by Amy Haagsma

Recap of EAC-BC’s branch meeting on September 17, 2014

EAC-BC held its 2014­–2015 season opener on September 17, 2014. Before getting down to business, we drank wine, ate cheese, and reconnected with our peers after a summer away.

To kick off the evening, Roma Ilnyckyj, our new Programs chair, introduced the 2014–2015 executive and announced volunteer opportunities with the branch. We are particularly in need of two volunteers to organize refreshments for our branch meetings (update: Frances Peck and Connie Behl have graciously stepped forward to take on this role). The Communications and Social Media committee is always looking for volunteers as well, which allows us to participate in events like Word Vancouver and Communication Convergence. Writers and editors are also needed for West Coast Editor. Please contact Shelagh Jamieson for the Communications and Social Media committee, and Amy Haagsma regarding West Coast Editor.

Next, we learned that EAC’s national conference will be in our backyard in 2016, in beautiful Victoria. EAC-BC will co-host with PEAVI, the Professional Editors Association of Vancouver Island. Co-chairs are needed, along with a venue. Please speak to Micheline Brodeur, Branch chair, if you would like to get involved.

We were also reminded of EAC’s upcoming certification exams in structural editing and proofreading, which will be offered on November 15, 2014, in Vancouver.

To mix things up, we held our monthly draw at the beginning of the meeting rather than the end. The coveted prize is free admission to one of EAC-BC’s professional development seminars.

The majority of the evening was spent trading professional development tips, grouped loosely into books, websites and blogs, Twitter accounts, and courses. Iva Cheung has the full list on her blog, another excellent resource mentioned by the audience.

To cap off the evening, Shelly Windover and Marie Baird, Professional Development co-chairs, enticed us with hints about EAC-BC’s upcoming professional development seminars. Ruth Wilson will lead September’s seminar on advanced proofreading, back by popular demand. In October, Lisa Manfield will teach us about editing for the web. Finally, we’ll go “beyond track changes” in November with Iva Cheung, Grace Yaginuma, and Ann-Marie Metten.

Missed the meeting? Download the audio file (EAC members only).

Amy Haagsma is a marketing communications professional and a student in SFU’s Editing Certificate program.

Image by Shutterstock.