For years, at every NCRA event and state association get-together, I have taken the opportunity to talk about the importance of giving back. For more than three decades now, my life has been dedicated to our shared profession; court reporting is an integral part of who I am. So many good things in my life have come from my decision to become a court reporter! It has been a rewarding career, and I am grateful for it.
I am a cheerleader for court reporting and a staunch advocate of giving back to the profession that has given me so much. I like to encourage my court reporter colleagues to get involved as well, in any way that suits them. It need not require a significant investment of time or money. You might pen a simple post to your Facebook page telling the world what you love about your job or make a short presentation at your child’s school on career day. Take the opportunity where it presents itself. A friendly chat with a neighbor over the backyard fence or at a cocktail party could showcase our unique profession and perhaps become a life-altering encounter for a man or woman whose curiosity you’ve piqued.
I’ve come up with thirty ways that one can give back to the profession. Perhaps not all of these suggestions will suit you, but acting on just one or two is bound to create a lasting impression that will benefit our profession and all of us in it.
- Tell someone new what you do for a living. Be enthusiastic! Court reporters, captioners, and CART providers do interesting stuff. It’s great cocktail party conversation.
- Point out the TV captions in a public place, say at your gym, a bar, a hotel lobby. Ask your friends, do you know how those captions get there? They won’t know – but they’ll be curious to find out!
- Write to your city council or town government, thanking them for having transcripts of public meetings. (And if they don’t provide that public service, ask them why not.)
- Tell the attorney you’re working with why a court reporter’s impartiality matters. It’s part of what makes us special.
- While you’re at it, tell the nice attorney how realtime services can help him or her.
- Write a check and sponsor a student member in your state association.
- Give a Career Day presentation at your local high school. Bring your steno machine and write to an iPad.
- Mentor a court reporting student.
- Offer to talk to a court reporting class about what life after school looks like. Give them good advice. Alert them to some just-out-of-school pitfalls to avoid. Be encouraging.
- Thank your Congressional representatives for supporting the Local Courthouse Safety Act — or tell them why it’s important to support it.
- Talk to a class of law school students about the nuts and bolts of making the record. (Nobody else is going to tell them!) NCRF has materials to help you with this outreach.
- Thank the attorneys for hiring you, a certified court reporter, and tell them why certification matters, for court reporters as well as legal videographers. Certified means professional.
- Team up with a court reporter friend or two and put together a short primer of do’s and don’ts of making the record. Your local bar association will be grateful to you for the educational opportunity. Maybe your favorite law firm would like you to come in and address their young associates. Get bonus points for offering CLEs!
- Transcribe an interview with a veteran for the Library of Congress Veterans’ Project. You can earn PDCs. And it is a very satisfying thing to do.
- Host a Veterans History Project event for veterans in your area. Do it at a court reporting firm or court reporting school. Get your community involved! People like to honor our veterans.
- Get involved with students on the NCRA Student Facebook page or other student networking sites. They’ll love it! An excellent way to motivate students.
- Sponsor a student’s attendance at an NCRA event.
- Write an article for the local ABA newsletter about what to look for in a court reporter. Or write a letter to a local community organization about the importance of accessibility for all citizens, especially our fellow citizens who are deaf/hard of hearing.
- Pass along your experience. Write an article for your state association newsletter or the JCR about a valuable lesson learned. Your readers will appreciate the heads up.
- Volunteer your services (or find volunteers) for your deaf/hard-of-hearing neighbors. They might love to have CART for church or local meetings.
- Volunteer for a state association or NCRA committee. A great way to meet people!
- Attend a TRAIN event, upgrade your realtime skills — and then help others do the same.
- Share your expertise with your peers; put on a seminar at a court reporting event. Sound scary? Okay, sign up to learn something new yourself!
- Send NCRA membership forms to court reporters you know who are not members, and tell them why they should be. Size matters. There’s power in numbers!
- Send a testimonial (written or video) to NCRA to support NCRA’s efforts to inform people about the benefits of court reporting as a career.
- Write an op-ed for your local newspaper advocating for the use of stenographic court reporters in the courts; explain the value of captioning at community events.
- Become involved with your state CSR board. They need your expertise. And you’ll be surprised how much you will learn!
- Pay it forward. Remember to thank the people who’ve helped you along the way.
- Donate to the National Court Reporters Foundation, which will put your money to good use.
- Social media — Facebook, Twitter — are great venues to tell people what you love about your job. No need to vent about rush transcripts and fast-talking lawyers. Create some positive buzz! Celebrate your profession, your career, the unique job you do where you are the expert. Be proud of your role as a court reporter, legal videographer, captioner, or CART provider. You are part of a long and proud history of service to the bench, the bar, and the public at large.
