Re: STC Chapter Presidents

[Fabien Vais <phantoms -at- POP -dot- TOTAL -dot- NET>]

In response to Tim Altom:

Being a former STC Chapter President, I can tell you that this is
fortunately NOT the case in our chapter (Montreal - Region 1). Of the past
five presidents (including myself), all of them are either active (involved
in some capacity in the functioning of the Chapter) or regularly attending
meetings. We are now over 200 members, so a little bigger than yours.
Attendance is going very well, finances are in good shape, and there is
regularly "new blood" among the Executive Committee members.

So, please don't think that you have to perform a disappearing act at the
end of your term. Your chapter needs people with commitment and experience.
After having been a Chapter President, you could take on the Newsletter for
example, or stay on the Programs committee, or even, like me, take care of
organizing just one regular meeting. I have made it a kind of "annual event"
because it is the only chapter meeting held in the western suburbs of the
city, where many members live. For the past two years, it has attracted
between 40 and 50 people!

By the way, I have even heard of a chapter (can't remember which one now)
where the President was elected a second time a few years after completing
his first term! Anything is possible.


Fabien Vais
phantoms -at- total -dot- net

At 01:46 PM 2/21/98 -0500, you wrote:
>It was brought to my attention recently that of the prior four or five
>presidents of our local STC chapter, none of them are still even regularly
>attending meetings. One has dropped out of sight, one has gone into another
>line of work, two others have heavily busy schedules, and yet another has
>moved out of state. In fact, of the past twelve presidents, only one comes
>today even fitfully. I'm president this year and one of the members was
>mentioning that it was almost time for me to pull a disappearing act myself
>at the end of this term.
>
>We're a medium-sized chapter of about 120 individuals, so our experience
>may not be typical. But I was curious; for those of you who are members of
>STC and attend local meetings regularly, is this a usual experience? Our
>chapter has pretty high turnover, especially in the group that regularly
>attends. Is the "presidential vanishing act" usual, or is it just a
>manifestation of the general trend of rapid membership change?
>
>
>Tim Altom
>Vice President, Simply Written, Inc.
>317.899.5882 (voice) 317.899.5987 (fax)
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