In 2024, I traveled with Tricia to Bloomington, Minnesota, for the Society for Technical Communication (STC) Summit. What was really cool about this Summit was that the Radisson Blu, where the Summit took place, was connected to the Mall of America, which we had not seen before. We did spend most of our time indoors, which was just fine by me. We got to attend Summit educational sessions, try new restaurants, go shopping, and explore, all in one magical place!
The Radisson Blu
Our room was on the 12th floor, overlooking many of the buildings nearby, and the expansive land that is Bloomington. The first thing I noticed while flying into Minneapolis was the abundant greenery – lots of trees and parks, and it did not appear too crowded. I liked that.
The room was spacious, quiet, and comfortable. The best part about it was that I got my own sleeping pod!
Tricia had a terrific easy chair with footrest to chill out after our busy days. This was our respite.
Dinners with Friends
To my delight, we got to have several dinners with STC friends. The Summit organizers created Dine Arounds within the Mall of America, so that attendees could sign up for their preferred restaurant and simply dine with other attendees.
The Thursday night that we arrived, we had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe! (Organized by Viqui of the IDL SIG) Of course, I was thrilled to see many of my cousins and long-lost friends. Lots of rainforest noises, rain, and even thunder and lightning made the experience all the more fun.
Our Friday Dine Around was great because Tricia and Ann Marie hosted, as hosts of the Policies and Procedures SIG, along with Paula of the Solo Writers SIG. A huge group of us walked over to Cantina Laredo for delicious Mexican food. This dine around took place after heavy appetizers and drinks, provided by STC as a networking event, so it was a wonder that anyone ordered meals. But they did!
The Summit Sessions
The Summit was jam-packed full of excellent learning opportunities. The word of the year was “AI.” You could learn the basics of starting to play around with AI generators, learn prompt engineering, find out how to implement it into your technical communication workflow, and Tricia even showed how to create AI images in her Great Graphics session.
There were so many sessions to choose from, and not much space in between. This made our days fly by with no room for boredom.
Tricia handed out lots of bendable characters to attendees to promote the Policies & Procedures Special Interest Group (P&P SIG). One goal was to have people attend the P&P panel, where we learned about how technical communicators in the Aerospace/ Defense, Business Continuity, and Not-for-Profit Health Organizations.
We also hung out with the Community Affairs Committee and other community leaders to come together with fun challenges. We won, of course!
Honors Sessions
This year, to accommodate all the honors within a short amount of time, the Summit organizers had a luncheon where the publications and academic honors were presented. Then that evening with dinner and drinks, they presented the new Fellows, Associate Fellows, and Society awards. It’s always fun to see your friends whom you’ve worked with in the past succeed.
Tricia earned the Distinguished SIG Service Award for her service to the P&P SIG. She got a certificate, but the official recognition will be during an online leadership meeting later.
The Mall
Our visit would not have been complete without checking out some stores and the enormity of the Mall of America. An amusement park in the center, with a roller coaster, log ride, and several other rides, might give you some idea of the size of this place. It’s great that, even in the cold winter, people in Minnesota can come together and enjoy what I would consider summertime fun activities.
The shops ranged from those you’d see in a typical mall (hello Claires!), to unique stores I haven’t seen anywhere else, such as the Good Health Sauna Shop (which I didn’t really spend any time in, but wish I would have).
Our incoming President for Ohio STC, Angie, and we took a break from one of the sessions to do a little shopping. On Angie’s and another game enthusiast’s recommendation, I came home with a new game to play. Now I just need players so I can beat them… (I’m rather competitive if you haven’t guessed).
Minnesota Zoo
On the recommendation of locals, STC member Christina mentioned going to the Zoo after all the Summit sessions ended on Sunday. Since we weren’t leaving till Monday, Tricia and I, along with Jayme and Angie, headed to the fabulous Minnesota Zoo. It was our first visit outdoors after three days of intensive Summit inside.
The weather was perfect: mid 70’s and overcast (so we didn’t have to worry about becoming too hot, sunburned, nor worry about not having our sunglasses with us). A light breeze made this excursion delightful.
The zoo is laid out really well. Paths lead you through exhibits, around curves with surprises around each bend. The Treetop Trail, which crosses overhead through most of the zoo, provided a neat, overhead view of most of the exhibits.
Naturally, I found my cousins, the snow monkeys, quite fascinating. But the farm animals, which were in residence through the day we visited, were fun to watch, especially the fighting goats.
When Christina asked the three ladies with her if they wanted ice cream, everyone, without any hesitation, jumped at the chance! Obviously, you can never be too old to have ice cream.
Getting There and Home
Our flights from CLE to MSP, through O’Hare airport, while delayed in Chicago, were safe, and they got us where we needed to be. On the way home, our flight was diverted to Des Moines Iowa so our plane could refuel before circling Chicago before landing. First time in Iowa! The storms that passed through also delayed our connecting flight, which was fortuitous, because we didn’t have to change or book new flights. Tricia’s bag took a different flight and showed up on our doorstep the next morning (which meant she didn’t have to lug it home!)
It was really cool seeing the storm as we flew south to circle the storms on the way to CLE. I loved seeing the myriad layers of clouds as we flew next to them. We arrived home late, but safely.