McElroy Attends Annual ATA Conference
McElroy Translation was present in force at the American Translators Association (ATA) annual conference in New Orleans earlier this month. The conference brought together more than 1200 translators from 35 countries. McElroy attendees included Operations Manager Kim Vitray, Translator Coordinator Rochelle Carlin, Chief Editor Mark Ritter, and Account Manager Tina Cargile.
McElroy delegates reported that the many sessions they attended were informative, particularly those regarding translation technology. This subject matter is more and more displacing purely linguistic presentations. This is indicative of the maturing nature of the translation and localization industry, as the focus evolves from inward to outward and clients drive productivity gains with increasing activity levels and demands to satisfy their global commerce initiatives.
This year both Tina and Kim presented sessions at the conference. Tina’s presentation, “Survivor: Escape from Project Management Island,” was well received as she delivered a content-rich session with the dry humor and fresh perspective for which she is known. With her PMP certification and 18 years of experience at McElroy, Tina compared the traditional world of PM to being alone on an island with no grand prize at the end. But it need not be that way! New thinking on project management maturity builds bridges to neighboring islands, forms valuable alliances with others, and strengthens the tribe’s standing throughout the industry. Tina provided great tips on how to cultivate a project management culture throughout an organization. The result is increased personal bandwidth and unleashed organizational potential.
Kim’s presentation was also delivered with a humorous twist. Titled “Fear Factor in the Workplace: Would You Rather Eat Bugs Than Do Employee Performance Evaluations?” Kim delivered nuts-and-bolts information and hands-on practice ideas to help address this important aspect of employee relations more effectively and confidently.
The ATA conference is a great networking venue for industry professionals. It also provides tangible information that helps attendees operate more efficiently in a social and business environment where reliance on quality translation continues to grow. ATA President Marian Greenfield says, “People are dying on a regular basis in health care settings due to a lack of trained interpreters. The government continues to experience a shortfall in translators and interpreters who are key to the success of the war on terror. And with commerce being more global than ever, businesses can’t afford to risk embarrassment before potential customers when communicating with them in their own languages.”
