By Tom Barnett, UK and Phoenix Chapter member

Hello, fellow UK members.

A member of your chapter since July, as mentioned recently, I am the new twin chapters “ambassador” from the Phoenix Chapter. I will be making my second trip to London, Scotland, and Ireland in late May of 2006. For now, I will describe my home chapter to help the UK Chapter members get to know us a little better.

Phoenix is the capital and largest city in the state of Arizona, which is located in the southwestern United States. The prehistoric Hohokam Indians first settled the area about 300 B.C. and dug an extensive system of irrigation canals for farming. The Hohokams mysteriously disappeared in the 1400s.

The irrigation canals were restored for farming and the area was resettled about 1867. Because the city was founded on the ruins of the ancient civilization, it was named Phoenix after the legendary bird that could regenerate itself. Today, the company I have worked for the past twenty years, Salt River Project, operates the canal system and the six dams that control the flow of water to those canals.

The Phoenix Chapter’s territory includes the central and northern area of the state. Arizona is the sixth largest U.S. state (295,259 sq km) with an area larger than all of Great Britain (244,820 sq km). However, its population is less than a tenth that of Great Britain. I spent the first half of my life in Montana, an even larger state (over 380,000 sq km) and an even smaller population (less than a million).

Arizona’s most famous feature is the Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The topography varies dramatically with elevations rising from close to sea level to heights reaching nearly 4,000 meters. Consequently, the climate ranges from the extremes also.

London, at 51 N latitude is far north of Phoenix, which at about 33 N is similar to Baghdad and Tripoli. Phoenix is a desert city, and its warm, dry climate attracts many people. Only 100,000 people lived in Phoenix in 1950, but growth rates such as 34% over the last decade and a half have pushed its population to almost 1.5 million. Growth is forecast to continue for a long time, and Phoenix should become the fifth largest American city within a year or two. Temperatures average about 18.3 degrees C for the high on Christmas, and I’ve seen it as hot as 50 degrees C in the summer.

Members of the Phoenix Chapter work in a variety of technical communication occupations, with some concentrations in computers/internet, financial services, e-learning, aerospace, publishing, and telecommunications (according to this year’s chapter survey).

According to that survey, average salaries of Phoenix members are about £37,500.

Most of our almost 200 members fall evenly into three age groups: 35-44, 45-54, and over 55. Over 73% have worked in the field more than 10 years.