‘Freelance vs. Captive: Making an Informed Decision’ Webinar Coming Up

John Hedtke will share his expertise on a freelance vs. captive career path on November 29, 2023, from 7 – 8 p.m. (Eastern time). The webinar is free to P&P SIG members, but you must register.

Register here. 

After you register, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Webinar Description

Ever thought that you might be cut out for the glamorous, high-paying, and rather bohemian lifestyle possible with a freelance existence? Not everyone is suited for freelance work… but neither is everyone suited for captivity. This one-hour presentation will identify the pros and cons for captivity (AKA “fulltime” or “permanent” employment) and freelance work, then show the audience members how to identify their personal employment goals and how to fit these into the pros for each career path. Continue reading “‘Freelance vs. Captive: Making an Informed Decision’ Webinar Coming Up”

August 30 Meet & Greet Roundup

P&P SIG had another Meet & Greet on August 30, 2023. Thank you to everyone who joined!

SIG manager Sam Lee introduced the P&P SIG’s newest member, Valentina DiPeri, who is joining the SIG as website assistant. Welcome Valentina!

The SIG is currently seeking a volunteer treasurer. The treasurer will gain financial management and planning skills.

Here is a recording of the Meet & Greet.

After you watch the video, feel free to leave a message with any questions, feedback, or suggestions.

The Meet & Greet also included time for free discussion. Among the highlights was a lively debate about the impact and future of ChatGPT.

Here’s our P&P SIG committee email address: stcppsig2022@gmail.com

STC P&P SIG Slack: https://join.slack.com/t/stc-communities/shared_invite/zt-1xzkjd6u9-C7vWSp7gpaeXes1OAhOTzw

STC P&P SIG Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4462932/

Come Join the P&P Sig Slack Channel

Slack is a virtual communication tool and a free benefit for STC members. On Slack, you can meet, engage, and collaborate with fellow technical communication colleagues. The P&P SIG Channel is #sig-policies-procedures. Once you locate us, right-click the name and STAR us.

Click here to join, so you can receive a code to create your account. If you have trouble with the link, please wait and try again after a day or two. Once you are in, go to the Society for Technical Communication Slack Workspace* then look for us (#sig-policies-procedures).

You can also download the Slack client/app for Windows or for Mac. You will need to sign in using your email address and the provided code.

Everyone who joins the STC Slack community is valued and should be treated with respect and courtesy. As such, STC has a Code of Conduct thread that lays out the expected behavior of Slack members; it applies to all channels and areas of the STC Communities Slack workspace.

If you feel that you have a case where someone’s conduct violates or establishes certain behaviors, STC has a thread with guidelines for Reporting Issues.

*Workspaces comprise many different channels.

P&P SIG Spring 2022 Meeting of the Minds

Calling all Policies and Procedures (P&P) SIG members! Join us in a virtual meeting of the minds on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, from Noon EST/11am CST (1 hour). Come and get to know the SIG’s new co-Managers and other volunteer leaders, find out what we’ve been up to, and learn how you can contribute. We would also like to hear from you to get your input, ideas, and interests. Feel free to submit any questions or topics of interest prior to the meeting.

The webinar is FREE. To register, reply to manager@ppsig-mailstc.org with:

  • Your name
  • Your contact email address
  • Any input, ideas, interests, or questions.

We will respond by sending you a link to the webinar. Thank you in advance, and we look forward to talking with you.

One more thing!

We will be attending the STC Summit in Rosemont, IL 15 -18 May 2022.

It’s not too late to join us!

P&P SIG Awarded 2021 Bronze Community achievement Award

The Policies and Procedures SIG leadership team is pleased to announce that the SIG has once again earned the Bronze Community Achievement Award (CAA). This award recognizes our community’s accomplishments and activities for 2020.

Our award citation reads, “For your educational and social outreach, including at the P&P SIG Virtual Open House and Virtual Social Event, impressive membership growth, and creative budget repurposing to send members to the STC Summit.

Per the STC’s website, “The Community Achievement Award recognizes a SIG, professional or student chapter’s outstanding accomplishments in achieving the Society’s goals through a wide range of programs and activities.” The application is a comprehensive point-based application.

Thank you to the volunteers who helped make our award possible.

Thank you also to the P&P SIG members for supporting our SIG. The leadership team looks forward to seeing you at a future SIG event. Please check our website for volunteer opportunities. (www.stc-pp.org)

The P&P SIG Leadership Team

Meet the P&P SIG Leadership Team

Aleshia Jefferson, Co-Manager

Aleshia Jefferson is a Member of STC. Her career began with writing hardware specs and operations manuals for some Fortune 500 Information Technology (IT) companies. She then moved on to develop training courses, write technical requirements, and work as a Project Manager.

For the last five (5) years, Aleshia has indulged in Content Engineer and Content Management roles to define governing, cataloging, publishing, and archival procedures used to solution regulatory, state mandated, and contractual business processes for clinical and medical Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). She has also been heavily involved in managing SharePoint sites and building tools that help automate processes.

Aleshia loves to mentor students and volunteer with non-profit organizations. She holds a Masters in Writing from DePaul University, Chicago.

 

Sam Lee, Co-Manager

Sam is a Member of STC and is also one of the P&P SIG Co-Managers. He started his career as a program coordinator in the intellectual property (IP) management industry. Sam learned many different technology fields, while working at the IP firm. He wanted to upskill his background by studying in a particular specialized technological area to advance his career. So, Sam decided to move into aviation, where he studied at an aircraft maintenance engineering program. Over ten years, he has gained experience in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. He has also earned maintenance and avionics licenses. While working full-time, he received his Master of Technology Management and Master of Electrical Engineering degrees.

With determination, Sam chose to contribute his efforts in the aircraft certification process to meet airworthiness standards. He is currently a Senior Avionics Engineer for PAL Aerospace Engineering. He designs avionics systems, writes test plans and compliance reports, and conducts test witnesses. Recently, he completed a Technical Writing Certificate at the University of Waterloo.

 

Andrew Habashi,  Website Manager

Andrew joined the SIG as Website manager. Andrew has been busy upgrading our website. If you haven’t visited our site, please check out his recent posts.

Andrew works as a Technical Documentation Specialist for Ansys Inc. Ansys is a global public company based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. It develops and markets multiphysics engineering simulation software for product design, testing, and operation.

 

Rich Hellinga, Membership Manager

Rich has agreed to continue as our Membership Manager. Thank you, Rich!
Rich is returning for another year as the SIG’s Membership Manager. He is happy to be volunteering for the P&P SIG and working with the other SIG leaders.

He works for a utility company in Michigan, primarily on developing and maintaining policies and procedures that have to do with safety. He ran his first marathon last October (in Detroit) and hopes to run another one in 2020.

 

Tricia Spayer, GoToMeeting Technical Manager and leadership team member

Tricia has agreed to continue serving on the leadership team. Thank you, Tricia!

Tricia is currently President of the Northeast Ohio Chapter of STC, which is where she learned her GoToMeeting skills. The P&P SIG currently shares its GoToMeeting resources with the Northeast Ohio chapter, and hopes to inspire more collaboration between STC communities.

Tricia has been a Technical Writer/ Illustrator for Pressco Technology Inc. for almost 24 years, and works as a department of one. She is an STC Associate Fellow, a former Director-at-Large for STC, and former chair of the Community Achievement Awards Evaluation Committee (CAAEC), Community Affairs Committee (CAC), as well as the STC Summit Columbus, Ohio host committee.

P&P SIG Awarded 2020 Bronze Community Achievement Award

The Policies and Procedures SIG has earned the Bronze Community Achievement Award (CAA) for our community’s accomplishments and activities in 2019.

Our award citation reads, “For your ongoing dedication in promoting and exalting the discipline of policies and procedures communication in our community and beyond.”

Per STC’s website, “The Community Achievement Award recognizes a SIG, professional or student chapter’s outstanding accomplishments in achieving the Society’s goals through a wide range of programs and activities.” The application is a comprehensive point-based application.

STC recognized the P&P SIG and other community award winners during STC’s virtual Leadership Program on May 27.

Thank you to the volunteers who helped make our award possible.

Thank you also to the P&P SIG members for supporting our SIG. The leadership team looks forward to seeing you at a future SIG event. Please check our website for volunteer opportunities. (www.stc-pp.org)

CAA Bronze – Policies & Procedures SIG

– Ann Marie Queeney