Thir
d Thursday is August 21 and we are looking forward to seeing YOU! We come together to relax and enjoy each others’ company. Meet us at La Fontana Pizzeria Italian Restaurant at 2890 N University Dr., in Coral Springs. You will also enjoy good food and great company. If you live from Aventura up, Coral Springs is just a hop and a skip away. Let us know if you need a ride and we will do our best to help. Please RSVP so we can get a large enough table.
Third Thursdays and First Tuesdays are social gatherings for T&I professionals with or without ties to ATIF.
We hope you have missed us. We have been very busy putting everything in motion for a memorable second half of the year. Time to report our progress, but where do we begin?
Elections – Sylvia Korwek, Board Liaison, has been working closely with our Nominations Committee (Ariella Guridy, Diana Silberman and Claudia Verrúa). A special email account separate from ATIF’s domain has been created for members to communicate directly with the Nominations Committee. The email address is atif.nomcom@gmail.com and nominations received until midnight on September 19 will be considered for positions on the Board of Directors.
Other documentation has been created to support our efforts and are available to all our members at our Governance page. The process is easy and simple. And you get to choose who will take you into the future. What an awesome opportunity for all of us!
ATIF is a young entity and full of energy. We are building on the structure set up by our Founding Board, later expanded and upgraded by our elected Boards. Our Mission Statement remains the same
and growth opportunities through educational and training initiatives targeting translation and interpreting professionals in the State of Florida”
But the means and tools used have changed, making our job more dynamic and easier. To know ATIF better we suggest you start by checking the FAQ’s in our membership page, follow that up with our Bylaws and write to us if you have any questions. The election results will be reviewed on October 23.
#ATA56 – Our ATA56 page is being updated frequently. Members responded to the call for articles or subjects and we are developing the information they have sent us. There is still time and space for more – can’t you help? Let us (1) know your favorite activity or restaurant, (2) the must-not-miss part of it and (3) a website address so we can fill in the blanks. Your name will be published with a link to your ATIF profile. Another way to help is by helping us welcome our guests at the Hospitality Desk. We have created a form for you to fill out with your available time. Let’s make this a successful event for all of us. In 2008, without a local chapter, we counted 33 volunteers in Orlando. Are you ready to roll up your sleeves for ATIF and ATA? We ask for 2 hours of your time. Bring your cards – you never know who you are going to meet!
Oh, we almost forgot: A lucky volunteer will be eligible to a FREE conference registration. A raffle will be held before the early-bird rate period ends. We ask for two hours of the winner’s time each day of the conference at the Hospitality Desk. Can you make the commitment? Follow the link above and, fill in the form and keep your fingers crossed. The first 30 members will be eligible.
Social Media – did you hear? ATIF joined Twitter! You can follow us and tweet to us at @ATIF_Board. We will do our best to keep
you up-to-date on what is going on in the T&I world, suggest people for you to follow and share ATIF’s news with everyone. We trust that it will mirror the success of our Facebook page.
You Tube Channel – That’s right. We now have our own You Tube channel. We have used it to provide instructions related to updating members’ profiles and recently added a presentation by Gio. Getting Into the Market is a four-part series targeting beginners. It was successfully presented in Portuguese in SlideShare a 
few years ago, and Gio made it available to ATIF members. In reality, it is a short workshop since there will be activities for you to do as part of your preparation to break into the professional market. Installment one is up. Stay tuned for the next ones.
ATIF News – Our blog is alive and well in its new home the News & Events page of our website. Stay up-to-date by adding us to your RSS feed – just click on the orange RSS feed icon. We continue to bring to you news from the worlds of technology, professional training and developments, tips and general T&I interest articles. We invite our published and unpublished members to contribute their own material or suggest an article to be shared with our readership. Let us know how you enjoy the articles and share your contributions through our general email.
Professional Directory – Our vice-president, Daniela Guanipa, has been working hard to fine tune our Professional Directory. We have incorporated members’ suggestions, streamlined the form itself and our videos make it easier for you to update your profile, making sure your clients will see the best of you. Remember: price is not always the deciding factor. Your professional history supports the quality of your work. So, use the NOTES field to supplement the information in the form and show your personality and commitment. Go on, log in!
Events – During the month of August our events will be online. The Getting Into the Market series by Gio is available at our You Tube channel (see above). On September 26, Armando Ezquerra Hasbun will give two presentations for T&I professionals here in Florida. We are finalizing location and CIE credits. The presentations are Interpreting in Quasi-Legal Settings: Roles, Ethics, Protocols and Legal Terminology Localized: How to Research and Find the Linguistic Functional Equivalent When Dealing With Divergent Legal Systems. The presentations will be available as individual items or as a package. Our members enjoy a nice discount, as usual. Stay tune for updates.
Our General Membership Meeting is scheduled for October 3. We are working at confirming a location in the Hollywood area. If you have any suggestions, do let us know. The Board will also be holding a regular meeting either before or after the General Membership meeting. This is an opportunity to meet your colleagues, get to know the Board and make your suggestions and concerns heard in person.
November is spoken for: after the ATA Conference we all need a rest! Take a look at the program, make sure to take advantage of the early bird-registration fee, look for a roommate, etc. ATA has created a special conference page on Facebook where they are posting information of all sorts. A special First Tuesday will take place on November 3 at the venue hotel so we can mingle with our guests. They are all invited and so are you!