Volume 23 Number 9, May 2007
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DSCA Winners Give Insight into Their Goals and Backgrounds
Katie Wilson, Guest Writer April 22, 2007 The members of LSC pride themselves on the services they provide to their community and the work they do throughout the year. However, there are always those few members who stand out, who go above the call of duty to help their community. This year those members were Jackie Damrau, Jeanne Foster, and Paul Holland, who all received the Distinguished Community Service Award (DCSA).
When she received her award Damrau said “I was very shocked. LSC has awarded me several awards this year, such as the BALA (Binion Amerson Leadership Award) and the DCSA. I’m pleased that the LSC members, its Administrative Council, and Leadership team feel that I am worthy of so many awards and honors. Without them, I wouldn’t be as involved as I have been and continue to be.”
The award winners perform many duties for LSC and volunteer as much time as they can to better the community and its services. All the winners contribute to the society in different sections to make the community work as a whole.
“I am the Managing Newsletter Editor for Technically Write, the LSC monthly newsletter. I’ve also served during the 2006-2007 year as the STC 2006 Region 5 Conference Chair and as Competitions General Manager. I probably spend about 5-8 hours a week in getting items together for the newsletter,” Damrau said.
“As the Hospitality chair, I handle registration for the monthly meetings and report attendance figures to the council. In addition, I volunteer as a copyeditor for the LSC newsletter, Technically Write. I worked on the Region 5 Conference that was held last November, and that was a big commitment. But I’m currently just working on the monthly registrations and reviewing newsletter articles,” Foster said.
"I am a senior member and currently work on the LSC web committee and the Marcomm Special Interest Group web site. I answer to the web team manager and the president of the local community," Holland said.
All of the award winners give a large amount of time to the community and are continually grateful for the opportunities LSC gives them.
“The LSC functions at a high level of professionalism and has an extraordinary level of talent. It is a great place to learn and to contribute. Professional development is an essential component in any profession and, in the technical communications community, the STC is the premier organization for technical communicators. Furthermore, the LSC is a perennial contender for the Award of Excellence within the STC. The LSC is the best of the best," Holland said.
The award winners also participate in helping the community outside of LSC, including contributing to volunteer activities and going to universities around the area to reach students interested in technical writing.
“LSC routinely offers opportunities to give back to the community, for example, by volunteering at the Salvation Army Angel Tree warehouse, contributing to projects that aid Katrina victims, and other local causes. This group has some wonderful role models, and I get much more than I could possibly give,” Foster said.
The DCSA winners do not show any signs of slowing down after winning their awards, though. They are already setting goals they want to achieve for next year.
“My goals include: redesigning Technically Write (with the assistance of the University of North Texas English class) to be a truly online newsletter that does not use an authoring software; providing hands-on workshops or seminars where members can bring a laptop and learn from peers and others about the latest software; continuing to support the Competitions Committee by volunteering to serve as a judge or competitions manager,” Damrau said.
“Next year, I will chair the Membership committee where I hope to learn from Elisa Miller (who moves to the First Vice President slot) and expand on the work of those who came before me. My goal is to find additional ways of increasing membership and increasing attendance at LSC meetings and events,” Foster said.
“Last year we initiated several web-based initiatives for the community, which have not gone smoothly. I would like to see the implementations of several of those initiatives completed satisfactorily," Holland said.
These award winners recognize the benefits of this community and they continue to encourage others interested in the tech writing profession to join so their community can continue to grow and help others.
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