STC Chicago Announces Volunteer Award Winners

Each year, at our annual Volunteer Recognition and Awards banquet, we honor all of the Technical Communication Competition winners, but we also spend time recognizing our chapter volunteers with special awards. This year’s banquet was scheduled in March and had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Each award winner has been contacted and notified via a video award presentation. Now that the winners have been notified, we’d like to announce the winners of the awards to everyone.

President’s Award – Apryl Cox-Jackson

The STC Chicago President’s Award was established in 1993 to recognize significant volunteer contributions of chapter members not previously recognized at the Society level.

Apryl was recognized for her efforts working on the committee for the annual Chicago eLearning & Technology Showcase. She has worked on the showcase every year since its inception. The showcase is a one-day conference that we are very proud to co-sponsor. Unfortunately, this year’s showcase had to be canceled, but plans are already in the works for 2021.

Volunteer of the Year Award – Elizabeth L. Burke

Established in 2010, the Volunteer of the Year Award was created to acknowledge ongoing dedication to the chapter through volunteer efforts and commitment to the technical communication profession.

Elizabeth has been a part of the Administrative Council of STC Chicago in one way or another for many years, including two terms as president. In the 2019-2020 program year, she took the lead for our annual Technical Communications Competition. She was also our Scholarship Committee Manager. She has often stepped in to help out other committees where needed.

Chapter Star Award – Rachel Friend

Established in 2011, the STC Chicago Chapter Star Award was created to acknowledge a chapter member for outstanding service and volunteer efforts for a single major event.

Rachel was the editor of the STC Chicago newsletter, Byline, for the 2019-2020 program year. With no previous experience, she jumped in to help out when asked. Clearly, she did a great job as we have just learned that our newsletter has once again earned an Apex Award!

Robert G. Frank Award – Pete Wagner

Robert G. Frank Award recipients are usually members of STC Chicago for ten years or more and have played an active role for all or most of those years. Robert Frank was a dedicated leader of the chapter who worked beyond reasonable expectations to make it successful. Much of his professional life was spent in support of the long-term success of STC Chicago. The Robert G. Frank Award is intended to honor the memory of Robert Frank by recognizing STC members who characterize the dedication he displayed. This award is awarded by a special committee.

Pete has been a member of STC Chicago for over 30 years (he joined in 1989). During that time, he has volunteered in a number of ways:

Competition: Assisted in running the competition
First Thursday Lunch: Served as a point person and organizer for the Northern suburbs and downtown locations since 2008
Sponsors: Recruited business sponsors for monthly meetings
Programs: Secured monthly meeting locations for program meetings
Seminars: Developed and presented RoboHelpseminars, beginning and intermediate/advanced, for the chapter, 2004 – 2007
eLearning & Technology Showcase: Attended multiple conferences, always helping as needed with activities and Chapter promotions
Treasurer: Served as Treasurer, 2017- 2020
2012 Summit Conference (Chicago): Supported the Chicago effort to organize and host the 2012 Summit held in Chicago