Community Support
Over the past 20+ years I have forged strong relationships with STC community leaders, and the overall STC membership. My ability to work with diverse teams, find common goals, and then implement them efficiently is something the STC needs. I have looked out for the best interests of the entire membership in discussions regarding funding, in delivering highly rated educational webinars, and in many roles with my local community for almost 20 years. Formally running for the role of Vice President is a logical extension in my ongoing service to STC. I help members and community leaders by serving the overall interests of STC. I promote long term sustainability and strong communities and partnerships. I support a strong pro-member agenda. I work hard to make STC a recognized name, and the net results are successful events, and a chapter that I helped guide to a Pacesetter Award. These results speak for themselves.
Don't just take my word for it though. Here are some messages from others in the STC community.
"...Bernard is a[n] STC visionary—constantly on the lookout for sophisticated program advances to maximize professional development and networking opportunities for technical communicators at large. With his ... rich network of contacts, his personal contribution to the STC is greatly appreciated by members at the local and international levels. Bernard’s witty, warm, and intelligent leadership style makes him an asset to any project or team who want to produce competitive, leading edge solutions while having a great time in the process."—Anna Parker-Richards, STC Toronto Immediate Past President
"Bernard is a very strategic and forward-thinking person who has a passion for seeing STC become the membership venue that the members want and need. In the opportunities that I’ve had to talk with Bernard at STC conferences and correspond through emails during my tenure as the chair of the Leadership Community Resource committee, I have found his opinions to be very on point. While I may not have agreed with everything Bernard proposed, I did and do admire him for bringing the issues to the membership for feedback and resolution.
Knowing that Bernard is now seeking the position of Director-at-large of the STC, I fully endorse his willingness to serve and know that he will listen to all members and represent us accordingly."—Jackie Damrau, STC Fellow
"Bernard is a strong and dedicated member of STC's leadership cadre. I am fully aware of his strengths in giving presentations, in caring about the Society, and his abilities to help move STC along the road to renewed success. His champions are many and his reputation is excellent. I believe his desire to move into the position of director for STC is a good one."—Linda Oestreich, STC Fellow
"Bernard spoke at both of our regional technical communication conferences, in 2004 and 2005. He is a wonderful person and professional with whom I was honored to work.He knows his stuff and, what's equally important, he knows how to present it to anyone or any group. He instinctively understands and gains the empathy of his audience, regardless of their comparative technical backgrounds and levels of experience.."—Donald White , Conference Director, James River STC
"Bernard has taken on the challenge of managing a large, diverse, and far-flung chapter of the STC with enthusiasm and great energy. After more than twenty years of monthly meetings with speakers the program was getting stale. Bernard brought a creative approach to designing a complete new standard plan for the chapter year and enlisted the executive as a team to develop the plan. He is willing to turn his hand to anything that will help the chapter, from ROI calculations to backflips. The future success of the chapter will owe a great deal to Bernard."—Mona Albano, STC Associate Fellow
"Bernard is one of the most entertaining people I know. Behind the comedy, however, lurks an extremely sharp thinker. Bernard is running for the STC Board of Directors, and his voice and insights will be hugely valuable to the organization."—Sarah O'Keefe, Founder & President, Scriptorium Publishing
"STC-Alberta enjoyed Bernard's high-quality work as a presenter at our New Heights seminar on Instructional Design in May of 2010. Bernard went out of his way to be a cost-effective choice for our chapter and he provided deep value to attendees, both at the day-long seminar and two program nights. We found him to be personable, well-organized, knowledgeable and a humourous presenter. STC benefits from members like Bernard who demonstrate the value of a professional organization in terms of knoweldge exchange and standards development."—Mellissa Ruryk, STC Alberta New Heights Manager
"Bernard has done a tremendous job transforming the Toronto chapter of the STC. He has instituted a number of major changes to make the chapter more effective, efficient and relevant to our members. These changes have included moving to theme-based conferences and overhauling our chapter website."—Andrew Brooke, STC Toronto President