NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug 10, 2013—The National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF), the charitable arm of the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the country’s leading organization representing stenographic court reporters and captioners, today recognized Justine Kiechel, a court reporting student from West Chester, Pa., as the recipient of the $2,000 2013 Frank Sarli Memorial Scholarship, at a special awards luncheon held during NCRA’s 2013 Convention & Expo., being held in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 8-11.
“Each year the Foundation is honored to award this scholarship to a deserving student to help them facilitate their education,” said B.J. Shorak, the Foundation’s deputy executive director.
“This ever-important scholarship is made possible by the generous donations we receive each year from our members during several of our annual fundraising activities. The donations we receive are a clear reflection of how committed our members are to their profession.”
NCRF’s Frank Sarli Memorial Scholarship honors the late Frank Sarli, a court reporter who was committed to supporting students at the highest level of their learning curve. Kiechel, a student at the College of Court Reporting in Hobart, Ind., is the 17th recipient of the scholarship. Recipients are chosen based on a number of criteria, including enrollment in an NCRA-certified court reporting program, passing at least one of the court reporting program’s Q&A tests at a minimum of 200 words per minute, having a grade point average of 3.5 or above, demonstrating the need for financial assistance, and possessing the qualities exemplified by a professional court reporter including attitude, demeanor, dress, and motivation.
Sarli, who was studying to become a professional pianist, turned to a court reporting career when he could no longer afford the tuition to music school. During his career, he opened Frank Sarli’s Accurate Court Reporters in Orlando, Fla., OrangeCounty’s first independent court reporting firm, and was a founding member of the Florida Shorthand Reporters Association. Sarli also served in numerous roles at the national level, including as a director for NCRA. He was also the first Floridian to earn the NCRA’s esteemed Distinguished Service Award.
NCRF supports the court reporting and captioning professions through philanthropic programs funded by annual charitable contribution activities such as a phone-a-thon and the Angels Drive, which recognizes individuals or firms who commit to donate at least $1,000 to the Foundation in a 12-month timeframe.
Among the initiatives the Foundation supports is the Legal Education Program, which facilitates the education of the legal profession about the role of the court reporter through “Making the Record,” a court reporter-led seminar launched in 2010. The program focuses on the value of stenographic reporting and technology. Under the Legal Education Program, NCRF has also partnered with NCRA at the biennial Court Technology Conferences, sponsored by the NationalCenter for State Courts, to ensure court reporter technology is before key players in court administration.
NCRF’ Oral Histories Program (OHP) raises public awareness about the court reporting profession by focusing on capturing and transcribing the poignant oral histories of American wartime veterans through the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project (VHP). NCRF coordinates with NCRA members to complete transcripts of the interviews and submit them to the Library. In the 10 years that NCRF has partnered with VHP, more than 2,880 transcripts have been submitted to the Library, as well as to other program partners, including the National Equal Justice Library at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., the Center for Public Policy & Social Research at the CentralConnecticutStateUniversity, and the Illinois State Library.
NCRF’s CART Services Program showcases the work of Communication Access Realtime Translators by providing grants to consumer organizations, such as the Association of Late-Deafened Adults. CART providers offer live-event captioning and personalized service for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
