Court reporters, broadcast and CART captioners, and court reporting schools around the country are urged to start making plans now to celebrate the 2016 Court Reporting & Captioning Week scheduled for Feb. 14–20. In the past, celebrations to mark the week-long event have ranged from securing official proclamations recognizing the occasion to hosting open houses and Veterans History Project Days, and reaching out to media, as members of the profession band together to help promote this unique and rewarding career.
The 2016 event marks the fourth year NCRA has sponsored the celebration, and as always, the association’s government relations team will ask national lawmakers to recognize the profession with an official proclamation to be presented on the Congressional floor.
“Court Reporting & Captioning Week is the perfect platform for NCRA members and supporters of the court reporting and captioning professions to spotlight for the public the importance of what they do to capture and preserve the written record, as well as serve others,” said NCRA CEO and Executive Director Mike Nelson, CAE. “The week is also the perfect time for schools and professionals to join together to promote this wonderfully unique career to students seeking a rewarding and worthwhile career choice. I encourage everyone to take this opportunity to inspire a student to explore this profession as part of the celebration.”
One of the easiest ways to celebrate Court Reporting & Captioning Week is to simply change your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram profile picture to the event’s official logo. The logo can be downloaded from the NCRA.org/Awareness page. Social media is also a great place to promote the profession by sharing what makes court reporting such a unique and exciting career. Tips for messages to share on social media are also available at the event’s Web page.
Other ideas include:
Schools
- Connect with local high schools in your area and offer to exhibit at one of their career days. Offer to make a presentation about the court reporting profession to high school students following business tracks.
- Welcome back alumni to visit with students and to provide real-life insight into the profession.
- Host an open house and family day for the public and members of the media to learn more about the exciting career of court reporting. Include demonstrations, raffles, food, and texting versus steno writing contests.
- Host a potluck luncheon and invite students, working court reporters, family, friends, attorneys, and judges to swap stories and ideas in a casual setting.
- Create “spirit ribbons” for students and faculty to wear throughout the week to increase awareness about court reporting as a career.
- Host an event that includes members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities as well as the general public and high school students, teachers, and school counselors, and provide demonstrations of broadcast and CART captioning.
Firms
- Offer court reporting students in your area an opportunity to shadow your working court reporters and captioners for a day. Hands-on learning opportunities are always welcomed by students.
- Host an open house at your firm and invite high school students as well as judges and attorneys you regularly work with to help increase awareness of the important role court reporters have in preserving the record.
- Reach out to court reporting schools and offer to host a live Web or Twitter chat with students. This is a great opportunity for students to ask questions about their future careers.
- Offer to caption an event or meeting in your community free of charge. Churches, local theaters, and even schools make great venues for this activity.
- Encourage your court reporters to volunteer for NCRA’s Virtual Mentor Program. More information can be found at NCRA.org/vmp.
State associations
- Reach out to your state and federal lawmakers and urge them to help celebrate by officially proclaiming Court Reporting & Captioning Week.
- Offer to host an event at a court reporting school in your area where students and the public can help raise awareness of the important role keepers of the record play in preserving vital information.
- Reach out to law schools or your state bar association and ask them to help celebrate the week.
Official court reporters
- Encourage your judges to officially proclaim the week, or submit an editorial to the local media about the important role court reporters play in the judicial process.
- Offer to provide an oral history interview and final transcript to an older judge or attorney within your legal area.
- Offer to provide attorneys you work with a demonstration of realtime if they are not already requesting it.
Freelancers, captioners, and other individuals
- Reach out to local libraries and offer to decorate a display case or other area with information about the court reporting profession.
- Consider becoming a mentor to a court reporting student through NCRA’s Virtual Mentor Program. More information can be found at org/vmp.
- Write a weeklong blog that highlights your daily work and lets readers know how much you love your profession.
For more information about how you can celebrate 2016 Court Reporting & Captioning Week, or to find the latest in resources, including press release templates, media pitches, presentations, and more, please visit NCRA’s Court Reporting & Captioning Week resources page on located in the Resource Center on NCRA.org, or contact the NCRA communications team at pr@ncra.org. And don’t forget to share with NCRA what you plan to do to celebrate. Send information about activities to pr@ncra.org.
