Greetings everyone:
We had our annual planning meeting last Sunday, August 16, at our vice president’s home.
What will we be doing this coming year? Attending networking events, mingling and learning with our user-experience colleagues, and attending programs that focus on tools of the trade.
2015–2016 Events
Networking events
These events are a great chance for new and prospective members to learn more about STC and our local chapter. There is no charge to attend, but you have to purchase your own food and drink.
- September 17, Troy. Summit recap. Happy hour and perhaps dinner
- September 29, Ann Arbor. Summit recap. Networking breakfast
- Januuary 22, Livonia. Networking lunch
- February 17, Detroit. Happy hour or dinner
There will be additional networking events, but the dates and locations have not been finalized. Do you want to be sure that you find out about these? Email us and ask to be added to our publicity list.
Events with others
There some terrific stuff here. Think cross-pollination. Charges will vary.
- September 15, Ann Arbor, Ignite UX Michigan
- November 12, World Usability Day. Lansing or Detroit? Both? We don’t know yet, but check this space
- December Holiday Mixer, Ann Arbor
- May 15–18, Anaheim, CA. STC Summit
STC/SM programs
Programs are planned for October, January, February, March, and April. We are talking to speakers and arranging dates. The charges are $10 for members and $20 for non-members. Students may attend at no charge with ID.
Not all programs involve a drive; we will be doing a webinar of some sort in January or February.
Council meetings
Members are welcome to attend Council meetings.
Last year we tried having a meeting at the beginning and the end of the program year. There were a lot of good things about not having monthly meetings, but we decided we would like to see each other a little more often.
This year we will be having five meetings, all at 6:30 pm:
- September 29, Lawrence Tech, Southfield. Primary topic: the annual budget
- October 20, Webex. Primary topic: finalizing the budget for submittal to STC; secondary, reviewing the chapter’s bylaws
- November 7, Plymouth. Primary topics: bylaws, our storage unit, and other open items
- January 7, Webex. Primary topics: open items, preliminary discussion of candidate vetting
- March 22, Location TBD. Primary topic: nominations for our May elections; secondary, the end-of-year dinner
Our open topics already include web conferencing services as well as web hosting. STC is encouraging chapters and SIGs to use their service.
Council members, please remember that your reports are due the last of every month whether or not we are having a meeting.
End-of-year meeting and awards dinner
We know that we will be having this in June, and probably in the Livonia-Plymouth-Canton area, but the exact date, time, and location are TBD.
Thank yous
Thank you to:
- Sharon McDonnell and her family for allowing us to take over her family room for a good piece of the afternoon
- our cooks and shoppers for working together to come up with a delicious, fun, and reasonably balanced lunch
- everyone who gave up their afternoon to help with planning