By Claudia Thompson
It's been a great year for NEO STC — a year full of successful events and new initiatives, all made possible by the dedication and hard work of our volunteers, community partners, and corporate sponsors.
On May 16, 2013, NEO STC celebrated this success with its annual Awards Banquet and Election at the DoubleTree Hilton in Beachwood, Ohio. Voting for the NEO STC 2013/2014 officers was held during the event, and the results were announced at the end of the evening.
To kick off the event, Janean Voss, 2012/2013 NEO STC President, reviewed the year's achievements and expressed her thanks for the hard work everyone put in to make these achievements possible. She then began the presentation of awards. A summary of these awards follows.
COMMUNITY-LEVEL AWARDS
This year, NEO STC earned two community-level awards:
- Community Achievement Award, Community of Distinction. The highest possible level of community recognition, NEO STC earned this award for exceptional service to its members and for meeting Society goals well beyond expectations.
- Pacesetter Award. This society-level award recognizes successful implementation of a single beneficial innovation that can be implemented by other STC communities; our community earned this distinction for its NEO STC Book Club.
SOCIETY-LEVEL AWARDS
A number of NEO STC members received honors for their extended service to both the Society and NEO STC:
- Kelly Graham, Associate Fellow. The STC organization bestows the rank of Associate Fellow upon a senior member who has attained distinction in the field of technical communication.
- Ginny Haas and Denise Kadilak, Distinguished Chapter Service Award. The DCSA is the highest level of recognition that a member can receive for service to their community.
- Jeff Bryk, Ginny Haas, Paul Oleksa, Colleen Price, and Janean Voss, New Senior Members. These NEO STC members received Senior status for five years of continuous STC membership.
NEO STC VOLUNTEER AWARDS
Each year NEO STC recognizes its volunteers for their service in several categories. This year's winners:
- Paul Holland, Lisa Mileusnich, Genelle Pretty, Joann Rasmussen, and Tricia Spayer, NEO STC Volunteer Recognition Award. Awarded to volunteer(s) annually by the Notheast Ohio community president for their volunteer efforts and active participation during the year.
- Claudia Thompson, Rookie Volunteer of the Year. Awarded to a new first year chapter volunteer annually by the Northeast Ohio community president for their outstanding efforts to help the community accomplish high goals.
- Ginny Haas, Volunteer of the Year. Awarded to an individual annually by the Northeast Ohio community president for their outstanding efforts to help the community accomplish high goals.
- Nicole Derr and Barb Philbrick, Competitions, Committee of the Year. Awarded to a committee annually by the Northeast Ohio community president for their outstanding efforts to help the community accomplish high goals.
- Jill McCauslin, President's Achievement Award. Awarded to an individual by the Northeast Ohio community president for consistent contributions to keep the community running smoothly over the years.
ELECTION RESULTS
Following the awards ceremony, the votes for 2012/2013 NEO STC Board positions were counted. A quorum of the NEO STC membership voted: sixteen members voted in person, and two members voted by proxy, for 18 total votes.
The vote was unanimous for the 2013/2014 candidates for the open board positions of Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
The board identified below will serve in their respective roles from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014:
- Paul Holland, NEO STC President
- Lisa Mileusnich, NEO STC Vice President
- Debbie Mekker, NEO STC Treasurer
- Claudia Thompson, NEO STC Secretary
- Janean Voss, NEO STC Immediate Past President
Dear Readers,
By Kelly Graham 
