On Saturday, September 10, STC Canada West Coast chapter will hold an inspiring presentation of award-winning entries from this year’s STC International Summit Awards (ISA) competition. We kick off our 2016/2017 speaker series showcasing the very best in the technical communication field.

Hosting this event is Karen Rempel. She is a former CWC chapter president and served as ISA Competition Judging Manager this year. She pioneered our chapter’s Pacesetter Award-winning Information Interview Service and is the recipient of several STC awards for technical writing.

The STC ISA competition is an international competition through which technical communicators have the opportunity to receive recognition for their work. This year’s competition included 59 entries from the USA, Israel, and Italy.

In order to qualify, all entries have previously won Distinguished or Excellence awards at the chapter or regional level. The winning entries’ communication delivery methods are spectacular and include innovative video and voice narration, as well as print artwork and leading-edge web-based delivery.

As ISA Competition Judging Manager, Karen coordinated 20 judges from across North America divided into entry teams comprised of two to three judges. Karen provided encouragement and motivation to her judging teams in order to complete the judging process within two weeks.

She then coached individual judges and offered guidance for individual assessing as well as team consensus judging in four categories: informational, instructional, promotional, and user support. She judged seven of the entries with a focus on video entries.

Award-winning entries include:

  • Stadium and Arena Design
  • SAS® Mobile BI: Accessibility Features for Users with Low Vision
  • Exhaled Electronic Cigarette Emissions: What’s Your Secondhand Exposure?
  • Legal Issues in Global Contexts: Perspectives on Technical Communication in an International Age

The winning video entries promise to be particularly exciting for the audience.

This is the first time a Canadian chapter is showing the entries with commentary from a judging manager. Karen personally contacted each winning entrant to confirm that their work may be showcased at this event. This is a unique event not to be missed!

Karen’s presentation begins at 10 am on Saturday, September 10, in the Willms Salon, VSO School of Music (second floor), 853 Seymour Street in downtown Vancouver. Admission is free for STC members, $10 for non-members.