Deciding how best to preserve the legacy of a beloved family member can be challenging. The family of court reporter Jim Bouley made their decision in 2021. Knowing that their father was an exemplary role model as a court reporter, instructor, and a philanthropist, all eight Bouley children chose to donate to the National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF) mission in their father’s memory.
Since 2005, the Foundation has provided the annual NCRF Santo J. Aurelio Altruism Award, which has been awarded to a court reporter or captioner with more than 25 years’ experience and who has given back to the profession and the community with no expectation of reward. This year, the Foundation announced the renaming of this longtime NCRF award as The Jim Bouley Family Lifetime Award for Altruism.
“The NCRF Altruism Award has always been about recognizing a member for a lifetime of paying it forward,” said Michael Bouley, RDR, of Henderson, Nev. “In the spirit of a new season, my siblings and I are honored to sponsor this award, which embodies love and community, as a gift to our mom in memory of our dad. Mom and Dad gave a lot to our great profession, and it seemed fitting and proper that his name and legacy lead the new way in paying it forward.”
According to Jim Bouley’s obituary in theJCR.com, “Jim was born in Dayton, Minn., in 1934 and finished reporting school at the Minnesota School of Business in 1955. He relocated to Tucson in 1959 with the firm that would become Bouley, Schlesinger, DiCurti & Schippers until his retirement in 2010, cultivating his persona of ‘The Fastest Fingers in the West,’ with his penchant for bolo ties fitting in perfectly. He was a multistate CSR and earned his RPR in 1960, Certificate of Merit in 1961, RDR in 1999, and was a proud member of NCRA since 1956.”
Jim Bouley influenced his children so much that five of them became court reporters. His son, Michael Bouley, an NCRF Trustee in 2021, participated in discussions regarding a new altruism award sponsorship during NCRF’s annual meeting in Las Vegas last year. Bouley currently serves on the NCRF Angel Gatherers Committee. Lisa Bouley Kelly, RPR, CRR, is a freelancer in Loveland, Colo., and John Bouley, RPR; Anne Bouley Meyer, RPR; and Martin Bouley, RDR, are all officals in Tucson, Ariz. The family decided this was a lovely cause to honor their dad’s legacy and pay it forward.
Nominations are now being accepted for The Jim Bouley Family Lifetime Award for Altruism. Nominees must be an NCRA member in good standing, have demonstrated altruistic behavior, and have been a working captioner or court reporter or captioner for at least 25 years. Find complete details and a nomination form here. The deadline for nominations is June 10.
The Bouley Award, which will be presented annually at the NCRA Conference & Expo, will be announced at the Awards Luncheon in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, July 23.
Read about Laura L. Eiler, FAPR, RDR, a court reporter from Brentwood, Tenn., who received the Altruism Award last year.
For information about The Jim Bouley Family Lifetime Award for Altruism, contact NCRF Manager Jill Parker Landsman at jlandsman@ncra.org.
