NCRA and a number of state court reporter associations and court reporting schools are already putting plans in motion to celebrate 2016 Court Reporting & Captioning Week happening Feb. 14-20. The weeklong event, sponsored by NCRA, is designed to highlight the contributions of stenographic court reporters and captioners to society and to showcase the growing number of career opportunities that exist in the court reporting and captioning fields.
NCRA’s government relations department reports that for the second consecutive year, U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta (N.H.) will officially recognize the week in a floor speech before the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Guinta, whose parents have been part of the court reporting profession, is expected to deliver his remarks the week before the official celebration since Congress will be out of session during the actual event. His remarks will be reported in one of two special editions of the JCR Weekly that will be distributed during the weeklong celebration.
Here’s what else is happening around the nation:
- Monna J. Nickeson, RPR, CRR, a freelance reporter from Richland, Wash., and president elect of the Washington Court Reporters Association, said she has successfully secured an official proclamation marking 2016 Court Reporting & Captioning Week from Gov. Jay Robert Inslee.
- On Feb. 15, NCRA President Steve Zinone, RPR, an official court reporter from Pittsford, N.Y., will help kick off the week by talking about the court reporting profession with students at the College of Court Reporting in Hobart, Ind., via the school’s online platform. He also plans to visit in person with students and faculty at the court reporting program at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, on Feb. 17. Zinone said he plans to address the importance of being involved in court reporter associations at the state and national levels, as well as share insights from his personal experience as a court reporter. Zinone was invited by the program’s Captioning & Court Reporting Club. NCRA’s communications team is working with Kelly Moranz, CRI, the program’s manager to secure interviews with Zinone by local media outlets.
- NCRA member Ermina Uviedo, RMR, CRR, a court reporter from San Antonio who spearheaded the involvement of the Texas Court Reporters Association in 13 career fairs over the course of 15 days last November, said she has successfully reached out to a local television celebrity who has agreed to do a segment on court reporters and the profession during the weeklong celebration. Uviedo said the piece is expected to air on two television stations, and she added that the association has seven more career fairs scheduled for later this spring.
Court reporters, captioners, CART providers, and court reporting schools around the country will participate in the weeklong event by hosting an array of activities such as visits to high schools to showcase the profession, open houses, Veterans History Project interviews, media outreach, and more. NCRA members, state associations, and schools are urged to share with the Association updates about how they plan to celebrate 2016 Court Reporting & Captioning Week by emailing aroketenetz@ncra.org.
NCRA has made a wide range of resources available to its members, court reporting schools, and others at both crTakeNote.com and NCRA.org. Resources include tips on presenting the benefits of the profession to potential new students, press release templates, social media-appropriate logos and banners, and ideas for hosting special activities. NCRA will also rely on its social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, and TheJCR.com blog, to reach thousands of people throughout the week.
For more information, visit NCRA.org. Career information about the court reporting profession — one of the leading career options that do not require a traditional four-year degree — can be found at crTakeNote.com.
