2006/2007 Programs

May AGM
Annual General Meeting

The current executive will provide a summary of the 2006/2007 year.

Come vote on and meet the new executive and hear their plans for the coming year. We'll also be giving away some books and perhaps some other things as door prizes.

When:	Thursday, May 24, 2007, 6:30 pm
Where:	Upstairs at the Real Canadian Superstore, 190 Richmond Road, Westboro (Richmond Road at Kirkwood)
Cost:	Free for everyone
RSVP:	The RSVP deadline has passed.

April Meeting
Town Hall Meet-up

Advocacy, technology, self-marketing... In need of a soap box for your technical writing issues?

Social events, job leads, a source of technical competitions... What do you want your chapter to be?

Your opinion counts. Come to our town hall meeting Upstairs at the Real Canadian Superstore at 190 Richmond Road, where you can have your soap box and buy it too! The meeting will start at 6:30. We'll provide snacks to fuel your body. You bring your ideas about technical communication and its presence and future in our community to fuel the discussion. This is a prime opportunity for those who are considering joining the STCEO as a member of the 2007-2008 executive to hear what members of our community want from their chapter.

When:	Tuesday, April 24, 2007, 6:30 p.m.
Where:	Upstairs at the Real Canadian Superstore, 190 Richmond Road, Westboro (Richmond Road at Kirkwood)
Cost:	Free for members, $5 for students, $10 for others All are welcome.
RSVP:	The RSVP deadline has passed.

March Meeting
Awards Dinner

Thanks to everyone who came out.
Congratulations to all winners.
And a special congratulations to Rick Lorenz, who was presented with the Distinguished Chapter Service Award for his tireless work with the chapter over the years.

* Pictures of the event coming soon *

You are cordially invited to attend our annual Awards Banquet, to be held March 28 at the Chelsea Club. Join us as we enjoy a complete dinner, showcase the winning entries, congratulate the winners, and award our annual STCEO Scholarship to a deserving technical writing student.

This year we're pleased to present Cindy Currie, our STC Regional Director, as our keynote speaker. The Awards Banquet is a great opportunity to meet some of the most talented technical communicators in our region.

February Meeting
So you want to be a technical writer?

This evening will be a panel discussion with representatives from varying perspectives of technical communication, and will be a good opportunity for the TW-curious, current technical writing students, and even current, hard core, technical communicators to come out for a casual and comfortable discussion of what it means to be a technical communicator in 2007.

When:	Wednesday, February 21, 6:30 p.m.
Where:	Upstairs at the Real Canadian Superstore, 190 Richmond Road, Westboro (Richmond Road at Kirkwood)
Cost:	Free for members, $5 for students, $10 for others All are welcome.
RSVP:	RSVP deadline has passed.

November Meeting
All I Want for Christmas...
is the Chicago Manual of Style

Dust off your Strunk and White's! Polish up your thesauri! Take 'em out for the night and show them off with pride!

The November program meeting will be an amusing discussion of what's on your professional wish list. What books or resources are you hungering for? Want Santa to bring you an update for that dogeared and well-loved copy of the Chicago Manual of Style that your grandpa gave you? Hoping he shops at Future Shop for your gift? Do you have some favourite resources that you think should be on someone else's wish list? Come and share your wish list (and your favourite resources) with other technical communicators. Come on out, have a little nosh, and check out some of the classic resources we'll be bringing along (hey, bring along your own!).

Special guest: Ottawa poet Nicola Vulpe will be provide an introduction to the evening with a reading from one of his many works. Nicola has supported his "unfortunate habit" of writing poetry by working as a computer programmer, technical writer, senior manager in high-tech, and university professor. Read a little more about him at Read Pen and the League of Canadian Poets or a review of his book "Blue Tile" at XPress.

[In anticipation of this topic, our Webmaster has created a starter list of books that she thinks should be on your bookshelves. It's a bit sparse right now but over the next couple of weeks, this Writer's Bookshelf will be updated with other classic (and perhaps not so classic) references. Have a look at them and think about what other titles you think should be a part of this resource list.]

When:	Tuesday, November 21, 2006, 6:30 p.m.
Where:	Upstairs at the Real Canadian Superstore, 190 Richmond Road, Westboro (Richmond Road at Kirkwood)
Cost:	Free for members, $5 for students, $10 for others All are welcome.
RSVP:	The RSVP deadline has passed.

October Meeting
What Makes Good Documentation?

This event will provide an opportunity for members and interested non-members to have their work previewed for the upcoming competition -- is it good enough to spend the money and submit? How could it be improved? This event will also provide an opportunity for members, students, and interested non-members to bring work in for a group edit or for advice on problem areas. Previous winners can showcase their winning work, and we'll explain the standards that are used to judge documentation submitted to the STC competition.

When:	Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 6:30 p.m.
Where:	Upstairs at the Real Canadian Superstore, 190 Richmond Road, Westboro (Richmond Road at Kirkwood)
Cost:	Free for members, $5 for students, $10 for others All are welcome.
RSVP:	The RSVP deadline has passed.

September Meet and Greet
Tapas bar and sangria at Cube Gallery

Thanks to everyone who came out.
For those who didn't get a chance to show up, a brief review of the event
is in the November/December 2006 issue of Stimulus.

* See pictures from the event *

This year, in a twist on our usual "Wine and Cheese" at Dow's Lake Pavilion*, we are holding our annual season kick-off celebration at Cube Gallery on September 20, 2006. It will feature a tapas bar and sangria fountain catered by Lolly Simoes of The House Pub and Restaurant..

The tapas bar will feature authentic Spanish dishes including:

• Gambas al Ajillo (medium tiger shrimp sautéed in garlic and saffron wine sauce),
• Jamon Serrano y melon (Spanish cured ham sliced thin and wrapped around cantaloupe pieces),
• Tortilla de Patatas (thick potato, onion and egg omelette served cold),
• Paella (Spanish rice dish cooked with saffron, garlic and olive oil),
• Caillos (flavorful Spanish chickpea dish cooked with pork, beef and Spanish sausage),
• Bolhos de Bacalao (Portuguese potato and cod croquettes),
• Meijillones al Ajillo (mussels sautéed in garlic and saffron wine sauce),
• Chorizo en Salsa (Spanish sausage sautéed in tomato, pepper and garlic sauce),
• Patatas Bravas (cubed potatoes fried in olive oil with garlic, tomatoes and saffron),
• Champinones al Ajillo (white mushroom sautéed in olive oil, white wine, garlic and saffron), and
• Pan con Tomates (crusty bread with tomato and garlic).

Come on out, meet the members of the executive, mingle with other technical communicators in the area, and help us answer the age-old question,"What's in a Name?" What typical...or funny...job titles have you seen used for technical writers? Have you only seen Technical Writer? Or have you perhaps been a Minister of Propaganda? What about Documentation Herder?

When:	Wednesday, September 20, 2006, 6:30 p.m.
Where:	Cube Gallery, 7 Hamilton Avenue North (just behind the Parkdale Market)
Cost:	Free for current STCEO members and Algonquin technical writing program students $10 for all others, payable at the door All are welcome.
RSVP:	The RSVP deadline has passed.

About the location

Cube Gallery is a contemporary art gallery that hosts a new group show every few weeks.

The exhibit during our kick-off event will be Candela, 2006 Ottawa Light Art Show. Candela is being held to increase the general awareness and interest in light and lighting design. Light commands the way we perceive our visual world. Bending light alters the way in which the world is seen. Candela is an exhibition of installations by professional and emerging artists exploring electric light as artistic medium. The exhibit is being shown September 21 to September 24.

Check out Cube Gallery's Web site at www.cubegallery.ca. You can get more information about the Candela exhibit at www.candelaart.com.

* For those of you asking "Why aren't we holding a wine and cheese at Dow's Lake this year?", there are several answers. The first answer is that this year is our 50th anniversary as a chapter and we wanted to kick things off with something a little bit different and a little bit more special than the norm. The second answer is that Dow's Lake Pavilion is undergoing reconstruction and is unavailable as a venue in September.