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STC Toronto - Communication Times
December 2004

In the December 2004 Newsletter:

The e-mail part of the newsletter consists of the News and Events section. All links to other articles will take you to our website.

News and Events:
-December Meeting on December 14th: Mike Levey on Single Sourcing with AuthorIT
-Important Reminder to Renewing STC members
-Single Source SIG Meeting on Dec 20th
-Morgan White Awards Presented
-Front Runner events
-Call for papers: IEEE Professional Communication Society's Conference in Ireland - July 2005

Web Content: Connecting with Customers
In the second of a three part series, Gauri Ahuja continues her examination of how technical communicators can play the role of customer advocate, to everyone's benefit.

A Writer's World: Docaholics
Andrew Brooke says he can quit documenting things any time he likes...

October/November Meeting Reports
If you were unfortunate enough to have missed them, Susan Webb reports on the previous two STC Toronto meetings.

The Wandering Eye: Dictionaries
Still relying on that dog eared OED in your top drawer? Keith Soltys directs you to a library of dictionaries on the internet.

STC 2005 Elections
The STC elections are coming soon and our coverage begins with an article by Rich Maggiani, who is a candidate to be the Region 1 Director.

From the President's Desk: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
STC Toronto President Robert Milkovich looks back at 2004 and announces our chapter's plans for 2005.

Time Enough for Training
Joyce Aldrich-Halfin of Front-Runner talks about the importance of making time available for training.

This newsletter is sponsored by
Front Runner Publishing Solutions
Don't miss Joyce Aldrich-Halfin's article on training in this month's newsletter.


About the STC:

The Society for Technical Communication is an individual membership organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its type in the world. Its 25,000 members include technical writers and editors, content developers, documentation specialists, technical illustrators, instructional designers, academics, information architects, usability and human factors professionals, visual designers, Web designers and developers, and translators - anyone whose work makes technical information available to those who need it.

The STC Toronto Chapter was founded in 1959 (then the Society of Technical Writers) and is the largest chapter in Canada.

About this Newsletter:

This newsletter is produced monthly by the STC Toronto Chapter and is sent to all registered members. If you have any feedback or ideas, please e-mail editor Philip Kahn at: newsletter@stctoronto.org

Our mailing list comes directly from the STC, so if you want to receive the newsletter at another address you will need to login to their members profile section and update your information. The STC Toronto Chapter will not share nor sell our address list and will only send e-mails with information we believe to be useful and relevant to our members.

News and Events:

General Meeting on December 14th:
Single Sourcing with AuthorIT
Presented by Mike Levey

 


Mike Levey of FundaMedia comes to us from Calgary to present AuthorIT, one of the leading single source enterprise content management systems. He will show how single-sourcing can improve your productivity, quality and reduce time-to-market when publishing to a variety of output formats. Learn about AuthorIT's powerful workflow and other content management features, and how AuthorIT clients save over 30% of their Localization costs, using XML to provide compatibility with translation memory tools.

Mike has been involved in adult learning and technical writing for the past 20 years. He founded FundaMedia in 1994, with a focus on using technology to enhance learning and communication across a wide spectrum of industries, and in June 2000 he immigrated to Canada, relocating the company in Calgary.

Mike has a B.Sc / HDE (Higher Diploma in Education) and a Diploma in Project Management. Mike specializes in providing AuthorIT training and implementation support to clients across Canada, and has addressed focus groups, such as the Calgary STC Chapter, on the benefits of using AuthorIT. He was also a presenter at the Region 7 STC Conference in 2003. Mike is an AuthorIT Certified Consultant (the first in Canada to achieve this designation).

When:
Tuesday December 14th at 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Where:
Gold Room, North York Memorial Hall
North York Civic Centre (beside North York subway station)
5110 Yonge St., Toronto ON


Important Reminder to Renewing STC Members

Don’t forget, the STC has new membership categories for 2005 - when you get your renewal notice, be sure to select the Classic, E-Membership, or Student option, and select the Toronto Chapter as your chapter affiliation. This will ensure that you continue to have access to services that are only available to STC Toronto members.


Single-Sourcing SIG Meeting

When:
Monday December 20th at 7:00 p.m.

Where:
North York Central Public Library (Room 2/3)
North York Civic Centre (beside North York subway station)
5110 Yonge St., Toronto ON

Check the STC Toronto Web site for details.

Five Morgan White Awards Presented

The Toronto STC chapter was delighted to welcome Morgan White's daughters to the Nov. 9 meeting to choose five Morgan White Award recipients. The winners, all students, receive a one-year free membership to the STC.

The Toronto chapter established the award in honor of Morgan, the former owner of Dial A-1 Resources, who died in 1998. As a dedicated STC member who educated employers about technical communication and helped many in our chapter find work, Morgan White was a good friend to technical communicators and the profession.

This year's Morgan White Award winners are:

Ashley Beaulac – Glendon College, York University
Chris Fobert – Humber College
Lucy Jindra – Glendon College, York University
Nancy Peckford – Humber College
Paul Stapleton – Seneca College

If you are a student interested in technical communication and the STC, please take note! Up to five Morgan White awards are presented each fall. Watch this newsletter next June and September for details on how to enter for next year.



Front Runner Publishing Solutions Inc. continue to be a valued supporter of the STC Toronto chapter. They are offering a number of courses by software and publishing experts which could be of interest to members ... see their site for more details and contact information. And don't miss Joyce Aldrich-Halfin's article in this month's newsletter.


Call for Papers:
IEEE Professional Communication Society's Conference in Limerick Ireland - July 2005

Communication is the tie that binds people around the world, crossing boundaries of knowledge, cultures, languages, and values. Technical communication connects engineers, educators, managers, and communicators in a global community. Come to IPCC 2005 in Limerick, Ireland, to explore these connections and share knowledge.

This year's theme is Making Connections. For proposed program threads and topics, please visit the website:

Call for Papers

General Information