IDL SIG Treasurer’s Report – Q4

By: Jamye Sagan, IDL SIG Treasurer

The SIG continues to maintain a healthy amount of funds for 2019. As of October 31, we have $1,759.15 in our account.

The SIG did not incur any expenses during August, September, and October. The SIG made a modest profit from Viqui Dill’s October 1 webinar and may also make some profit from the remaining webinars offered this year.

In November and December, the SIG anticipates the following expenses:

  • Speaker honoraria for the remaining webinars this year
  • STC student membership reimbursements for students whose works were published in IDeaL
  • Virtual Open House door prizes

The SIG is also currently working on its budget for 2020. Our team reviews the budget to ensure funds benefit as many IDL SIG members as possible.

If you have any questions about SIG finances, please email me at treasurer@stcidlsig.org.


Jamye Sagan
Jamye Sagan

Jamye Sagan currently serves as treasurer for the IDL SIG, and is a senior member of STC. She served as a co-manager of the SIG from 2010-12.

At work, she uses her tech comm skills to make sense out of the seemingly senseless. At play, she uses sticks and hooks to transform yarn into pretty objects.

Manager’s Report – 4th Quarter 2019

By: Marcia Shannon

By the time you read this edition of the newsletter, 2019 will be days away from closing. I hope you packed this year with adventure and hope, with more good times than hard times. Mine was, thanks to a growing participation in SIGs and Chapters.

At IDL, we started this year with the Student Essay Competition judging. It fascinated me to see fresh perspectives on many technical communication topics from almost-ready-to-launch new professionals. If you are not familiar with the competition, go to the Students tab on the IDL SIG website, where you can find information, including  a webinar and slides. The deadline for entries is February 22, 2020. You can download the entry form and instructions from our site.

If you know students who would benefit from a membership in STC and the IDL SIG, be sure to steer them to the site. If you are an educator in the technical communication field, promote our competition in your classes, whenever you can.

As IDL SIG manager, I learned a lot more about GoToMeeting than I ever expected. Between connectivity issues with my service provider and some hitches and glitches with GoToMeeting, the early meetings this year were difficult to complete. We got those problems resolved and began planning our table at Summit 2019. IDL was well-represented by speakers in several of the Summit tracks. Some Summit presentations will be repeated as IDL programs into next year so watch for announcements. Sign up even if you cannot attend the virtual presentation because you will receive a link to the recorded version after the presentation date Check out the website for information on upcoming presentations. Remember, this continuing education perk is free to SIG members.

Something I learned at Summit is that it takes more than a couple folks to represent the SIG during the Communities Showcase. We need volunteers to spend about 30 minutes at our information table, talking up the benefits of our IDL SIG. We also need volunteers throughout the year to back up our current leaders. As much as we enjoy what we do we want to share the fun with as many of you as possible. If you make New Year’s resolutions, consider volunteering for IDL. We need you.

My most personal benefit of being involved with the knowledgeable, dynamic, supportive SIG leaders is that of being accepted to speak at Summit 2020. I received a lot of encouragement to be brave and submit an entry, so I did. I smiled for a whole day when the acceptance email arrived.

We are preparing our 2020 budget right now. The more members we have, the more funding we receive from dues which means we can spend more on promoting IDL by bringing in speakers and holding competitions and even enticing Summit attendees with a bit of swag. Be sure to include IDL in your 2020 membership and encourage others to choose us as well.

My favorite motto remains “Never party alone.” With more volunteers, we can have a 2020 full of interesting IDL activities. I hope you will be part of the action. Best wishes that your holidays are joyful and your new year sparkles and shines.


Marcia Shannon
Marcia Shannon

Marcia Shannon was secretary from 2016 to 2018, assistant co-manager for the SIG in 2018, and transitioned to co-manager in 2019.

Seventh Annual Virtual Open House

In November, the IDL SIG will host our seventh annual Virtual Open House.

As a virtual community with members spread out around the world, it can be challenging for us to cultivate a sense of community. The Virtual Open House enables current (and future) IDL SIG members to learn more about our community and the services we offer by attending the live event, or by viewing archived events via the student database. In addition, attendees get to meet members of the SIG leadership team and chat with fellow members.

Even if you cannot attend live, you can still join the party once we release the recording.

Programs update Fall 2019

Your IDL SIG has a great lineup of webinars planned for the fall. SIG members attend our webinars for free and have access to a complete library of past webinars as a benefit of membership. Register now for our webinars and make a serious investment in your #techcomm career.


March 19

It’s time to get your networking game on in time for #STC20!

Engineering Your Networking Experiences webinar with Kelly Schrank

"Engineering Your Networking Experiences" webinar with Kelly Schrank


From the editor – Q3 2019

By Kelly Smith

Welcome to our Q3 newsletter! I’m looking forward to more free time this fall, having just completed my Master’s in Technical Communication Management at Mercer University! It was a fun and engaging program and the coursework (which included usability, instructional design, visual communication, and social media management, among other things) was directly relevant to my day job as a senior technical writer. The professors are top notch and include many STC members, and the students came from varied backgrounds including other working professionals and some students fresh out of undergrad. If you’re looking for a degree program, I personally recommend it.

If you want to see what else is on offer in the world of degrees and certifications, check out Sylvia Miller’s article on the many educational opportunities featured on our SIG website!

We are kicking off autumn with a great collection of student articles.

Thank you to all the students who have contributed to our newsletters over the past few quarters! We look forward to featuring more young talent in 2020!

And, as always, we have reports from your volunteer leaders!

In her manager’s report, Marcia Shannon talks about social capital and how the connections we make can enhance all parts of our lives. With SIG elections coming up soon, Marcia encourages everyone to get involved in our SIG in some capacity, either as a volunteer or an elected member.

Jamye Sagan was busy this quarter! In addition to her treasurer’s report, Jamye gives us details on the upcoming Virtual Open House and reviews several of her favorite STC Summit 2019 sessions.

Lori Meyer reminds us all to renew our STC memberships! And don’t forget—When you renew your membership, make sure to renew your SIG membership as well!

And finally, if you have news or articles you’d like to share in our newsletter, please contact me! Our next deadline is November 2! I look forward to hearing from more of you!

Take care, and have a lovely fall! We’ll see you again in December!


Kelly Smith
Kelly Smith

Kelly Smith has been Managing Editor of the IDeaL newsletter since May 2018. She also serves as membership manager for her local chapter – STC Southeast Michigan. Kelly works as Senior Technical Writer at Dart Container in mid-Michigan and has been active in the STC since 2015. In her free time, Kelly is a quilter who enjoys quilt retreats and buying fabric.