Here is our March calendar. If you are attending any of these events, please say hello!

March 6-9   PAC National PAC Conference, Miami Beach, Florida

March 7   NCSL Foundation Lunch, Washington DC

March 7   Women in Government Relations Leadership Program Session #3, Washington, DC

March 9   Montgomery County Council – African American Affairs Advisory Group Meeting, Silver Spring, Maryland

March 12-14   NASPO Exchange – How to Market to State Governments, St. Louis, Missouri

March 14   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

March 23   NCSL Foundation and SGAC Annual Roundtable, Washington, DC

March 23-25   American Copy Editors Society National Conference, St. Petersburg, Florida

March 28   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, DC

March 29-31   SGAC National Summit, New Orleans, Louisiana

Here is our March calendar:

March 2   Ohio Birthday Celebration, Washington, DC

March 7-10   National PAC Conference, Miami Beach, Florida

March 9   NCSL Foundation Luncheon, Washington, DC

March 10   Women’s Endowment Fund Annual Dinner, Akron, OH

March 16   PLEN Mentor Awards, Washington, DC

March 17   Akron Roundtable, Akron, OH

March 20-22   NASPO: How to Market to State Governments Meeting, Atlanta, GA

March 30-April 2   ACES National Conference, Portland, OR

March 31, 2016   Akron Press Club hosts State of Summit County Speech, Akron, OH

Editors don’t have glamorous jobs. After all, how glamorous can you be with your fingers stained red by ink? But despite the lack of glitz, I am one of many editors lucky enough to work for a company that recognizes the important role I play in the organization.

Editors are vital to every company because we can be the last line of defense between an organization looking professional or becoming a late night joke. We work hard to make sure our company and colleagues look their best; thus, we continue to develop our skills and talents.

With these goals in mind, four of us attended the 19^th annual American Copy Editors Society conference at the end of March. We went to learn new tricks, brush up our skills, and discover new ways to help our company stay (grammar) compliant.

It was three days packed with grammar reviews, hints and tips on editing, and the ever important AP Style updated. It was also three days of meeting editors and talking shop between sessions. No one gets into a discussion about using a singular “they” and enjoys it as much as editors.

It was Comma-Con, as Katie Antonsson described in her ACES blog post. Pittsburgh was THE place to be for all those who love words and for whom editing is a calling, not just a job.

But, the fun hasn’t ended just because we are now back in Akron. Now we get to implement the ideas and techniques we learned about. I get to dig back into my stack of editing with renewed vigor. And I get to revel in a little bit of notoriety in the office as one of the copy editors featured in a little BuzzFeed piece called “30 Copy Editors Tell Us Their Pet Peeves.”

For the second year in a row, State and Federal Communications is sending a team to the American Copy Editors Society (ACES) annual conference. This year the conference is being held March 26 – 28 in Pittsburgh. It is a great place for editors to brush up their skills and to keep up with changes in the field.

ACES annual conference also provides opportunities to learn new skills. There are sessions on the core editing skills, fact-checking, editing for social media, and getting the most out of style guides.

This conference is a great opportunity, as many of us put on the editor’s cap every day to ensure our information isn’t just factually correct, but also grammatically correct. We work to ensure everything is spelled and punctuated correctly because we agree with ACES President Teresa Schmedding: people care about good grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

And because we know you care, we are off to Pittsburgh to learn, to hone, and to ensure our skills are up to your standards.

To learn more about ACES and the important role of editors and copy editors, check out their website at www.copydesk.org.