President's Message

Well, we've kicked off the 2003-2004 program year with quite the fanfare!

The current President and 1st Vice President of the Society for Technical Communication, Thea Teich and Andrea Ames, participated in our panel presentation on the future of technical communication. The program was held at a new venue, the Mallory Hotel in downtown Portland.

You'll notice venue changes this year. Since we have been entrenched at the Greenwood Inn for several years, it has been a challenge to find new locations to fill all the requirements we have for hosting a program meeting. Our next two meetings will be held at the PCC Workforce Training Center in Beaverton, but the locations for meetings for December and beyond are still in limbo. We are listening to our membership and endeavoring to find locations that meet the majority of our attendees' parking, commuting, and public transportation needs.

The 26th Annual Technical Communications Competition is accepting entries in three categories: Technical Publications, Technical Art, and Online Communications. If you are interested in submitting an entry or in judging in any of the three categories, click on the Competition link on the website: http://www.stcwvc.org. Mark your calendars! The entry deadline is October 16th at the October program meeting. So if you are a procrastinator, Competition Manager Christy Graunke will be present to accept your entries during the networking portion of the meeting from 6:00 - 6:45 p.m.

You'll notice some new additions to the Administrative Council this year. Darinda LaFlash, our wonderful Web Manager, has handed over the reins to Wyn Bowler. Wyn will be looking for some talented web team volunteers to help out with all the tasks that keep the website running. Please let Mairi-Kate Campbell, our Volunteer Coordinator, know if you are interested in volunteering on the website at volunteer@stcwvc.org.

The Chapter Business Meeting is held the 4th Thursday of every month, except for November/December. The next meeting is October 23rd. The elected officers, committee managers, and SIG managers attend this meeting to keep the chapter on track and running smoothly. If you are interested in attending this meeting, send an email to wvcstc_president@yahoo.com.

Rachel Houghton
President, Willamette Valley Chapter