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The ABC List for September 2007
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onu-@iabc.com
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Sep 27, 2007 08:15 PDT
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The ABC List for September 2007
Welcome to the newest monthly edition of the ABC List. The ABC List
serves 662 professional communicators.
This newsletter is a forum for accredited communicators, but more
importantly, those communicators interested in learning more about
becoming accredited, the value of accreditation and the process to
attain accreditation. If you have a question, a topic for discussion or
something you’d like to see in the ABC List, e-mail onu-@iabc.com.
If your chapter is holding a workshop, fun shop, exam prep session, exam
date, pinning ceremony or the like, let me know and I’ll publicize your
event here in the ABC List.
IABC Accreditation: The Global Standard. A Personal Statement.
In this issue:
*** Congratulations to the New ABCs in September
*** October is Accreditation Month
*** “Growing through the accreditation process”: Chris Hemrick, ABC
*** 2007 Heritage Region Conference Accreditation Activities:
- Accreditation Exam
- Accreditation Workshop
*** Upcoming Teleseminar: “Preparing for Your Accreditation Exam”
*** Congratulations to the New ABCs in September
- Thomas Tirone, ABC, from IABC / Phoenix
- Tanya Bruckmueller-Wilson, ABC, from IABC / Toronto
- Anne Williams, ABC, from IABC / BC
- Stacy Roberts, ABC, from IABC / San Diego
*** October is Accreditation Month
Are you ready to test your personal skills as a communicator? Then now
is the time to apply! IABC’s Accreditation Program offers professional
communicators a way to demonstrate their ability to think and plan
strategically and to successfully manage the skills essential to
achieving effective organizational communication. Submit your
accreditation application and fee during this promotional event, 1
October – 14 November, and receive a US$20 gift certificate to the IABC
Knowledge Centre. In addition, you will be entered to win one of the
following prizes:
• Registration to International Conference in New York, 2008 (Valued at
$895).
• One year IABC membership
• HP Photosmart C5180 All-in-one (Retail Value $200)
• IABC Knowledge Centre Product
• Delicious Kringle Danish Pastry (Valued at $40)
Information regarding accreditation month is available at:
http://www.iabc.com/abc/accMonth.htm.
*** “Growing through the accreditation process”: Chris Hemrick, ABC
When IABC advertised its “Accreditation Month,” I was excited to sign up
and take advantage of the opportunity to enhance my resumé for use with
potential clients. My employer – Booz Allen Hamilton (consulting firm) –
was willing to pay the expenses if I was willing to do the work.
After my initial application was accepted, it was time to go to
work...and the process was much more intense than I originally expected.
I figured that because I had 10 years’ experience as a professional
communicator that it wouldn’t be very difficult to put together a strong
portfolio and take an exam based mostly on case studies. However,
reality struck when my accreditation mentor bled all over my first draft
(via Microsoft Office’s “track changes”). She helped make the portfolio
much stronger and I appreciate her assistance.
Many revisions and emails later, I was ready to submit the portfolio to
the accreditation committee, who, in turn, said that I needed to answer
more questions about the submission before it would pass. Thankfully, I
didn’t have to rewrite it – just explain in detail the thinking behind
the recommendations described in the piece to ensure I was “thinking
strategically” and measuring my efforts’ return on investment (ROI).
After passing the portfolio, the next step was the exam. I highly
recommend accreditation candidates attend one of their local chapter’s
exam workshops. While the IABC website is great at explaining the
concepts and format of the exam, I learned a lot from the many specific
tips given at the workshop. One area where my opinion diverges from the
workshops is that while I found the organization’s Handbook of
Organizational Communication to be a good resource for my job, it did
not specifically help me much for the exam.
Now that the exam is over and I can put “ABC” after my name, I’m
thankful to have gone through the process. Although it was much more
time-consuming and challenging than I originally expected, it helped me
grow as a communicator. One specific way was through the emphasis that
IABC places on measurement. My portfolio was closely scrutinized with
questions that asked, “Why did X help accomplish your organization’s
goals? How do you know for sure?” Those types of questions really helped
me better understand the importance of measurement in order to prove the
ROI that my communications efforts provide for clients.
I recommend the process to anyone who is looking for an opportunity to
grow as a communicator and a professional overall. IABC provides all the
support you can ask for through a team of dedicated professionals –
mostly, if not all, volunteers – who want to help you be the best
communicator possible.
*** 2007 Heritage Region Conference Accreditation Activities:
Two accreditation events will be held during the Heritage Region
Conference
1. An accreditation exam is scheduled for Sunday, 14 October 2007, from
7:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at Northern Kentucky University. To register for
the exam, please contact Olivia Nucum, accreditation and recognition
coordinator at onu-@iabc.com by Friday, 5 October 2007.
2. An accreditation workshop is scheduled for Sunday, 14 October 2007
from 4 – 5:30 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Cincinnati River-Center,
Covington, KY.
For more information regarding these activities, please visit:
http://www.iabcheritageregion.com/conference2007/accreditation.asp.
*** Upcoming Teleseminar: “Preparing for Your Accreditation Exam”
The final date to register is Tuesday, 2 October 2007, at 3 p.m. (PST).
DETAILS:
When: Thursday, 4 October 2007.
Hours: 8-9 a.m. PACIFIC STANDARD TIME and 4-5 p.m. PACIFIC STANDARD
TIME.
You may select the 8 a.m. (PST) or 4 p.m. (PST) session when you
register.
Fees: $55.00 for members
$85.00 for non-members
Presenters: Mark Estes, ABC, director of volunteer recruitment of IABC’s
international accreditation council and Jo Langham, ABC, director of
examiners of IABC’s international accreditation council.
For registration and further information, please visit:
http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=800cde79-862a-4df1-a197-e55e3b02885d
*** About the ABC List:
This list is a forum for accredited communicators, but more importantly
those professional communicators who seek to be accredited and wish to
learn more about the process and the value of accreditation.
I invite candidates, prospective candidates and ABCs to send questions,
comments and observations to onu-@iabc.com.
You can read the back issues on the Web.
Visit http://www.topica.com/lists/ABCList/read. If you are new to this
list, I encourage you to do so.
*** Do you know someone who would be interested in the ABC List? Pass it
on.
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to ABCList-s-@topica.com.
*** You can change your address by sending a blank e-mail from your old
address to ABCLis-@topica.com. Then send a blank e-mail from
your new address to ABCLi-@topica.com.
*** Professional communicators are invited to subscribe to the
award-winning free Job of the Week e-mail networking newsletter. Send a
blank e-mail to JOTW-su-@topica.com. There are more than 10,000
professional communicators in the JOTW network.
The ABC List was created by Ned Lundquist, ABC. It is currently edited
and published by:
Olivia Nucum
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
One Hallidie Plaza Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94102
USA
t + 1.415.544.4721
f + 1.415.544.4747
onu-@iabc.com
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