Erasing Borders Conferences Planning Already Underway
Jul 12th, 2006 | By Tom Johnson | Category: PlanningMark Hanigan has been actively planning the Erasing Borders conference for 2008. To me it always seems so far in the future, but Mark says that a lot of planning is involved in pulling off a good conference. I invite you to read the draft document he has prepared and submitted — it gives a few more details about this upcoming conference.
I asked Mark to elaborate on the theme, explaining what it means. Here’s what he said:
Erasing Borders is the theme — the whole idea is to get participants to “think outside the box” regarding their respective careers — that their talents can be applied in ways perhaps not imagined previously. The sessions will have to address at least two of the participating SIG areas…
I don’t know if Mark had this in mind, but I remember a conversation he once had with me in which he explained that two members on a project team have the most bird’s eye perspective: the project manager and the technical writer. Everyone else on the team is focused on performing a small task and rarely do they see beyond this task to grasp the larger picture of the project as a whole. Because of this perspective, Mark said the tech writer is well suited to project management as well. I don’t know if this sort of expanding of roles has anything to do with the conference, but perhaps.
Please note that it is not Mark Hanigan, but Mark Hanigan and Beth Long who are coplanning this effort.
Also, the big news, in case you have not heard, is that the STC Board Of Directors is going to hold their January 2008 meeting in conjunction with our conference.
This means that all of us who participate in the conference will have an opportunity to meet and visit with the 14 elected STC board members in a small venue.
Did you know that STC has something in the neighborhood of 150 chapters from which these 14 elected members come? Did you also know that our sister chapter in Orlando has two of those 14 elected members - Treasurer WC Weise and Director Mike Murray (who is also a member of our chapter)?
Mark,
What kinds of issues have been discussed at the Board of Director meeting? I know that the STC has recently taken a new direction. Do you know much about this, such as the reason why and the specifics of the new direction? Perhaps this was something discussed at the Board of Directors meeting.
Mark:
I’m anxious to see how this conference develops. The instructional learning area is growing so much and I think you’re including those types of courses, too.
You’re a dynamo…thanks for injecting our chapter with excitement about a conference here.
Suzanne