Society for Technical Communication—Israel Chapter

Dear Members and Friends of STC Israel,

It has been a busy time for our chapter. We recently held two well-received events, and the Administrative Council has been making initial plans for the 2007 convention, and discussing the adoption of a Vision and Mission for STC Israel.

After considering the needs of our members and our professional community, we formulated a vision and a mission to succinctly point the way for the future of our chapter and profession:

Our Vision
To make technical communication a respected profession in all business sectors of Israel

Our Mission
promoting professionalism in technical communication in Israel

The vision and mission are particularly important as we look towards the 2007 convention, probably in early June 2007. While the title of the convention has not yet been selected, we hope to focus on two important themes:

a cross-discipline approach towards our profession
celebration of our chapter's 40th birthday
Although still only at the preliminary planning stages, we are excited about the possibility of having a convention that will celebrate our profession in all its aspects, and provide all attending with new energy as we forge ahead in our careers.

Zev Frutkof will be serving as our convention volunteer coordinator. He is currently looking for volunteers who can help on various convention committees as follows:

• Program committee: to put out a call for papers, finalize the theme of the conference, and handle all program related aspects of the convention.
• Venue committee: to set the location and date of the convention.
• Logistics committee: to assist with the various aspects of running a convention, such as sound systems, podiums, room assignments, and so forth.
• Sponsorship committee: to help find sponsors for the convention. This committee will determine the levels of sponsors needed and help to find those willing to support the convention.

Some people mentioned to me that they would like to volunteer but can only offer one or two hours a month. This is not too small a bit of time. Our Vice President, Menahem Rosen, has offered to serve as overall STC Israel volunteer coordinator. If you have ideas, suggestions, or can give even a little bit of time to help the chapter, please write to him: vp@stc-israel.org.il

To date, you have received e-mails from us, but have not been able to respond to them directly. We would like to open up the members list to make it a real listserv, so that everyone can communicate quickly and easily. We are currently drawing up the rules. Although we do not want this list to be highly moderated, we need to have a moderator to help manage it and deal with inappropriate postings. This listserv will be private, for members and others who have asked to be advised of our activities. If you are interested in being a moderator, please let Menahem know.

If you are a member of the chapter, you should have received an e-mail containing your username and password for access to the members-only part of the forums. Don't loose this information. You can use it to post your CV/resume on our site, or to access reports from business meetings.

Finally, I am in the process of preparing a list of tips for convincing employers to pay for STC membership. When it is ready, I will post it on our site and drop you a line to let you know. One big tip for now: sell your membership as the best deal in town for continuing your professional education! STC events provide you with valuable knowledge for doing your job more efficiently. Your membership entitles you to free entrance to our monthly lectures, a substantial discount on local conventions, and a certificate attesting to the hours you spent at these events over the year advancing your professional skills and knowledge.

Our next AC meeting is planned for July 24, at 17:30. It will be held near the HaShalom train station in Tel Aviv; details will be posted in a separate e-mail. We hope you can plan on coming and giving us your personal input for the convention and other activities.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Debbie Shapiro
President, STC Israel