STC Transformation–What Does It Mean To Chapters and Chapter Members?

By Bill Leavitt, STC Fellow and Past International President

Background

Thea Teich, past President of STC, spoke at the September gathering of the Chicago Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. Her topic was the STC "Transformation." The presentation provoked the following editorial by Bill Leavitt originally published in the Chicago Chapter newsletter.

The September STC Chicago Chapter meeting featured Immediate Past President Thea Teich, who talked to us about the upcoming STC Transformation. I agreed with most of what Thea said until she explained why we needed to pass a bylaws change to eliminate direct representation of chapters and members on the international Board of Directors by regionally elected Director-Sponsors. Her explanation was not acceptable to me. Also, I strongly questioned her comments about a portion of each member's dues being used to support chapters. She stated that since most chapters publish an electronic newsletter at low cost, they no longer need the levels of funding currently provided out of dues.

For the benefit of those in attendance at that meeting, and those who want to learn more about the STC Transformation, here is a further explanation of my concerns and objections to what we are being told.

My biggest concerns have to do with how the STC Transformation will affect chapters and the members who belong to chapters. In the early years of STC and predecessor organizations, chapters were not directly represented on the Board of Directors. Instead, Directors-at-Large served to represent the members. In the early 1980s, we began to elect directors by region, so that chapters and members would have direct representation on the Board by someone geographically close at hand who had an interest in chapters and members in that region. These people, called Director-Sponsors, were responsible to the Board for the performance of the chapters in their regions. Because they were geographically close to the chapters they represented, the Director-Sponsors were able to visit most, if not all, of their chapters during their three-year terms. Further, they were a resource for chapter leaders to help them serve their members better. The proposed bylaws change would provide Directors-at-Large again instead of the regional Director-Sponsors.

STC was a slow-growing organization until the early 1980s, when we converted from indirect representation by Directors to direct representation by Director-Sponsors. By requiring chapters to report their success or lack of success to the Board through their Director-Sponsors, and through the help provided by the D-S's to chapter leaders and members, STC membership and numbers of chapters surged. It seems to me that we had around 6,000 members and 80 chapters in the early 1980s (in 30 years of STC existence); then we grew to 20,000 members and over 150 chapters in the next 20 years through Director-Sponsor support. I am convinced that chapters will again flounder without the help, support and influence of D-S's. I believe the proposed bylaws change to eliminate regional representation of chapters will further slow new chapter development and overall membership growth.

Why Are Chapters Important?

I believe the chapters have contributed to STC's success because they provide a forum for direct interaction and networking that the internet can't provide. Also, chapters give members management experience that not only provides leaders for the Society level, but also grooms STC members for management positions in their jobs and careers. Best of all, one-on-one personal contact helps newer members to develop their ethical and work standards, and permits Fellows and other recognized examples of excellence to show members what kind of people they want to be. I personally experienced these benefits, and a lot of my personal and professional success results from my chapter experience.

I believe the STC International Board is using flawed financial assumptions to justify its actions. Some Board members have told me that they realize that most chapters will go out of existence. I have been told by some Society leaders that eliminating rebates (recently about 35% of the annual STC budget) to chapters is the best way to balance the STC budget. Simple financial reasoning demonstrates how reducing membership in chapters will eventually lead to their demise. STC may or may not fail as an ultimate result, but the high level of service now provided will be impossible to maintain. I am convinced that the transformation plans I have been informed about will have a devastating effect on the health of the chapter aspect of STC.

The combination of lost members through giving members a choice about chapter membership and the reduction of revenue resulting from this change, together with other proposed reductions in chapter support by the Society, will cause most chapters to fail. The remaining chapters will be weaker, and may combine with other chapters, with the effect of decreased service, or may break off from STC if they can be successful without Society-level support.

There are other options to cutting costs. However, the key to this whole situation is whether the STC leadership believes the future will bring a resurgence in demand for technical communicators. I believe it will–it's just a matter of time. STC should put itself in a position to take advantage of that change in thinking. More importantly, STC should put itself in a position to influence that resurgence.

The success of STC's future means little to me professionally. I am essentially retired and the availability of jobs doesn't effect me. But I do have a lot of concern for our members and technical communication as a profession, and I'd like to see the Board take actions that are in the best interests of them.

Bill Leavitt has been in the technical communication profession for over forty years, and graduated with a degree in technical writing in 1964 from Purdue University. He has worked for several organizations, including a NASA contractor, Chemetron Corp., and USG Corporation (a building materials manufacturer). He was editor of FORM & FUNCTION magazine, an architectural trade magazine from USG for 25 years. He currently is semi-retired, but has a consulting company and teaches part-time at Purdue University. Bill has served in many chapter and Society-level positions, including Director-Sponsor, Treasurer, President, and Assistant to the President. He has also earned many regional and international writing awards, and is a fellow in STC. He has been a member of Chicago Chapter for 40 years and has been honored with the chapter's prestigious Robert Frank Award.