STC member since late 90s (?). Initially, I was Chapter-less as Australia didn't have a Chapter until about 2001. So all my communication was remote - primarily listservs of the Lone Writer (LW) and Consultants and Independent Contractors (CIC) SIGs, plus the journals. Contributed to the LW newsletter as editor and occasional writer, later as webmaster. Then I went to the 2001 STC Conference in Chicago and loved it! Met lots of interesting people who had been just names to me - many have become friends. Attended and spoke at the STC Conferences from 2002-2004 (it's a LONG way and a bucketload of money to get to a conference from the west coast of Australia, so it always gives me a wry smile when people complain about the cost of the conference). After Australia became a Chapter I became 'affiliated'. Took over as webmaster of the Chapter for a time, entered and judged competitions, and coordinated the judging of one comp. Learnt heaps from entering and being a judge - highly recommend it! Also conducted salary survey for Australian tech communicators in 2005. Again, I find it amusing when people complain they are an hour's drive from their local Chapter meeting - I'm 5 hours *flight* from a Chapter executive meeting. The Australia Chapter covers the entire continent, so having Chapter meetings of the membership is not something that we do - AFAIK, we've only had one meeting of members, and that was done through IRC. I've given up many of my volunteer positions in the past 12 months as we're moving soon and there'll be a lot of changes associated with that. However, I'll renew my membership in STC as I still get a lot out of it. The listservs are my primary source of contact now, plus friendships with individuals I've met through STC. I concur with everyone who said that they get much more out of it if they put something in. Rhonda
Rhonda Bracey [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cybertext.com.au <http://www.cybertext.com.au/> AuthorIT Certified Consultant _______________________________________________ Are you a Help Authoring Trainer or Consultant? Let clients find you at www.HAT.Matrix.com, the searchable HAT database based on Char James-Tanny's HAT Comparison Matrix. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for details. Interested in Interactive 3D Documentation? Get the scoop at http://www.doc-u-motion.com -- your 3D documentation community. _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals To post a message to the list, send an email to [email protected] To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com or, via email, send a blank message [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit the TCP site at http://www.techcommpros.com To find out more about the list, including archives and your account options, visit http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com If you need assistance with the list, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
