More information about how folks are celebrating 2025 Court Reporting & Captioning Week is making its way into NCRA’s Communications Department. This year we celebrate the 13th anniversary of this weeklong event Feb. 1-8 with the theme The Real AI: Accuracy & Integrity.
Marking its fifth year, Strides for Steno is holding its annual Virtual 5k Walk/Run between Feb. 1 and 8. Everyone is encouraged to lace up their shoes and join in the virtual 5K event to celebrate the week and to support the stenographic court reporting and captioning professions. The virtual 5K can be done anywhere, with anyone. Participants just need to snap a picture and share it on StenoStrides’ Facebook page. Proceeds from this event will benefit StenoStrides and its initiative of promoting verbatim reporting one stride at a time.
Registration is open until the event ends on Feb. 8. More information about the virtual 5K event can be found at Strides for Steno – StenoStrides. To register visit Strides For Steno – StenoStrides’ 5th Annual Virtual 5k Walk/Run. The cost to register is $35 plus a $3.10 sign-up fee.
StenoStrides is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting verbatim reporting and supporting students on their journey to 225 and beyond. The Strides for Steno event is the organization’s main source of fundraising that is used to impact the reporting community and spread awareness about the profession.
Looking for a little motivation?
The NCRA Membership, Marketing, and Outreach (MMO) Committee is hosting a Motivation Monday Zoom event on Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. Eastern. The event meets the Committee’s charge to develop initiatives focused on students and new professionals and to help recruit new members.
A panel of professionals will address the issues of practice, mindset, and balance.
Panelists include:
- Liane Hatch from Whispering Pines, N.C., a 225 wpm student at the College of Court Reporting and recent recipient of a $1,000 NCRA CASE scholarship
- Patrick Heard, RPR, a freelance court reporter and CART captioner from Seattle, Wash., working in Guadalajara, Mexico
- Taylor Hertz from Northridge, Calif., a 170 wpm online student at SimplySteno who was profiled in an issue of NCRA’s student newsletter Up-to-Speed
- Jenna Hinkle, a court reporter for the Fourth Judicial District in Colorado Springs, Colo., who was recently spotlighted as a new professional in the JCR Weekly
- Vanessa Johns, a 180 wpm student from Louisville, Ky., who attends Simply Steno
- Joy Perez, a seasoned court reporter working as an official for the Nassau District Court in New York
NCRA member Chris DeGrazio, a freelance reporter from Fort Pierce, Fla., who chairs the MMO Committee, said that the idea for the Motivational Monday event was born from his experience attending similar events held by other court reporting groups and discussions with others in the profession about the importance of mentoring students. “This is the MMO’s second year hosting this Motivation Monday Zoom webinar, and we hope that students will gain insights, encouragement, and motivation to get them through another year of steno wherever they are in their journey,” DeGrazio said.
For more information about the Motivation Monday, contact Chris DeGrazio at sokhacambodian@yahoo.com. Those interested in attending can join the Zoom meeting here.
The meeting ID is 633 066 9418, and the passcode is 33Z5iZ.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
We’re also excited to announce our next live webinar from the NCRA Learning Center, Master Your Practice Plan. The event, sponsored by NCRA’s Student/Teacher Committee, will help you navigate your speedbuilding journey. Join us February 5 at 7 p.m. Eastern. The webinar is for students and new professionals eager to optimize their practice strategies. Free for NCRA members. $10 for nonmembers.
Presenters of the webinar include: Katie DeLong, a new official reporter working in Wisconsin’s largest judicial district, Milwaukee County. She graduated with a degree in court reporting in December 2023; Amy Galkin, a 180 wpm student attending Allison Hall Reporting Education; and Alex M. Lederer, RPR, a certified freelance reporter who has worked in both New York and Florida.
“What to practice? When to practice? How much to practice? HOW to practice? Mastering your practice plan can be overwhelming! Our goal for this webinar is to allow students and reporters to collaborate and exchange ideas that will help answer those questions and lead to speedbuilding success,” said DeLong.
Still looking for ways to celebrate?
Consider the following activities to help mark NCRA’s 13th Court Reporting & Captioning Week:
- Host a Veterans History Project event. NCRA and NCRF recently launched a VHP Tool Kit designed to assist members with hosting their own events. The kit is filled with downloadable tips, the necessary forms needed, and valuable links to the Library of Congress VHP website, and more. Access the VHP Tool Kit. By the way, NCRA has a list of veterans from around the country interested in sharing their stories. To see if there are any veterans in your area, please reach out to pr@ncra.org.
- Consider participating in a career fair at your local middle or high school. Access NCRA’s Career Day Tool Kit and find the resources you need to successfully participate in one of the best ways to introduce the exciting the stenographic court reporting and captioning professions to young minds.
- Ask your judge or the attorneys you work with if they would be willing to author an article for the JCR Weekly about the value of live stenographic court reporters in the courtroom when it comes to capturing the most accurate record. Send stories to pr@ncra.org.
- Reach out to your state or local officials and request an official proclamation recognizing 2025 Court Reporting & Captioning Week. Send a copy of your proclamation to pr@ncra.org and your state will be entered into a drawing to win a free registration to the 2025 NCRA Conference & Expo being held July 24-26 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Find the best in ideas and inspiration for celebrating 2025 Court Reporting & Captioning Week on the NCRA resources page. There you’ll have access to a wide catalog of downloadable images, tool kits, and other materials branded with this year’s theme. The page also provides various other materials available to promote the profession at career fairs and other appropriate venues all year long.
We encourage you to share your stories about how you plan to participate in 2025 Court Reporting & Captioning Week. Send info and photos to NCRA’s Communications Team at pr@ncra.org, or post on social media with #CRCW2025.
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