If your biggest reason to attend the NCRA Conference & Expo is to earn CEUs, then what you really want to know before signing up for this year’s event at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky., Aug. 1-3 is more about the sessions. Attendees can earn up to 1.325 CEUs for the Conference plus additional CEUs for preconference sessions. You can view the full schedule here, but a few of our speakers give you a sneak peek at their presentations below.
Session topics range from writing short, cleaning up your dictionary, how to present yourself to employers, learning about body language, and lots of technological topics. In addition, there are special sessions for students, CLVS members, CART and broadcast captioners, and firm owners.
While public speaking may not be high on your list of skills to learn, Joshua Edwards, RDR, CRR, CRC, of New York, N.Y., has made it a mission of his — in part to help court reporters and captioners better promote the professions. “I am thrilled to bring my passion for public speaking to NCRA,” says Edwards. “We laugh and learn while improving our skills and building our confidence. Even people who are terrified of public speaking have told me what a great time they had attending StenoMasters.”
Want to dig into some court reporting history in honor of NCRA’s 125th anniversary? Consider the session on the Scopes trial presented by Linda Hershey, FAPR, RDR, CRR, CRC. Hershey says: “Britannica.com lists the Scopes Monkey Trial in the top 10 trials called ‘the trial of the century’ along with [the trials of] Socrates, O.J. Simpson, and Bill Clinton. It has been interesting to investigate who the court reporters for the Scopes trial were and how they delivered daily copy in a world of no fax machines, copy machines, steno machines, or even electric typewriters!”
One of the big hits at last year’s event was an interactive session led by NCRA’s Technology Committee using the online game-based learning platform Kahoot! The group decided to bring it back with new questions — and new learning!
“In Kahoots 2.0: Technology Bits, Bytes, Gigabytes, and Beyond! the Kahoot! game is back by popular demand. This year the game will be a challenge to even the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic techies,” says Suzanne Trimble, RPR, CRR, the NCRA Technology Committee Chair.
This is one of several sessions sponsored by the Technology Committee. Others include:
- Mastering the Future: Court Reporters Harnessing AI Excellence, led by Tamara Chapman, RPR, CRR, and Mike Hensley, RDR
- XOXO for UX/UI, led by Mike Hensley, RDR, and Alan Peacock, FAPR, RDR, CRR, CRC
- Should I or Shouldn’t I? led by Hector Cordova, CLVS, and Andrea Kreutz, CLVS
- The Cyber Pandemic, led by Shane Fernandez, CEO, Complete Network Integration
SPECIAL SESSIONS FOR CLVS MEMBERS AND PROSPECTS
The CLVS Council has developed many sessions for CLVS members and prospects this year. Council Chair Andrea Kreutz, CLVS, who will copresent “New Tech and Equipment Trends for Legal Videographers” with Robert Butcher, CLVS, and Hector Cordova, CLVS, says that attendees should expect to “see the newest innovative technology for legal videographers to help ensure you’re delivering the best-quality videos to your clients. And in the ‘CLVS Council Takes on Postproduction,’ we will provide demonstrations on how to speed up your postproduction process and deliver high-quality videos.”
Additional sessions for CLVS members include:
- Best Practices for Videographers and Reporters, led by Andrea Kreutz, CLVS
- Virtual CLVS: Raising the Bar for Remote Deposition Videos, led by Hector Cordova, CLVS
SPECIAL SESSIONS FOR STUDENTS
Student Khanica Thong, a student from Odessa, Texas, who is planning on attending, shares: “As we progressed through school and my mentor Melinda Garriga [RPR] told us about the [NCRA Conference], we were very excited by the idea that we get to see other students and court reporters as this isn’t a very well-known career, and it’ll be a new and fun experience because it’ll be our first time going! We will also get to learn more about court reporters and meet new people and spread the passion of court reporting.”
Here is some of what is planned for the students at this year’s Conference & Expo:
- Financing Beyond Federal Financial Aid
Dr. Geanell Adams, RMR, CRR, CRC, CRI, will help you jockey for position with information about financing options beyond the Federal Financial Aid assistance programs for education. Both national and local funding sources will be in the running so you can explore and understand alternative solutions for affording your stenographic education journey. - Branding Yourself Professional
Be the best out of the starting gate with your professional branding! We will get down to business “Steno Style” with Kim Xavier, RDR, CRR, CRC, CMRS, CRI (official); Lisa Migliore Black (freelancer); and Joshua Edwards, RDR, CRR, CRC (captioner). Amie First, RDR, CRR, CRC, CPE, will be your host as we navigate the racetrack from start to finish: Mentoring to interning and hiring to training. Don’t wait for the starting gate bell to ring — start now! - Steno Study Buddies
Find your community on the road to the Kentucky Derby! Join Chris DeGrazio (new professional) and Vanessa Johns (steno student) for a session about choosing a virtual practice group or starting your own. You will learn how to be a productive participant and navigate the challenging path of maintaining a practice group all the way to the Triple Crown! - The Endgame: A New Professional Perspective
And they’re off! Learn what it takes to make it to the finish line. When you find yourself at a plateau, it can be helpful to hear from someone who’s been where you are now and succeeded. We are so excited to have the very talented Anna Mar-Lazo, RPR; Jillian Kirchner, RMR, CRR; and Zeke Alicea, RPR, on the panel to impart their insights and experiences in theory, speed building, and the working world. Here you’ll explore what freelance and CART captioning look like currently and the steps necessary to get wherever you envision yourself in this industry. This session will also include a word from Debbie Dibble, RDR, CRR, CRC, about NCRF’s Career Launcher, which serves as a bridge between graduation and your first job.
There’s more to Conference than just CEUs
Of course, there’s a lot more to the NCRA Conference & Expo than CEUs and learning. “I look forward to being a [Conference] attendee at this 125th milestone to celebrate the work NCRA has done for our profession all these years. The sessions are sure to be sensational. But it is the networking, greeting old friends and making new ones, and overall being among likeminded thinkers that is always invigorating and uplifting. I already know that I will walk out even prouder than when I walked in about the important role I play in the justice system,” says Sonia Trevino, an official and freelance court reporter of 40 years from Corpus Christi, Texas.
Come explore the profession and network with friends and colleagues as we celebrate this 125th year of NCRA together! Register now!
