Orlando STC Announces the
Jaffe Technical Communication Award

The Orlando Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication has announced the start of competition for the Gloria Jaffe Outstanding Technical Communicator Award. The award will recognize Central Florida businesses that have significantly benefited from insightful employment of technical communicators, along with the individual communicators themselves.

According to W.C. Wiese, Jaffe Award Contest Manager, "After all, with all the technologically focused companies in this area, we are long overdue to recognize the professional contributions of Central Florida's technical writers, web designers, indexers, and trainers who tangibly contribute to the success of these businesses." Typically, professionals in the technical communication profession are lifelong learners who explain product characteristics and advantages to first-time users. "Think of a product such as a software application that was easy to use and had logical documentation with easy-to-find answers," said Wiese, "and you can thank a technical communicator."

The Jaffe Award is named for Orlando Chapter founder and retired University of Central Florida Technical Communication professor Gloria Jaffe. Her leadership is reflected in the enduring communication values prized by the Orlando Chapter and in the professionalism of UCF graduates who had the opportunity to study with her.

Applications for consideration by the Jaffe Award Judging Committee must be received by November 4, 2002, and are available on the Orlando Chapter STC website. Award winners will be recognized in January at a ceremony at the Maison & Jardin Restaurant in Altamonte Springs.

The Society for Technical Communication is the world's largest professional organization in its field with over 20,000 members in 152 chapters worldwide. STC members work as technical writers, editors, illustrators, managers, educators, translators, and other communicators who make technical information understandable and available to those who need it. Information about the STC can be found on its website at www.stc.org.