STC Rocky Mountain Chapter May 16, Year-end Review

Year-end Review  President’s Goals  Chapter Membership  Chapter Finances  STC RMC Meetings  Newsletter/Blog  Social Media  Website  Awards and Recognition  Incoming and Outgoing Officers  Volunteer Opportunities

President’s Goals Initiatives 1. Improve Service to Members Offer more webinars and networking opportunities with varied venues, and continue the Active Member Rewards Program 2. Apply for Awards Our Awards committee submitted members for DCSA and Associate Fellow, one member applied for Fellow, and the Chapter applied for the STC Pacesetter Award 3. Increase Student Participation Connect with college students and offer scholarships 4. Continue Fiscal Responsibility Look for opportunities to cut costs and to spend money wisely

Chapter Membership  153 members as of May 13, 2013 – 98% retention rate  Updated New Member Guide for  Promoted STC RMC membership benefits on social media

Chapter Finances  Estimated overage for the year  (expenses vs. receivables, excluding rebate): ~$1,000  The executive council voted to end the scholarship program  Funds came out of the chapter’s reserves, which was an unsustainable approach.  Annual savings: $2,000  STC gave our chapter a rebate on member dues this year  Rebate amount: $2,700

Chapter Finances (cont’d)  Financial Goals  For the last several years, our overriding financial goal has been to attain a zero-based budget  Courtesy of the late George Hoerter, STC RMC had a large financial reserve that allowed us to spend more than we received for many years  In recent years, the council made the specific decision to control our costs

STC RMC Meetings  Northern Colorado Satellite  Chapter Meetings

Northern Colorado Satellite  Who: Anyone  When: 2nd Wednesdays, September-May  Where: Truman's, Fort Collins  Manager: Carmen Carmack  Purpose:  Mentoring  Networking  Supplement to Denver programs

Chapter Meetings  Who: Anyone  When: 3rd Thursdays, September-May  Where: Corporate Sponsors  Lakewood, NASDAQ Offices  Greenwood Village, Truven Health Analytics  Denver, Jackson National Life Insurance  Purpose  Offer professional development  Foster networking and support  Approx. 160 attendees at our meetings this year

September 2012  Topic: Resumé Magic  Speaker: Traci Laswell  20 Attendees  Spawned two follow-on resumé review sessions

October 2012  Science Lounge at Denver Museum of Nature and Science  Super Heroes, Unite  8 Attendees

November 2012  History Colorado Center  Behind-the-Scenes Tour  10 Attendees

November 2012  Topic: Networking  Two locations:  Panera Bread, Westminster  Panera Bread, Denver Tech Center  14 Attendees

January 2013  Holiday party hosted by Stacey Whala, Chapter VP  11 Attendees

January 2013  Webinar  Topic: Writing for Touch, Voice, and Gestures  Speaker: Joe Welinske  25 Attendees

February 2013  Webinar  Topic: Marketing Bingo  Speaker: Bette Frick  18 Attendees

March 2013  Topic: Networking  Three locations:  Panera Bread, Westminster  Panera Bread, Denver Tech Center  Panera Bread, Golden  9 Attendees

April 2013  Topic: Alternate Career Paths for Technical Communicators  Speaker: Jack Molisani  28 Attendees

May 2013  Topic: Strategies for Building Local Online Visibility  Speaker: Monica Valdez  Attendees

Newsletter/Blog  Technicalities newsletter = Technicalities blog (  60 contributions! This year’s contributors:  Deb LockwoodLacey Taplin  Carmen CarmackJim Hess  Joel MeierMartha Sippel  Frank TagaderMarcia Wood  Jessica Betterly  Anyone can write a post or comment; just register or your submission to

Social Media  The Social Media Manager  Regularly posts updates from the President  Manages  Facebook  LinkedIn  Twitter  Blog  Adding new members to LinkedIn and Blog  May also post about  New blogs  Salutations  General announcements by request

Website and Web Team  The Web Team  Upgraded the Content Management System  Updated the file structure so it’s more intuitive  Continued to develop a repository of website procedures and processes  Initiated a simplified login process to make STC RMC website and Technicalities blog usernames match so they are more logical for our members  Evaluated delivering new member information via the website

Website and Web Team (cont’d)  The Web Team  Improved council access area of the website  Scanned and linked all chapter awards  Removed nonmembers from website accounts, Discussion list, and Job list  Further integrated Eventbrite into the website  Performed regular maintenance and archiving

Awards and Recognition  Active Member Rewards Program  Successful in  Eight members earned 15 or more points  The reward for achieving 15 points is a $25 gift card to Amazon or an STC RMC polo shirt  Four other members earned 10 – 15 points  The program continues in 2013  Pacesetter Award  Special Recognition  Kit Brown-Hoekstra, incoming VP STC 2013

Awards and Recognition (cont’d)  Fellow Honor  Kit Brown-Hoekstra  Associate Fellow Honor  Joel Meier  Distinguished Chapter Service Award  Joel Meier  President’s Awards  Deb Lockwood  Stacey Whala  Joel Meier

Council and Committee Volunteers Becky WilliamsCarmen CarmackClaire Schram Deb LockwoodDebbie PeeblesDeanna Mosler Frank TagaderJohn EndicottLacey Taplin Jessica BetterlyJoel MeierMarcia Wood Martha SippelRobin KringStacey Whala

Officers  Outgoing officers  President, Marcia Wood  Past President, Joel Meier  Vice President, Stacey Whala  Secretary, Debbie Peebles  Treasurer, Jessica Betterly  Nominating Committee, Deb Lockwood and Claire Schram

Officers  Incoming officers  President, Stacey Whala  Vice President, Marie DesJardin  Past President, Marcia Wood  Secretary, Debbie Peebles  Treasurer, Jessica Betterly  Nominating Committee, Carmen Carmack and Cynthia Reading

Volunteer Opportunities We need:  Programs Manager  Volunteer Coordinator  Membership Manager  Blog Contributors  Meeting Greeters

Thank you to… All who contributed so much to our success— Rock on!

Questions  Any Questions?