See How 2014 Court Reporting & Captioning Week Was Celebrated

See how 2014 Court Reporting & Captioning Week was celebrated Brown College of Court Reporting, Atlanta, Ga., will host an open house, guest speakers, webinars, games, and giveaways to commemorate National Court Reporting and Captioning Week, Feb. 16 through Feb. 22. Throughout the week, Brown College will welcome back alumni and other successful court reporters and captioners who will offer advice and guidance to students about finding a job after graduation. An open house will be held on Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that will inform prospective students about the benefits of receiving an education in court reporting and captioning. Other activities include a Grammar Jam Competition, door prizes, and a possible visit from Rep. Edward Lindsey. Contact Marita Carey at [email protected].

StenoTech Career Institute in Piscataway, N.J., will host its first annual Friends and Family Day, where students will invite friends and family members to visit the school and observe classes for a firsthand glimpse and better perspective on the day-to-day challenges students face to complete the program, as part of its celebration of National Court Reporting & Captioning Week, Feb. 16-22. The Friends and Family festivities will also feature a round-table panel discussion with representatives from the Certified Court Reporters Association of New Jersey and working court reporters representing both the deposition/freelance and CART/captioning arenas. The presentation will be followed by a pizza luncheon. The school is also hosting a realtime contest for its students and will award a VISA gift card to the contestant with the highest percentage of accuracy on a first-pass dictation piece. Contact Karen Sole, CSR, RPR, CRI, CPE at [email protected].

The Prince Institute has several celebrations planned to mark National Court Reporting & Captioning Week. The landing page with information about the events at each campus, as well as online events, is located at http://info.princeinstitute.edu/ncra-court-reporting-and-captioning-week-2014. Among the activities will be a free online webinar for court reporting students across the country, no matter their school affiliation, as well as professionals, to learn more about Case CATalyst and how to personalize their settings. To register, visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/627832713. The school is also asking professional court reporters and captioners to share what they love about the profession on its Facebook page, and will use the quotes as inspirational artwork for its on-campus students and in its Virtual Student Union that serves online students. The post can be found at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php? fbid=618220064899118&set=a.221468761240919.61823.185829594804836&type=1&theater. Contact Shari Mayner at [email protected].

Cuyahoga Community College - western campus in Parma, Ohio, is hosting a live online chat set up for its students during National Court Reporting & Captioning Week with four reporters each representing the areas of official, freelance, CART, and captioning. Each reporter will chat with students for 30 minutes. Contact Kelly Moranz at [email protected].

Anoka Technical College in Anoka, Minn., will host an on-campus “Court Reporting & Captioning Spring Fling,” on Feb. 19. The school is inviting students, reporters, members of the general and the deaf and hard of hearing communities, judges, and legislators to attend the event which will feature realtime and captioning demonstrations, opportunities for students to mingle with working reporters, and food and drinks. Contact Jennifer Sati at [email protected].

Stenograph, based in Elmhurst, Ill., and a major product and service provider to the court reporting and caption profession has received an official proclamation from Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, recognizing Feb. 16-22 as the official 2014 National Court Reporting & Captioning Week. Contact Dan Peterson, Director of Marketing and Inside Sales for Stenograph at [email protected]. The Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association is planning to encourage its extensive member base to get involved with National Court Reporting and Captioning Week by engaging in a grassroots effort to promote the profession and educate local communities about the value stenographic skills bring to today’s marketplace. PCRA is working very closely with the three nationally-accredited court reporting programs that are located in Pennsylvania to recruit and retain students and bring awareness of the profession to the public. Contact Donna Betza, PCRA President [email protected].

The Oregon Court Reporters Association is urging its members to spread the word to clients, friends, and associates about 2014 Court Reporting & Captioning Week as well working on partnering with the Oregon State Bar to host a Veterans History Project to market the event. The State Bar will also run an ad in the February edition of their magazine using NCRA’s promotional logo to recognize the week. In addition, Carol Studemund, chair of OCRA’s Legislative Committee, has arranged for NCRA’s proclamation about Court Reporting & Captioning Week to be read at the Oregon Legislature, and at the city councils of Portland, Eugene, and Beaverton. Contact Robin Nodland at [email protected].

The Realtime Academy of Court Reporting in Houston, Texas reports that in honor of the week it plans to host an Operation Gratitude organized collection drive to benefit Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit group that sends more than 100,000 care packages to deployed troops, veterans, wounded warriors, and caregivers. According to Pam Gwin Goder, CSR, director of the academy, faculty members and students will encourage family, friends, and members of the public to donate various toiletries, socks, hand and foot warmers, and razors, in addition to letters, to the program. There will also be refreshments, a tour of the school, a captioning demonstration, and door prizes. In addition, visitors will be encouraged to dictate a letter to a soldier to one of school’s students and watch as what they say are turned into machine language. The students will then print the letters in English for the writers so that they can sign them before they are included in a care package. Contact Pam Gwin Coder at [email protected], or visit the academy’s website at www.realtime-academy.com.

Jan Ballman, RPR, CMRS, President and CEO of Paradigm Reporting & Captioning in Minneapolis, Minn., reports that her firm will contact the local high schools where two of her reporters’ children attend and offer to provide a court reporting demonstration during Court Reporting & Captioning Week. In addition, one of the firm’s newest hires will write a blog throughout the week about why she chose the court reporting profession and what she love’s most about it. Finally, the firm plans to video its reporters sharing what they love most about the court reporting profession through an array of identified messages. The videos will then be edited and shared on the company’s Facebook page throughout the week. Contact Jan Ballman at [email protected].

President of the Alberta Shorthand Reporters Association Linda Hallworth is working with local broadcasters on three stories set to air during Court Reporting & Captioning Week. One story will focus on how CART services made a difference in the life of an 11th grade high school student in both in and out of the classroom. The other stories will highlight the importance of using verbatim reporters in the court room and the various services that are available to the deaf and hard of hearing community. Contact Linda Hallworth at [email protected].

Sally Booth-Bennett, a broadcast captioner from Cambridge, Ohio, is working with her local public library to mark Court Reporting & Captioning Week by featuring items such as steno machines, books, posters, and other articles in one of the library’s large display cases. Contact Sally Booth-Bennett at [email protected].

The Hawaii Court Reporters and Captioners Association is building a new website for this year’s Court Reporting & Captioning Week, and will be actively posting information about the profession on its Facebook page throughout the week. Contact Sami Silvia, CSR, RPR, CRR, HCRCA President at [email protected]. The St. Louis Community College-Meramec, in Missouri is sponsoring Career Connections in Court Reporting and Captioning. The program will feature six court reporters representing official and freelance reporters, captioners, and CART providers who will participate in a round-robin format with students and other attendees to discuss aspects of the career. In addition, an array of sessions will cover topics including career paths, job search strategies, interview techniques, skills for success, and personal practice strategies. There will also be a meet and greet, an information session geared toward prospective students, and a panel discussion that will be broadcast live with captions on the Internet as part of the school’s recruiting efforts to reach online and out-of- state students. Contact Patricia L. Dean Ziegler, Ed.D at Ziegler at [email protected].

The Greater Washington, D.C., Shorthand Reporters Association will mark the week-long event by facilitating opportunities for student reporters to shadow professional reporters throughout the Washington-metropolitan area. Contact Veronica Mackin, GWSRA President at [email protected] .

The New Hampshire Court Reporters Association is going to get a proclamation from state Governor Maggie Hassan. Contact Megan Hefler, NHCRA President at [email protected].

For more information about how you can celebrate 2014 National Court Reporting & Captioning Week, or to find the latest in resources including press release templates, media pitches, power points, and more, please visit NCRA’s Court Reporting & Capturing Week resources page, or contact the NCRA Communications Team at [email protected].