Nominations are now being accepted for several NCRA awards that bring attention to those who are contributing to the profession in important ways. The NCRA Distinguished Service Award, the CASE Award of Excellence, and the Fellows of the Academy of Professional Reporters are all ways to recognize NCRA members who are giving back to the profession.
NCRA Distinguished Service Award. The Distinguished Service Award (DSA) is the highest honor NCRA can bestow on a member. It recognizes the distinguished work and service by an individual member for the benefit of the court reporting and captioning professions, including service to NCRA as a member, a committee member, a director, or an officer of the Association. Other displays of distinguished work include contributing to the JCR, service at a state court reporters association, or work in the field of public relations or public affairs. Award winners are recognized at the NCRA Conference & Expo. Nominations close March 1.
The 2023 DSA was awarded to Heidi C. Thomas, FAPR, RDR, CRR, CRC, a broadcast and CART captioner from Kennesaw, Ga. Thomas was honored at a special awards ceremony held at the 2023 NCRA Conference & Expo. Thomas has been a court reporter since 1978 and a broadcast and CART captioner since 1989. Among her career highlights have been captioning the 2013 visit of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama in Lithuania, the 1996 Paralympics, the 2000 Summer Olympics, and conferences in nearly a dozen countries.
CASE Award of Excellence. The CASE Award of Excellence recognizes an outstanding educator who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of court reporter education through teaching, research, involvement with students, and the profession. Was there someone special who inspired you; who got you through the ups, downs, and plateaus of your court reporting classes? If your teacher was an incredible influence in your getting started, now is the time to say thank you by nominating them for the CASE Award of Excellence. Nominations close March 1.
The 2023 CASE Award of Excellence was awarded to Jennifer Sati, RMR, CRR, CRC, CRI, from Dayton, Minn., a broadcast captioner and program director of the Judicial Reporting/Broadcast Captioning Program at Anoka Technical College in Anoka, Minn. “Jennifer is always thinking forward about how to engage our students in our state association and our national association,” said Deborah Longley, CRI, from Anoka, Minn., who nominated Sati for the award. “She ensures that students have every opportunity to attend conventions by searching for scholarships and/or financial help.”
Fellows of the Academy of Professional Reporters (FAPR). Fellow of the Academy of Professional Reporters is a professional distinction conferred upon a person of outstanding and extraordinary qualifications and experience in the field of verbatim stenographic reporting and/or stenographic captioning. Candidates for Fellowship are required to have been in the active practice of reporting/captioning for at least 15 years. Criteria for nomination include the publication of important papers, legislative or creative contributions to the field, and service on committees or boards. A list of past Fellows is available here. Nominations for the 2024 class close March 1.
