Hello everyone! Hope your new year is off to a great start. It’s been a long time since my last Prez Says article but communicating with you more often is one of my resolutions! Bunch of topics to cover this month…
STC Alliance Competition Results
The results of the 2022 STC Alliance Competition are in! I’m pleased to report that two winners are members of our chapter. Mark Decker earned an Award of Excellence for his entry Oracle® Communications Security Shield User’s Guide. Congratulations, Mark! I’m grateful to be the second winner, receiving an Award of Merit for KVH Industries’ TracNet™ H-Series & TracPhone® V30 Technician Certification Training.
If you submitted an entry this year, regardless of whether you won an award, I hope the feedback you received from the judges was insightful and actionable. To me, their comments are always well worth the price of admission thanks to the commitment of judges like chapter member John Garison. Thank you, John, for your longstanding contributions to the competition’s mission!
Leadership Opportunities
I’m thrilled to report that Destiny Dudley has volunteered to serve as our chapter’s next council Secretary. Thank you so much, Destiny! She will succeed Sharon Metzger, who has held the position with distinction for several years, while also serving as our website manager.
I wish I could pass along similar news about the Treasurer and President positions. Unfortunately, our Treasurer resigned earlier this month, and I have exceeded the maximum allowed tenure for a chapter President. I am willing to stay on through the spring to close out the administrative year, but we need a candidate for incoming President as soon as possible to begin the transition process, get on the election ballot, and potentially attend the next STC Summit to represent the New England chapter, network with other STC leaders, and discover innovative ways to provide value to members. When I took on this role back in November 2020, my modest ambition was to keep the chapter from dissolving during the pandemic. While I’ve been successful keeping the chapter afloat with the support of my fellow council members and volunteers, it’s time for a new skipper to take the helm and chart a path forward. What a perfect opportunity to meet that New Year’s resolution of volunteering more or giving back to your local Tech Comm community! Please email me at president@stcnewengland.org to learn more about either council position! Let’s pull together to keep our chapter going and avoid losing all its assets.
Winter Activity
Our second annual Virtual Holiday Gathering was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the season. Congratulations to our contest winners Sharon Metzger, Steve Jong, Jason Dickey, and Denise Bradford, who each won a $25 Amazon gift card. What sort of creative challenges will we come up with this year? Our next informal event will be our monthly virtual meetup on Thursday, January 26, at 6:30pm. We’re still working on setting up our next educational webinar – stay tuned.
While online activities like this are relatively easy to pull off and work well, it’s not quite the same as getting together in person. Therefore, I’m hoping we can schedule an informal evening out somewhere this winter where we can all chat, enjoy some refreshments, and perhaps compete in a fun activity. Vote for your favorite ideas in the member survey that will be going out soon!
Membership Renewals
Lastly, if you haven’t yet done so, please remember to renew your STC membership for 2023. And don’t forget to choose your New England chapter! Thank you for your continued support!