Annual Conference 2015

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Annual conference logo
Plan now to attend the STC Technical Summit (Annual Conference and Expo for technical communicators). Here's the who-what-when-where-why and how of this year's event, links for more information, and a list of future conference sites.

This Year's Conference

When
Sunday, 21 June through Wednesday, 24 June 2015

Where
Hyatt Regency Columbus Hotel, Columbus, Ohio

Conference Headquarters: Hyatt Regency Columbus (8 miles from the airport)
350 North High Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614-463-1234
Fax: 614-280-3034

https://www.columbusregency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

Columbus, Ohio at night


Who
Host Chapter: Northeast Ohio.

Attendees: STC Members and others interested in the arts and sciences of technical communication

Anticipated attendance: 1100

WDC members who will attend the conference:
David Dick,
Viqui Dill,
Liz Herman,
Carolyn Kelley Klinger,
Cynthia Lockley,
Ginny Redish,
Annette Reilly,
Allen Rotz,
Sean Stevenson,
Becky Todd,
and others.


What
62nd STC Annual Conference

  • Over 80 technical sessions covering topics such as education and training, online documentation, usability, Internet, World Wide Web, SGML, multimedia communication, management, professional development, theory and research, tools and technology, writing and editing
  • Conference Proceedings
  • Society annual business meeting
  • Exposition (vendors of technical communication products and services, STC booths, display of STC Technical Communication Competition winners, vendor showcase sessions, and more).
  • Preconference seminars and workshops
  • Tours of area sites of technical and general interest
  • Parties that only technical communicators would want to attend!


Planning and Budgeting Information
  • Leadership Day: 21 June 2015
  • Hotel Costs (Hyatt Regency Columbus): US $164.00 Single or Double; Triple: US $174.00; Quad: US $184.00; Guest room tax is 17.5%
  • Technical Communication Summit Registration
  • Really Early Bird – $875 (member) / $1,275 (nonmember)
  • Advance – $1,075 (member) / $1,475 (nonmember)
  • Walk-in – $1325 (member) / $1,575 (nonmember)
  • Retired – $575
  • Student – $200


Why

The Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Attend This Year's STC Annual Conference

10. You'll get lots of exercise touring the hotel and walking to and from Conference sessions.

9. You can easily complain to next year's Annual Conference committee about everything you don't like about this year's conference.

8. You will finally have a reason to hand out your business cards.

7. Where else are you going to meet the people on the TECHWR-L mailing list?

6. You'll develop professionally and expand your network of contacts.

5. Two words: tote bag!

4. Winners of the STC International Summit Awards Competition are on display

3. Exposition Hall and Vendor showcase sessions of the hottest tools

2. Singing and beer!

1. Sightseeing & Souvenirs: Columbus:

Arts

  • Wexner Center, Columbus Museum of Art
  • Thurber House, 77 Jefferson Avenue; where James Thurber lived; among other accomplishments, he wrote for The New Yorker for many years.

Family Attractions

  • Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
  • COSI (Center of Science and Industry)
  • Leather Lips Yacht Club Sailboat Races (Sundays in the summer)

Good Eats

  • German Village (Schmidt's Sausage Haus); south of downtown
  • Stauf's on Grandview Avenue; local coffee roaster and grinder with upwards of 30 different coffees and teas

Music

  • Easy to find live music in the Arena District, Short North, and Campus areas of Columbus; check outdoor shows at the LC Pavilion on Neil Avenue; see also Woodlands, Palace Theatre, Great Southern Theater, and the Jazz Arts Group
  • You can also enjoy Chamber Music Columbus, Central Ohio Bluegrass, and the Columbus Blues Alliance

Shopping Areas

  • Polaris, Easton, OSU Gateway, Lane Avenue

Sports

  • Home of The Ohio State Buckeyes; The Ohio State University is the third largest public university campus in the US with a 2013-2014 enrollment of 57,466 students.
  • Blue Jackets Hockey: The blue jackets were not named after the Shawnee War Chief Blue Jacket, but after the blue jackets worn by Union soldiers in the Civil War. Many of the jackets were manufactured in Columbus.
  • Crew: Columbus Crew SC is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception.
  • Clippers: The Columbus Clippers are a minor league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians

Some additional interesting/quirky facts:

  • Columbus is home to the headquarters of both Wendy's and White Castle
  • O. Henry (William Sydney Porter, 1862-1910) wrote 14 of his stories while serving time at the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, which used to be on the site of the present Arena District, at the corner of Neil and Spring Streets.
  • U.S. 40, which bisects the city running east-west, is regarded as something of a linguistic dividing line between the northern/New England/Connecticut dialect and the southern/Appalachian dialect.
  • The March 2014 National Geographic has a fascinating world map showing the concentration of IP addresses per populated place. Columbus, Ohio, is listed as the "Location [in North America] with largest concentration of IP addresses [per continent]." The other listed locations are Bogota, London, Tokyo, Pretoria, and Melbourne. Columbus is in pretty good company.

Conference Accessibility Notes

  • The Hyatt Regency Columbus offers a limited number of accessible rooms. You should make your reservations as early as possible. Add comments on your reservation with regard to which amenities you will require for your room so they can accommodate your requests. If you need one of these rooms, call the Hyatt directly at +1 614-463-1234 and ask for the onsite reservations manager or front desk manager to ensure your requests are confirmed . Be sure to tell them you are coming for STC's Summit.
  • The floors where the education session rooms and the exhibit hall are located are easily accessed by elevators and escalators.
  • The Hyatt common areas adhere to ADA requirements.

    The staff at Hyatt Regency Columbus is committed to ensuring that they meet and exceed all of the requirements for the Americans with Disabilities Act. The staff is trained to accommodate guests with special needs, so that all our guests, including those with disabilities, are able to have an enjoyable and safe stay. Hyatt Regency Columbus wants to make sure all guests are able to take advantage of every activity the hotel has to offer.

  • Accessible Room Types:
    • ADA King Shower
    • ADA King Tub
    • ADA Double Shower
    • ADA Double Tub
  • 15 guest rooms are available with the following ADA accommodations:
    • Audio/Visual smoke detectors
    • Emergency strobe light and strobe light smoke detector
    • Restaurant and room service menus in Braille
    • Staff member proficient in sign language
    • Wheelchair accessible doors
    • Wheelchair accessible climate controls for heat and air-conditioning
    • Wheelchair accessible peepholes and door latch
    • Wheelchair accessible closet poles
    • Wheelchair accessible light switches
    • Accessible bathroom
    • Roll-in showers
    • Bathtub bench and grab rails
    • Raised toilet seats
    • 42-inch flat-screen TV with closed-captioning television decoder
    • Cordless phone
    • Telecommunication device for the deaf
    • Telephone alerting device
    • Front door alerting device
    • Amplified telephone handset
    • Vibratory alarm clocks
  • Mobility assistance onsite: If you need to arrange for a scooter or wheelchair to use during the Summit, contact Columbus Prescription. You can rent a motorized scooter for up to five days for $140 (plus 7.5% tax). This includes delivery and pick-up at the Hyatt.
  • Hotel Concierge Services
  • Hyatt Pet Policy Only dogs are allowed—one dog up to 50 lbs or a maximum number of pets per room 2, pet maximum combined weight in lbs is 75—arrange with the concierge desk to bring them.
Last modified: 23 March 2023
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