Manager's Report: We Do What We Can

By Dawnell Claessen, SIG Co-Manager

I’d like to continue on the topic of Volunteerism that Lois Marsh addressed in her report in the last issue of Direction. We volunteer ourselves for what we value and care about. Volunteering for our communities is important, be they personal or professional.

I think volunteerism is part of fully participating in any profession. It can be something as simple as showing a new colleague where to find and how to use the department Style Guide or maybe just helping someone down the hall from you figure out how a procedure is actually used in their workflow. We show what we know and we do what we can.

For STC and the P&P SIG, volunteering can be something as easy as sharing a recent accomplishment or asking for input or advice with a challenge or situation you are having, or even talking about a book or a website you have found useful or informative. You can do this by posting to our discussion list topic or even writing an article for the newsletter.

If you are new or haven’t participated before, don’t be shy! Just do what you can. There is no time like right now to jump right into the mix. If you have a question or are wondering about something, just post to the discussion list. For example, I have often wondered what reference sources my fellow P&P practitioners utilize most.

For me, even after 25 years in practice, I rarely get through a workday without some IEEE reference and www.oed.com. I sure am glad this dictionary is online now. Lois and I are very glad you are a member of our SIG and of our profession. We want you to get the most and best you possibly can from your membership in STC and in our SIG.

We’d love to have you as a volunteer. We need someone to spruce up our SIG brochure and this wouldn’t take more than a few hours.

We also really need someone to step up and take on the responsibility of membership coordinator. We have a good job description written and this position takes only about an hour or two per month.

I know I derive a great deal of personal and professional satisfaction from my volunteer efforts with the SIG and I think many of you would feel the same!

I am a big fan of Cheryl Crow and my favorite song of hers is called "We Do What We Can" and I think that is so true of so many things. Just show what you know and do what you can and somehow, it will all get done!