By Kelly Linkowski
Captioners were active at the 2022 NCRA Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla., this year. With the ever-changing evolution of broadcast captioning and CART captioning, it is more important than ever to continue increasing your knowledge base and technology skills.
Many captioners competed and qualified in our NCRA competitions. Sheri Smargon, RDR, CRR, CRC, of Riverview, Fla., and “Captain” Kathryn Thomas, RDR, CRR, CRC, of Caseyville, Ill., also placed in the contests.
Thomas is a longtime convention junkie. Thomas provided CART for our working-with-consumers session hosted by CART captioner Lisa Johnston, RMR, CRR, CRC, from Melbourne, Fla., and NASA CART consumer Genevieve Miller.
Anthony Trujillo, RMR, CRR, CRC, from Washington, D.C., provided captions for the business meeting, opening session, and the awards luncheon. Captioning for your peers is HARD! Thanks, Tony, for sharing your skills with us.
Patricia Graves, FAPR, RDR, CRR, CRC, and NCRF Angel, from Monument, Colo., presented on captioning being a juggernaut. Captioning is a huge, powerful, and overwhelming force or institution. She challenged us to keep consumers and customers first, in addition to staying relevant and forward-thinking.
Theresa (Tess) Crowder, RPR, CRR, CRC, a CART captioner from Tampa, Fla., taught basic sign language and provided sensitivity training. The consumer experience is most important. Everything we can do to provide communication access is critical.
If there’s a captioning subject you are interested in, please send questions and suggestions to captioning@NCRAlists.org.
Kelly Linkowski, RPR, CRR, CRC, CPE, is a captioner from Rittman, Ohio. She can be reached at kelly@guardianoftherecord.org.
