to the company or recruiter that posted the position and ask THEM to post it to our Job Forum in the “Now Hiring” section. Over time, we want to build up a database of companies that hire people with the skills that STC members possess. For more information about this initiative, please see Paula Robertson’s article in this issue of Technically Write.

So long for now...