P&P SIG: Year in Review

Thank you, P&P SIG members, for helping to make 2023 a productive, fun year for the P&P SIG. Here is a list of SIG accomplishments and member services for this year. The P&P SIG leadership team looks forward to another great year. See you in 2024!

    1. P&P SIG Wins 2023 Pacesetter Award for creating an efficient budget tracking system. STC’s Community Pacesetter Award recognizes innovative and successful community initiatives.
    2. Free member educational webinar: “How to Become a Cybersecurity Professional” by Ben Woelk, STC Fellow
    3. Free member educational webinar: “Freelance vs. Captive: Making an Informed Decision” by John Hedtke, STC Fellow
    4. Virtual Meet & Greets: Opportunity for informal networking held several times during the year
    5. In-person Meet & Greet opportunity at the Summit in Atlanta: P&P SIG representatives greeted members and promoted the SIG with attendees at the STC Summit’s Community table/Meet & Greet in the Expo Hall. SIG also offered a fun give-away (mini notepads with inspirational messages) and held a raffle for a $25 Starbucks gift card for all attendees who stopped by to chat.
    6. P&P SIG Monthly Newsletter: Includes announcements for SIG webinars, Meet & Greets, and other activities, provides Society-level information important to our members, and more.
    7. NEW: The SIG has an official mascot, Monte! Tricia Spayer, P&P SIG member, has agreed to allow Monte, her traveling companion to become the SIG’s official mascot. Watch for Monte to become more active in 2024! Monte’s motto: “If it’s not fun, it won’t get done.”
    8. NEW: “Where in the World is Monte, the P&P SIG Mascot?” Photo Contest: Tricia Spayer posts a photo of her globe-trotting companion in our monthly newsletter. Members submit their guesses regarding Monte’s location and compete for a $15 Amazon gift card and bragging rights.
    9. P&P SIG’s channel on the STC Slack Workspace: Available for members to post questions, network, and share information. Not a member yet? Join the free STC Slack Workspace: https://www.stc.org/membership/slack
    10. P&P SIG website: Offers SIG information, links to recorded webinars, past newsletters, and more. Check out the website! Click here. https://www.stc-pp.org/

‘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”

P&P SIG Contest Deadline Extended to August 31

Hello P&P SIG members,

There’s still time to enter the SIG’s new, fun monthly contest, “Where in the world is Monte, the P&P SIG mascot?” Enter the contest by August 31 for a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card.

And, to celebrate the launch of our contest, I have a clue for you:
Clue: “
That is red sand behind me. It is the by-product of mining copper.”


Read all about me and the contest in the August issue of the SIG’s newsletter.  Please email your contest answers to Sam Lee, the SIG manager.

Please note: Some browsers automatically place Mailchimp communications in a Spam folder. If you have not received the SIG’s newsletter, check your Spam folder.

You can also learn more about me and the contest at our next virtual Meet & Greet on August 30, 7 p.m. (EDT).  The event is free, but you must register to receive the Zoom link:

Register here.

Good luck with the contest and hope to see you at our Meet & Greet! I am honored to serve as your mascot.

Monte, P&P SIG Mascot

P&P SIG Wins 2023 Pacesetter Award

The P&P SIG is a 2023 winner of STC’s Community Pacesetter Award, which recognizes innovative and successful community initiatives. The P&P SIG was recognized for creating an efficient budget tracking system that promotes financial transparency.

The Pacesetter Award recognizes the successful implementation of a single beneficial innovation that other STC communities may implement.

The award, presented to the P&P SIG at the STC Summit, reflects SIG leaders Sam Lee and Aleshia Jefferson’s work in 2022.

Create a Simple Business Request Form In Microsoft Power Apps

Webinar presented: August 30, 2022

Presenter: Aleshia Jefferson

In this webinar, Aleshia Jefferson used a spreadsheet pre-template to document the metadata necessary to build a form in MS Power Apps. The pre-template allows you to keep track of the data you want to capture, so you have a model for presenting your thoughts and ideas to your customer, and it allows you to troubleshoot or make changes before you build your list in SharePoint. The recording* discusses the pre-template, some salient points about SharePoint, and building the MS Power Apps form.

Below is a copy of the presentation with handy tips and resources along with an example of a pre-template and some formulas that can be used with MS Power Apps:

*Due to technical difficulties, the recording will be posted at a later date.

 

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 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