Byword

IABC/Tucson Chapter Newsletter – January 2007

In This Issue:

Find the Right Technology for Your Communications

On February 1, Todd Hattori, ABC, incoming chairman of the International Association of Business Communicators, will help us celebrate Tucson chapter’s 25th anniversary with a talk about cutting-edge technology.

Hattori’s presentation, New Technology: What’s Right for Your Communication Mix, will focus on new frontiers in communications technologies, including the use of intranets, extranets, web casts, wikis, blogs and pod casts. He’ll explore best practices in implementing and assessing these new communication tools and detail what’s on the horizon. Hattori will also provide guidance for deciding whether or not to ride the next great technology wave.

Aside from his role as the next chair of IABC, Hattori is Senior Policy and Strategic Technologies Consultant for the Washington State Department of Information Services in Olympia.

  • When: February 1, 2007, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
  • Where: McMahon’s Prime Steakhouse, 2959 N. Swan Road, Tucson, AZ
  • Cost: Members $19 with reservation or $25 at the door. Guests $25.

RSVP by January 29 to Mimi Villafane at mimivgib@yahoo.com. Be sure to indicate meat (Sliced Steak Au Poivre with roasted potatoes) or vegan (Vegetable/Tofu Kabobs with roasted potatoes).

Gear Up for the IABC Cactus Quill Awards

The first of two reminder postcards about the Sixth Annual Cactus Quill Awards competition have already been sent to IABC Tucson members and other Arizona communicators. By now you should know that the competition is open to everyone involved in business communications in Arizona.

If you enter, you will receive constructive comments about your submission from business communications professionals across the US.
Although the deadline for entries is March 30, it's not too soon to start working on your submission.

Get all the details, including the official Call for Entries, at:
http://www.iabctucson.com/quill2007.htm And to help you prepare, plan to attend our March meeting! (See Developing Winning Work Plans for Winning Projects below.)

Developing Winning Work Plans for Winning Projects

Each Cactus Quills entry is judged in part on the clarity of the project’s work plan, since this documentation provides the road map for developing and evaluating the final product.

Cactus Quill winners Susan Guerrero, John Patterson, Steve Pender and Martha Retallick will detail how their work plans earned the accolades of judges and how you can strategically prepare an accurate, complete work plan. This is valuable information, whether you seek success in the competition or praise from your boss.

Our panel of pros:

  • Susan Guerrero has more than 20 years experience in marketing communications and currently works as webmaster at University Medical Center. She’s a former IABC/Tucson president and has two Cactus Quill Awards for Merit for website development.
  • John Patterson, a senior communications specialist at Raytheon Missile Systems, has won several Cactus Quill Awards. Before working for Raytheon, he spent 20 years in broadcast journalism.
  • Steve Pender owns Family Legacy Video, a company devoted to creating personal video biographies. He’s worked as a video editor, scriptwriter and producer for public relations firms and video production companies. He’s won four IABC awards, including a Cactus Quill Award of Excellence and regional Silver Quill Award of Merit.
  • Martha Retallick of Western Sky Communications provides business Web and graphic design services. She earned a Cactus Quill of Excellence last year and was on a team at the University of Arizona Foundation that won two regional Silver Quill Awards. She currently heads this year’s Cactus Quill Awards program.

When: Thursday, March 1, 11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m.

Where: McMahon’s Prime Steakhouse, 2959 N. Swan Road, Tucson AZ

Cost: $18 for members with reservations, $25 at the door and for guests, $14 for students.

RSVP by Monday, Feb. 26 to Mimi Villafane at mimivgib@yahoo.com. Be sure to indicate your entree preference: meat or vegan.

Gratitude from Experience Corp

Those who attended the IABC/PRSA mixer at the Fox Tucson Theatre in December will appreciate this letter of appreciation we received from the coordinator of Experience Corps, who received the donations that were collected at that event:

We just got your donation of tutoring supplies and I can't tell you how excited our volunteers were to receive them. Our Experience Corps tutors work 15 hours per week in local schools and go through a lot of supplies. The paper, pencils, pens, workbooks, etc. that you collected will provide the volunteers and students hours of creative and fun activities while learning to read. Thank you so much for your generosity, we truly appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Linda Krause
Senior Manager, Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona

Looking for a Few Leaders!

We’re planning ahead and looking for a few good board members to lead our chapter in 2007/2008. If you are interested in learning more about IABC and having a great time working with a group of communications pros, call Mimi Villafane at 744-2944, ext 1363 to submit your name for next year’s chapter Board. 

Calling All Webheads

We are looking for a Web designer to assist with converting the new design for our chapter site into templates. The volunteer selected for the task will receive one year’s membership in the IABC Tucson chapter. If you are interested in helping, please contact Paul Tumarkin at pkt@barkingshelby.com.

IABC Tucson
Post Office Box 43262
Tucson, Arizona 85733-3262