APEX 2008 NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIES

The 20th Annual APEX AWARDS FOR PUBLICATION EXCELLENCE is now accepting entries for APEX 2008 (Entry deadline: MARCH 17, 2008). The APEX AWARDS recognize excellence in graphic design, editorial content and overall communications effectiveness. Communicators can choose from 110 different categories under 11 headings, including:

1. Newsletters,
2. Magazines and journals,
3. Newspapers,
4. Annual reports,
5. Brochures, manuals and reports,
6. Electronic and video publications,
7. Web and intranet sites,
8. Campaigns, programs and plans,
9. Writing,
10. Design and illustration, and
11. One-of-a-Kind publications.

For a list of new and revised categories, see the Apex Awards web site.

The competition’s entry deadline (postmark) is MARCH 17, 2008.

APEX is sponsored by the editors of WRITING THAT WORKS, a newsletter for writing, editing and communications professionals. The contest is open to corporate, nonprofit, freelance and agency communicators. Entrants do not have to be WRITING THAT WORKS subscribers. Entry fees are $69 per entry for WRITING THAT WORKS subscribers; $89 per entry for non-subscribers.

CALL FOR ENTRIES information, brochure and entry form are posted at
http://www.ApexAwards.com/apexawards.htm.

To download the APEX Call for Entries brochure, go to:
http://www.ApexAwards.com/apex_broch.pdf..

Just need the APEX Entry Form? Go to:
http://www.ApexAwards.com/apex_entry_form.pdf.
You can fill out the PDF Easy Entry Form right on your computer screen. (No need to find a typewriter or fill out the form by hand.) Then just mail it with your entries and payment.

Also see the APEX FAQ page for tips and advice on entering, at
http://www.ApexAwards.com/apex2008faqs.htm.

We no longer need to agonize over increasing poundage and decreasing muscle tone when we’re dealing with a project crisis or overlapping deadlines. A new product from Steelcase, developed with researchers from the Mayo Clinic, combines a computer workstation with a treadmill. While it’s a bit pricey for the average freelancer, Steelcase is hoping that the productivity increase and improved morale of healthier employees will be worth the estimated $4000 price tag to corporate employers.

This study was reported by Bill Berkrot of the Reuters news service:

Chocolate improves blood vessel function: study
Mon Mar 26, 2007 10:18 AM ET
details

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Chocoholics were given further reason to rejoice on Saturday when a small clinical study showed that dark chocolate improves the function of blood vessels.

While the researchers cautioned against bingeing on bon bons, they said the findings of the trial were clear and called for larger such studies to confirm the results.

“In this sample of healthy adults, dark chocolate ingestion over a short period of time was shown to significantly improve (blood vessel) function,” said Dr. Valentine Yanchou Njike of Yale Prevention Research Center, a co-investigator of the study.

The results, presented at the annual American College of Cardiology scientific meeting in New Orleans, add to mounting evidence of the health benefits of dark chocolate.

During the six-week trial, 45 people were given 8 ounces (227 grams) of cocoa without sugar, cocoa with sugar or a placebo each day.

An upper arm artery’s ability to relax and expand to accommodate increased blood flow—known as flow mediated dilation (FMD)—was measured using high-frequency ultrasound before and after daily cocoa or placebo consumption.

Of the 39 subjects who completed the trial, FMD improved significantly in both cocoa groups—by 2.4 percent among those who had it without sugar and 1.5 percent among those who had it with sugar. It dropped 0.8 percent in the placebo group.

“While the findings from this study do not suggest that people should start eating more chocolate as part of their daily routine, it does suggest that we pay more attention to how dark chocolate and other flavonoid-rich foods might offer cardiovascular benefits,” Njike said.

Most of us feel a responsibility to use our time and talents for the benefit of our community. And most not-for-profit organization—- including your STC chapter—- need volunteer help to accomplish their goals. So…how can we make sure our volunteer efforts are successful?

Pick a cause or issue that is important to you.

Look for a volunteer opportunity which deals with issues about which you feel strongly. Most people find it easier to meet their volunteer commitments when they care about the goals of the organization they volunteer for.

If you are a member of a professional association or donate moneyto a social services agency, arts organization, or another not-for-profit group, that’s a good place to start. Browse through their newsletter, talk to other members, or call one of the organization’s officers or staff to find out what volunteer opportunities are available.

Clarify your own needs.

Do you want to get started right away using skills you already have, or are you willing to devote the extra time needed for training in new skills? Do you enjoy being the expert, or are you interested in being a supportive amateur?

Many positions require a volunteer who has developed skill with certain equipment, such as computers, or who has experience in a particular area such as communications, negotiation, or community relations. You might decide to make use of your professional skills or do something which you already enjoy as a hobby.

If you are passionate about community activism, consider recruiting other volunteers for your favorite cause. If you feel strongly that Organization X needs better financial management and you have the necessary skills, volunteer for their board of directors as treasurer or become a member of the finance committee.

Using an existing skill will allow you to contribute right away, without training to prepare for the assignment. This is a time and cost saving for the organization.

On the other hand, if you neeed a break from the tasks you perform at your day job, try to find a volunteer opportunity in an area which will provide novelty or change. You can often find volunteer opportunities where the organization is willing to train a newcomer in an unfamiliar skill.

Many nonprofits seek out people who are willing to learn, especially if the needs they serve are specialized or unique. Be aware, though, that such work will require more effort and a potentially greater time commitment for training before the actual volunteer assignment begins. Make sure you are willing to commit to this before volunteering for these responsibilities.

Can you commit the necessary time?

Make sure the volunteer position you want fits into your life. You don’t want to shortchange your employer, exhaust yourself, irritate your family, or disappoint the organization you’re trying to help. Better to start out slowly than to promise to work a schedule you can’t—- or don’t want to—- commit to.

If your work or family schedule doesn’t allow for working on-site as a volunteer, consider Virtual Volunteering. If you have computer skills and Internet access, some organizations will welcome your offer to do off-site volunteer tasks such as updating membership/donor records, producing brochures and press releases, designing logos and posters, or being a contact person for questions about the organization. (You’ve seen those links on non-profit web sites that say info@agencyx.org? Somebody has to monitor those emails and forward them to the appropriate staff member!)

Be prepared to answer questions.

Applying for a volunteer position may require the same sort of preparation you make for applying for a new day job. If you offer to donate your time, you may be asked to fill out an application, come in for an interview, and provide references. While most not-for-profit organizations are eager to find volunteer help, they have to be careful when accepting the services people offer. They have a responsibility to ensure that their volunteers are able to perform assigned tasks, and can work well with the rest of their paid and volunteer team. If the volunteer position you’re applying for involves financial responsibilities or if the work involves children or other at-risk populations, there are also legal constraints and sometimes regulatory guidelines for the organization to consider.

When you volunteer, you give part of yourself–your time, energy, skills and feelings. You give to your family and friends, to your neighbours, to your community. Sometimes, you are giving to people you don’t know, to people thousands of miles away. From my own experience, you get as much out of it as you put into it—- often, you get a whole lot more.

So, roll up your sleeves and get involved!

Over the next few months you will see several articles from the STC-Rochester Nominations Committee with suggestions for ways to share your time and talents with Rochester-area colleagues. Pay attention. We need you!

Nonprofit organizations often stand on the sidelines during election season. Fears that they could violate IRS regulations and lose their nonprofit status are the primary reason, but the law actually allows 501©(3) nonprofits to engage in a wide variety of election activities including voter education, voter registration, and get-out-the-vote activities. There is only one one restriction: the activities must be nonpartisan.

What does that mean, exactly? A nonprofit organization can’t campaign for or against a particular candidate or party, or express a preference for or against parties or candidates who have stated particular positions on issues.

So, what can we do, as a chapter, to get involved in future elections? Here are a few ideas. It may be too late to pursue some of them this year, but we can keep these in mind when setting our chapter goals and programs for next election season.

• Post a voter registration link on our website.


• Encourage our members to volunteer, support, and vote for candidates of their choice.


• Participate as a group in non-partisan voter registration campaigns and ‘get out the vote’ efforts.


• Encourage our members (freelancers, retirees, and those who are able to take a day off for volunteer programs) to work as election inspectors at their local polling places.


• Solicit input from our membership on issues of local and national concern such as health care, social security, small business regulation, and other issues of interest to our members, and send a summary to platform committees, campaign staff, candidates, media, and the general public.


• Issue a candidate questionnaire to foster discussion among candidates, public officials, and voters about the issues that affect us.


• Attend candidate debates and pose questions about those issues.


• Organize educational events in cooperation with other local organizations to raise awareness of issues that affect our members.


• Sponsor a candidate forum at one of our fall program meetings, or as a special event.

None of these activities, conducted properly, will violate our nonprofit status. They do, however involve thought and hard work. Why should we bother? We live and work in a local community, a region, a nation, a world. We share the responsibility to help make those places better.

Halloween has crept up on us again. Witches, goblins, and super-heroes are descending on neighborhoods across America, and a few simple precautions can prepare them for a safe and enjoyable trick-or-treat experience. These suggestions from the American Red Cross are worth remembering.

For kids

• Walk, slither, and sneak on sidewalks, not in the street.
• Look both ways before crossing the street to check for cars, trucks, and low-flying brooms.
• Cross the street only at corners.
• Don’t hide or cross the street between parked cars.
• Wear light-colored or reflective-type clothing so you are more visible. (And remember to put reflective tape on bikes, skateboards, and brooms, too!)
• Plan your route and share it with your family. If possible, have an adult go with you.


• Carry a flashlight to light your way.


• Keep away from open fires and candles. (Costumes can be extremely flamable.)


• Visit homes that have the porch light on.


• Accept your treats at the door and never go into a stranger’s house.


• Use face paint rather than masks or things that will cover your eyes.


• Be cautious of animals and strangers.


• Have a grown-up inspect your treats before eating. And don’t eat candy if the package is already opened.

For adults
Parents of trick-or-treating kids can get so caught up in the fun themselves that they might forget some simple safety ideas that could save everyone some trouble.

Below are just a few common sense tips that can help.

• Know the route your kids will be taking if you aren’t going with them. The best bet is to make sure that an adult is going with them. If you can’t take them, see if another parent or a teen aged sibling can go along.


• Know what other activities a child may be attending, such as parties, school or mall functions. Know who they’re going with, and how they will get there and back.


• Make sure you set a time that they should be home by. Make sure they know how important it is for them to be home on time.


• Explain to children the difference between tricks and vandalism. Throwing eggs at a house may seem like fun but they need to know the other side of the coin as well, clean up and damages can ruin Halloween. If they are caught vandalizing, make them clean up the mess they’ve made.


• Explain to your kids that animal cruelty is not acceptable. Kids may know this on their own but peer pressure can be a bad thing. Make sure that they know that harming animals is not only morally wrong but punishable by law and will not be tolerated.


• Pin a slip of paper with the child’s name, address and phone number inside a pocket in case the youngster gets separated from the group.


• If you’re going to be driving anywhere tonight, the National Safety Council urges you to be especially alert.
  • Enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully.
  • Watch for children darting out from between parked cars.
  • Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs.
  • At twilight and later in the evening, watch especially carefully for children in dark clothing.
  
  

I love the magic of Halloween. I love the tiny voices at knee level saying “twick ah twee,” and the creative costumes, and the grandparents taking flash photographs of their darlings as they come down the porch steps with their loot. I especially love knowing that the children I care about will be able to indulge their sense of fantasy and their greed for candy without danger. If we all use common sense and follow suggestions like those listed above, everybody can have a frightfully good time!

A colleague recently mentioned that their middle-school daughter had made a friend on MySpace. A few chat conversations made the child uncomfortable, and the father looked over her shoulder during her next conversation with the ‘friend’. After observing some leading questions and inappropriate comments, the parent cancelled his daughter’s MySpace account and reported the incident to the FBI. The ‘friend’ was a stalker, later arrested in an FBI child-porn sting operation.

Not every parent is this vigilant. Not every kid is as comfortable discussing things like this with a parent. Here are some basic tactics that can help keep kids cybersafe.

1. Supervise your child’s online activities:
   • Limit the amount of time your child spends on non-school-related computer activity.
   • Monitor which sites they are surfing, either automatically (AOL Parental Controls, Net Nanny) or by daily discussions about what they’ve found online.
   • Keep your computer in a high-traffic area in your house, where you can see your children’s reactions to the sites they visit.

2. Set boundaries on what your child is allowed to do on the computer.
   • Discourage children from posting photos or giving personal information in a chat room, website forum, or email message to someone you don’t know.
   • Do not allow kids to use a webcam unless you are present.
   
   
3. Maintain open communication with your children.
   • Teach kids that not everything people say online is true. People can and will misrepresent themselves in email messages and chat rooms.
   • Urge them to talk to you if they recognize suspicious behavior on the Internet.
   • Warn children about personally meeting any online contact.
   • Remind children to always protect passwords and personal information.

4. Take action when needed.
   • Record usernames and passwords, and remind your children remember to change their passwords periodically.
   • Report messages that are suggestive or threatening to the service provider (MySpace, AOL chat rooms, etc.) and to local, state and federal law enforcement authorities. Both stalking and cyberbullying (criminal Internet harassment or intimidation) are illegal.
   • Install and regularly update anti-virus, firewall, and anti-spyware software. Develop a regular routine for maintaining the security of your home computer system. Nick Francesco’s “Security Tango” is a good way to start.
   
   

5. Take advantage of online resources for parents and kids to learn more about protecting yourself and your family online.
   
   • FBI: “A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety“
   
   
   • FTC: “OnGuard Online“
   
   
   • US Department of Justice: “Project Safe Childhood“
   
   
   • “CyberAngels“
   
   
   • “WiredSafety“
   
   
   • “Cybersmart Kids Online“