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Subject:Re: Proud Non-Member of STC From:"Miller, Marlene" <mmiller -at- AISYSTEM -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 15 Jan 1998 15:57:19 -0500
As with most other things (like mailing lists and church), people get out of
STC pretty much what they put in after the basket has been passed, and the
local chapters reflect that level of member participation. Our STC chapter
has always been an indicator of the committment of the local technical
communication community and not of the Society office and its services, which
is there only to facilitate our activities, not dictate them. If we have
meetings we don't like or uninformative publications or poor networking, it's
our fault.
I pick and choose the organizations I belong to because my time and money are
as limited as anyone else's, but when I join, I expect to contribute at some
level. STC's networking alone - locally, regionally, nationally - has
benefitted me many times beyond the cost of annual dues.
>I noticed that you (Bruce) have been signing your emails with "Proud non
>-member of the STC" and that struck me as odd. I guess I'm a victim of the
>party line that says membership in a professional organization related to
>your field of endeavor is not only desirable, but important. I have great
>respect for your ideas (at least those I've seen put forth on this list),
>and I'd really like to hear your thoughts about membership in professional
>organizations.
