Lines & Letters

Award-Winning Newsletter of NEO STC


Volunteer Opportunities

Make a vital contribution to STC and our Ohio STC chapter! You can help the chapter continue to achieve its award-winning service to its membership and community. In addition, there are many benefits to being a chapter volunteer, such as: Develop new skills Receive mentoring from STC leaders Advance your career: Add assets, experience, and … Continue reading…

President’s Column (Nov., 2023)

It’s been a busy fall for Ohio STC with the programs and networking lunches that we hosted or helped advertise for other chapters. We try to offer a variety of topics that will interest our members in the different stages of their careers. In September, we helped to advertise the STC Rochester annual Spectrum conference … Continue reading…

Virtually Meeting

October 18, 2023 Ohio STC members from all over gathered for a virtual meet and greet. Members joined from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dayton, Ohio, Akron, Ohio, and various cities and neighborhoods around the Cleveland, Ohio, region. Our theme this month was sharing how we got our start in the field of technical communications … Continue reading…

September Virtual Networking Lunch

The stated topic of the September virtual lunch meeting was about the chapter programming plans for the 2023/2024 year. Conversation turned to cover the technical communication field in general. We discussed how many things are covered under technical communication and the many different communities in STC that support those. The communities of interest (COI) and … Continue reading…

“Good UX Leads to Economic Success and Improved Human Conditions”

At our September virtual lunch, we learned from lunch attendee Keith Instone about a UX roundtable. Keith explains at https://dexterityux.com/ux-roundtable-2023/ – “We officially kicked-off the OhioX User Experience Roundtable in August. We have a group of UX practitioners hanging out each month and working in teams to advance the profession and serve OhioX. As an OhioX Roundtable, we are “pros connecting with … Continue reading…

Lori Klepfer on YSU’s PWE Program

Enjoy this reprint! This week’s testimonial comes from Lori Klepfer, a 1988 YSU graduate with a concentration (not an official degree at that time) in Public and Professional Writing–then-called Professional Writing and Editing (PWE). Lori shares in her full testimonial below that our professional writing program led her to positions in technical communication, program design … Continue reading…

President’s Column (Sept., 2023)

Fall is coming upon us, and, for me, that usually means a slowing down of life. As a child, I used to hate fall. It meant the end of summer, going back to school, and cold weather. I loved summer so much that all these things seemed bad to me.  As an adult, I think … Continue reading…

The Multigenerational Workplace

Research shows that there are five generations in the workforce today. These generations are described in the following table. Generation Years Born (roughly) Percentage in Workplaces Defining Qualities/Values Traditionalists 1925-1945 <2% Dependable Straightforward Tactful Loyal Baby Boomers 1946-1964 25% Optimistic Competitive Workaholic Team-oriented Generation X 1965-1980 33% Flexible Informal Skeptical Independent Generation Y (Millennials) 1981-2000 35% … Continue reading…

Virtual Lunches and More!

OHIO STC Networking Lunches & Social Events Sept 2023–August 2024 Thursday, Sept 21 – noon – Kickoff a New Season Zoom – Kickoff a new season – Discussion topic – What’s in the works for the chapter this year. What other things would you like to see us do? Registration Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIodioqzoqGdMVfXH3ICRyKKhpEZuedmwO Wednesday Oct 18 … Continue reading…

Angie Dianetti – Lay of the Land Podcast

A recent Lay of the Last (Cleveland) podcast featured Angie. See the following to enjoy the podcast if you have not already heard it. https://www.layoftheland.fm/125-angie-dianetti-radcom/ Here is a snippet from the site. “Under Angie’s guidance, Radcom has earned the distinction of a Weatherhead 100 Outstanding Growth Company seven times over since then as one of Northeast … Continue reading…

A Lifetime Achievement Award of Note

If you have ever worked with Jackie Damrau as I have when she edits my drafts for book reviews for Technical Communication, you are lucky. Jackie is an inspiring person. I love her edits as she makes me look better as a good editor should. She also manages the lists of available books and lets … Continue reading…

President’s Column (July, 2023)

Transition in the air It is a daunting task to write my first President’s column for Ohio STC. I follow in the footsteps of previous presidents who have led well and showed passion for keeping our chapter active and vibrant. I wish to walk the same path as I continue the legacy of the president’s … Continue reading…

STC Summit 2023 (best ever?)

Enjoy reading the answers provided by Tricia Spayer who attended and presented at the conference in Atlanta earlier this year. What was your favorite part about the conference? This was my first in-person Summit since before the pandemic, so seeing many friends whom I have not seen in a long time was like a huge, … Continue reading…

Let’s Recognize and Applaud!

Hi Everyone, Let’s take this time to recognize and congratulate all our Ohio STC 2023 award winners!   Distinguished Chapter Service Award Kelly Webb-Bronstrup For sustained contributions to the Ohio Chapter – for sharing your wisdom and experience while acting as a mentor in our profession.   Fellow Tricia Spayer Associate Fellow Lisa Adair Individuals … Continue reading…

Transformative Teaching and Learning in Further Education: Pedagogies of Hope and Social Justice

Rob Smith, Vicky Duckworth. 2022. Policy Press. ISBN–978-1-4473-6233-3. 224 pages. $40.49 (softcover). Authors Smith and Duckworth are UK-based professors of education, and Duckworth is also a co-lead for the Social Justice in Education Network. The authors based Transformative Teaching and Learning in Further Education: Pedagogies of Hope and Social Justice on conclusions from the Transforming … Continue reading…

How AI Can Benefit Technical Writers

To illustrate one way AI can benefit writing, I’ve taken an excerpt from Einstein’s work to illustrate the benefits and challenges technical writers face when using AI.  To create the AI version, I used a tool in Microsoft™ Edge through a ‘Discover’ extension setting the tone to ‘Professional’ and the length to ‘Medium’.  (I did … Continue reading…

Craig Beahr in the Spotlight

The editor of Intercom currently is Dr. Craig Beahr who is also a past President of the Society (https://www.stc.org/notebook/2022/10/06/announcing-dr-craig-baehr-incoming-intercom-editor/). Craig also acts as Chief Examiner for our Certified Professional Technical Communicator (CPTC) program and current chair of STC’s Certification Committee as he has a background in both academia and as a practitioner. Overseeing the transition … Continue reading…

President’s Column (May, 2023)

As I sit down to write my last President’s column, I can hardly believe how quickly time has flown by. It seems like only yesterday that I was first elected to lead our chapter, and yet here we are at the end of another successful year. One of the highlights of this past year was … Continue reading…

Congratulate Paulette Tiggs (Talk of the Town)

Paulette was recently promoted to Lead Information Developer, which translates to information developer, level 5 at Rockwell Automation. Paulette is the only Lead ID in the department and the first for Rockwell’s business (Software and Controls) in the company’s history.

Adventures in CPTC Testing

Practical Tips to Successfully Prepare for the Online CPTC Exam. As you probably surmised from the title, I’ve taken the CPTC Practitioner exam more than once before finally passing. I tend to live by the proverb,  if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. However, I learned a few tips along the way that … Continue reading…