Regionally Speaking… New R7 Web Site Coming

By Cindy Reid

Recently, our Director-Sponsor, Rahel Bailie, put out a call for help with the Region 7 web site. Because I was looking for a long-term volunteer opportunity, and because I especially enjoy web projects, I let our volunteer coordinator, Darinda LaFlash, know of my interest. About a month later, I was surprised to learn that I was on the team.

True to the term regional, our team of four is made up of some very enthusiastic members from various parts of the Region. Two of us are based in British Columbia: Rahel, our resident SME (subject matter expert), and Kevin Shoesmith, our database specialist. The other two of us are technical writers, here in the United States: Janie Payne, out of Montana, and me, Cindy Reid, based here in Oregon.

In Rahel's words, the purpose of the site is "to get the Region 7 chapters talking with each other," so to that end, in addition to enhancing content already available on the site (http://www.stcregion.org/region7/index.htm), our intent is to also include features requested by our peers.

Here's a quick outline of what the site will soon additionally offer:

- A list of awards/honors, by chapter
- Links to Region 7 discussion lists
- A searchable knowledgebase, including tips, hints and "how to" articles
- A list of regionally available speakers, sortable by topic
- Links to the Region 7 conferences and conference proceedings, current and past
- Links to each Region 7 chapter's newsletter
- Links to Region 7 job banks, and employment information to help job seekers
- List of Region 7 meetings, events, presentations, etc.
- A student resource section, with links to college and university technical writing and other   professional programs
- Links to good technical writing resources
- A calendar for chapter presidents, especially focusing on deadlines

In order to make this a truly successful venture, we won't be shy in asking for your volunteer participation along the way. For instance, you can even participate right now. If you feel something is absent from the above list, or you have an additional idea or two, please let us know about it.

We are excited to create a product that gets all of our members excited about STC worlds outside of our own. In the meantime, I will keep you apprised of our progress.

Cindy Reid is a freelance technical writer/editor and web site designer. Cindy can be reached at cindycomm@attbi.com.