Friends,
Writers and Editors,
Lend Me Your Time!
By Walter
Hanig, President
For a variety
of reasons, we've had several resignations from the chapter's administrative
council this year. Fortunately, some members have stepped forward to help
out on the council; thanks Michael (Programs) and Sue (Membership). However,
we still have an opening for Professional Development. This realm includes
identifying commercial classes or workshops that will interest our members
and coordinating the development and presentation of "home-grown"
workshops, such as those on FrameMaker, indexing, and "get that job"
from previous years.
I don't expect
that the VP-Professional Development will give any workshops, though that
would certainly be welcome. I do expect the VP to identify the subjects,
find speakers, and coordinate logistics for the workshops.
I would hope
that there are volunteers who would help out. For example, one volunteer
might be in charge of taking e-mail registrations and payments at the
workshop. Another might provide light snacks (for example, coffee and
bagels). Other aspects of logistics include publicity, finding a location,
and providing audio/visual support.
Of course,
nothing makes the VP's job easier than knowing someone willing to lead
a workshop. You don't have to be a trained speaker. You don't have to
be a leading expert. You just have to know your subject well enough to
help others and want to help them. If you're the person in the office
that others ask, you're qualified! As a speaker at several workshops,
I can attest to the satisfaction you'll get.
We'd like
to hold half-day workshops, followed by an optional networking lunch,
on a variety of topics, from software tools (Illustrator, Photoshop, Visio,
and WebWorks Publisher are examples) to specialized usage of tools (for
example, building templates in FrameMaker) to improving one's writing
skills (indexing and writing for online, for example) to new/not-so-new
technologies (such as XML).
The focus
will be on providing enough information to help you in your job. For example,
you need to know enough Photoshop to improve the quality of screen captures;
enough Visio to draw simple process diagrams, or enough WebWorks Publisher
to decide if it will meet your needs. Think of the subjects as "xxx
for technical communicators."
If you have benefited from other chapter members' volunteer efforts, here's the opportunity to give back, either as VP, Professional Development, or as a presenter. Please contact me, wdhanig@alumni.rice.edu.
