Our New President`s Message • Strength In Membership

silver
statements
A Q UA RTERLY PUBLIC ATION OF THE NE VADA COURT R E P O RT E R S A S S O C I AT I O N
SPRING 2009
Our New President’s Message • Strength In Membership
NCRA Boot Camp 2009 • How Verbatim Are We?
2
B OARD O F D IR E C TO R S
President
Lori Urmston
(775) 826-2744/fax (775) 825-5335
lurmston@nvbell.net
President-Elect
Peggy Isom
(702) 396-6970/fax (702) 396-0465
tismepc1@cox.net
VP-North
Lisa Young
(775) 287-2811
Lyoung501@charter.net
VP-South
Mary Cox Daniel
(702) 263-6487/fax (702) 263-7921
mcoxdaniel@cox.net
Treasurer
Susan Culp
(775) 787-6154
suzntodd@sbcglobal.net
Secretary
Marcia Ferrell
(775) 835-8945
marciaferrell@hotmail.com
Director - North
Cecilia Vohl
(775) 827-0672/fax (702) 827-5850
cvohl@source.net
Director - South
Kristy Clark
(702) 306-3278
Krorper74@cs.com
Director At Large
Barbara Johnson
beejaynevada@sbcglobal.net
Past President
Gayle Pichierri
(702) 260-9992/fax (702) 260-9973
ggp22@aol.com
w w w. nvcra. org
SILVER STATEMENTS
Silver Statements is a quarterly publication of the Nevada Court
Reporters Association, issued spring, summer, fall and winter.
Statements of fact or opinion are made on the responsibility of the
author or advertiser alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of
NVCRA. Silver Statements reserves the right to edit or reset materials
submitted for space or aesthetic considerations. Silver Statements
does not verify the content of any ad and is not responsible for the
representations made therein.
Please send articles, comments, letters or personal anecdotes to:
Kevin Daniel
Email: kwdaniel@cox.net
MISSION STATEMENT
Dedicated to advancing professionalism among Court Reporters by
promoting high ethical standards, providing continuing educational
opportunities and advocating technological advancements while
nurturing goodwill and unity among its members.
ADVERTISING RATES
Business Card
Quarter Page
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$20 per issue/$60 Annual
$40 per issue/$120 Annual
$60 per issue/$180 Annual
$80 per issue/$240 Annual
Please submit all advertisement material as digital files to the Editor
via e-mail; kwdaniel@cox.net. All advertisement material must be
confirmed as received prior to submission deadline. No late submissions
will be accepted. Digital files are to be in *.tiff, *.jpg, or *.pdf formats.
For questions or for a copy of NVCRA’s Advertising Policy, contact the
Editor via e-mail. Design and/or layout consultation is available at an
additional charge - Please contact the Editor for further details.
Deadline for submitting articles, advertisements, et cetera,
for the Spring Issue of Silver Statements will be
Friday, June 19, 2009.
on the cover
New NVCRA President Lori Urmston delivers
her acceptance speech
Photo by Kevin Daniel
3
president’s
message
Everything changes; nothing
changes. As I look forward to the next
two years as the Association President, I can’t help but look to the past.
Like many of you, the past has
been filled with great joys: Marriages,
children, grandchildren, vacations, a
secure profession, and great sorrows,
the death or illness of a loved one, perhaps a divorce, concerns for not only
our profession, but also our country.
I recently had the opportunity to
re-read Silver Statements from 1984
to 1989 and I was struck by the fact
that many of the articles could have
been written today.
October 1984 – Stella Butterfield
– “The live reporter is a vital, intriguing and fascinating creature in the
technological world of the future. It’s
time to instill this same feeling in the
people around you.”
September 1984 – Ray DeSimone
– “We are convinced that we have the
superior skills and technology that
will best serve the judicial system now
and in the future, and all our energy is
being dedicated to educate those who
S P R I N G
2 0 0 9
several of the Eighth Judicial District
judges following an order signed by
the Supreme Court justices in January 1989, authorizing the submission
of the videotape on appeal, as an exuse our services. The very heart of our
perimental or pilot project. No written
strategy to combat tape recording is to
transcript would be prepared.”
At least 20 years later, I have to
position that 25-year-old technology
ask: Have we done a good job holding
against the best weapon we have in our
ER (sound recording/Digital Audio
arsenal, the live reporter and CAT.”
August 1987 – Harold KrabbenRecording) at bay, or have we done a
hoft – “It was with a great sigh of repoor job in that we all know that this
lief that we observed the adjournment
form of making the record is alive and
of this year’s legislative session.
well and much improved from
We had positive results ……
20 years ago? Have we per“20 years
Even more positive was
sonally done all we can to
later,
I
have
the fact that not one bill
promote our profession,
surfaced attempting to to ask: Have we talked to our judges, cliinstitute or legalize tape done a good job ents, county commissionrecording in the courts.
holding ER at ers, legislators? Have we
We were prepared to battle
marketed our skills and
bay?”
any such attempt but we are
services to our client base?
not at all disappointed our amHave we done everything we can
munition was not necessary.”
to produce a quality record and kept
June 1988 – Mary E. Bell – “Our
up with technology in the field?
legislative committee meets frequently
And as we look toward the future,
do we just say: “I’ve only got 5 (10 or
to trouble shoot what we’re up against
15) years left in my career, I’ll just ride
statewide from those who want to reit out,” or, do we band together as we
place us with electronic recording, ER.”
September 1989 – Paula Voyles
have in the past, working as a team, to
– “As many of you know, installation
market and promote our profession for
of videotape in the courtroom in lieu
the next 20 years? I vote for the latter.
of the live reporter was proposed by
—Lori Urmston
Congratulations
to Zoie Williams, Winnemucca, NV for passing
the RMR, and to Kimberly Farkas of Henderson,
NV for passing the CRR!
4
w w w. nvcra. org
Reporter Profile
How did you get into reporting?
Commercial on television
Celebrities/Famous people you’ve met on the job:
Joe Francis of Girls Gone Wild :)
Anything memorable about your first job?
I had been the receptionist at the court reporting firm I now
report for, so many of the attorneys knew me. On my first depo,
they kept stopping and asking me if I was doing all right and if
they were talking slow enough for me.
One funny moment from reporting:
Had to take a deposition in the outskirts of Pahrump in a
mobile home that had been converted to a silk screening T-shirt
shop. The deponent let his dog walk around the depo. While I
was typing, the dog came up and started licking my hands. Is
there a parenthetical for that? (Whereupon, dog licks the court
reporter's hands.)
Hobbies:
What are hobbies? And who has time for those?
A book you recommend:
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice.
Three famous people you’d like to share dinner and
conversation, and which restaurant:
Barack Obama, Matthew McConaughey, and Sarah Jessica
Parker at any restaurant in New York City.
Name:
Kristly Lynn Clark
City: Las Vegas, Nevada
Type of reporter: Freelance
Certificates/Licenses: Nevada CCR #708
Years reporting: 7 1/2
5
S P R I N G
NCRA Boot Camp 2009
by Mary Cox Daniel, CCR 710
Every year NCRA conducts their Legislative “Boot
Camp” Training seminar. This year Peggy Isom and I
were lucky to be asked by NVCRA to represent Nevada.
In the material sent to us beforehand, we were advised,
“Come prepared to actively participate and sometimes
step outside of your comfort zones.” Well, that’s an understatement!
Approximately 35 reporters attended representing
their state associations and various organizations.
The first day of training was spent on Marketing
Court Reporter Value. This seminar has been given in
various states for a couple of years now, but it never
loses its importance and value, especially in this era of
cost cutting and reporter layoffs. The second day was
filled with seminars covering the nuts and bolts of how
legislation is made, how bills become laws, how to effectively interact with staff and advocate our ideas and
issues. The third day was the most fun! That’s when we
all were set loose on Capitol Hill to meet with our respective representatives or their staffers. Peggy, Karen Yates,
and I visited the offices of Sen. Harry Reid, Sen. John
Ensign, Rep. Dina Titus, Rep. Dean Heller, and Rep.
Shelley Berkley. Peggy and I were Boot Camp rookies,
so we felt we very fortunate to have Karen along
to watch our backs!
Since there wasn’t
a particular bill to focus
on for this Congress, our
main task was to touch
base with our representatives, thank them for
their past support (if they did indeed support us), and
draw their attention to issues still needing support, such
as health care for small businesses, clarification of independent contractor versus employee status under the IRS
Code, self-employment tax relief, and also funding for
the Training for Realtime Writers section of the Higher
Education Opportunity Act that passed last year.
After our day on the Hill, we were all treated to a
reception at the Hunan Dynasty restaurant where we
shared our experiences of the day and started making
plans to get together again at the next Boot Camp.
I want to strongly encourage you to attend Boot
Camp if you ever have the opportunity. Don’t be afraid
to step outside your comfort zone. You’ll come away
with a feeling of empowerment, motivation, and enthusiasm for our profession that will last a long time.
“We were advised,
‘Come prepared
to… step outside
of your comfort
zones.’”
Mary Cox Daniel and Peggy Isom take Capitol Hill by storm
Mary Cox Daniel, Rep. Dina Titus, Karen Yates, Peggy Isom
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w w w. nvcra. org
How Verbatim Are We?
by Kristy Clark, CCR #708
A great debate rages among court reporters: How verbatim are we? It was instilled in
my brain in school that I was to take every word a speaker uttered in exactly the way he
said it in order to pass a test and in essence pass along to the next speed. But as I began my
court reporting career, I quickly found that this proved to be a greater challenge in the real
world than it was in the classroom setting. Court reporters nationwide are faced almost
daily with different dialects, accents, and colloquialisms. One simple word gave me pause
as to how I should reflect it in the transcript. Of all the words in our wonderful English
language that could have given me pause, it was “’cause.”
Most likely you’ve heard it said in nearly every deposition, trial, arbitration, or mediation you’ve reported. And, of course, we all know the speaker intends to use the word
“because.” I, unfortunately, never had a steno
stroke for “’cause.” For the first few years, I
trudged along using my steno stroke for because and went along my merry way. Until
one day, my scopist sent my videotaped transcript back to me with the change to ‘cause.
Naturally, I didn’t question this since when
it’s a video, we are obligated to put in all the
nonsensical and useless words of the speakers. But my brain pressed further. Was I
going to change “because” to “’cause” in a
regular transcript? Would I change “going to” to “gonna”? Would I change “ask” to “aks”?
The list went on and on. And so I ask again: How verbatim are we?
We all know that it is important to reflect as best we can what actually occurred in the
proceedings for those who may come after and only have the benefit of our written words.
We try as best we can to be impartial yet reflect the “speaker’s speech pattern.” At times
this task is an easy one where you can deal with a clear misuse of the language by placing
a simple [sic] at the end of the word. Yet there are other times which leave us pondering
how far we go to reflect the speaker’s true speech pattern.
“There are times which
leave us pondering how
far we go to reflect the
speaker’s true speech
pattern.”
Case Cites
Courtesy of Andrea Angwin
People v. Foranyic (Cal. Ct. App.
1998) (ruled that "there was
probable cause for police to
detain someone they see riding
a bike at 3 a.m., carrying an
axe").
Washington v. Alaimo (S.D.
Ga. 1996) (ordering plaintiff
to show cause why he should
not be sanctioned for "filing a
motion for improper purposes,"
such as those hinted at in the
title of the pleading, "Motion to
Kiss My Ass.")
Moore v. Moore (Mo. Ct. App.
1960) (recognizing husband's
right to fish without female
interference, but ruling that
minor infringements on it are
not grounds for divorce; also
finding that the term "hillbilly"
is not an insult, at least when
used in Southern Missouri).
calendar
of upcoming events
Nevada CCR Exam
Saturday, May 9, 2009
UNLV Moyer Student Union Bldg., Room 208
4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV
http://crptr.state.nv.us/testing.htm
NCRA Annual Convention & Exposition
August 6-9, 2009
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center
National Harbor, MD
For more information:
http://ncraonline.org/Events/Annual/?referrer=%2fdefault.htm
Nevada CCR Exam
Saturday, September 19, 2009
University of Reno
Joe Crowley Student Union Bldg.
1665 N. Virginia Street
Reno, NV
NVCRA Annual Convention
March 2010, featuring Mark Kislingbury’s
Realtime Workshop.
NCRA 2011 Annual Convention
Bally’s Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV
7
Strength in Membership
by Susan Culp
What is Membership? According to MSN Encarta and Dictionary.Com, Membership is
the state or condition of belonging to a group such as a species, social class, team, club, or
political party.
As I continued on my word search, I came across the definition given by Wictionary.com
for “Membership Function.” According to them, membership function is a mathematical term
that is a generalization of the indicator function for a fuzzy set which assigns a truth value (0 or
1) to each element. Yep! I was swiftly reminded why I chose the profession of court reporting
over, say, a chemical engineer! I’ll stick to English, thank you!
Membership in the Nevada Court Reporters Association is an awesome experience. Unfortunately, our membership numbers are down by 50%. This association is only as good as
its members allow it to be. So, please, if you’re not a current member, become one. If you
have colleagues who are not members, motivate them to
become members. There is strength in numbers, and if
court reporters come together as a group, we can accomplish extraordinary things.
I am of the opinion that it is a good thing to belong to a
group. I am also of the opinion that it is a great thing to
be active in that group. The Nevada Court Reporters Association needs to get stronger and more active. In order
to accomplish that, we need the members to volunteer
their time and participate in the various committees. If
you’re interested in being active in this association, visit
the website at www.nvcra.org and contact any of the association board members. A sampling
of the committees are the legislative committee, convention committee, special interests committee, to name just a few.
So, please, let’s join together and form a strong, active and efficient membership of the
Nevada Court Reporters Association! You can register online or print a membership form and
send it in by snail mail. Visit the website, www.nvcra.org.
As I become more active in this association, I have been invited to be involved as a board
member sitting in the position of treasurer. I accepted this wonderful offer to become a board
member. In order to do the best job possible, I will be handing over my duties as Membership
Director to Erin Ferretto. I know Erin will do a great job in this position and I’m looking forward to working with her.
“If court reporters
come together
as a group, we
can accomplish
extraordinary
things.”
aniko
doman
Commercial Artist • Graphic Designer
Professional, elegant... hard-working art
aniko@anikodoman.com
www.anikodoman.com
S P R I N G
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Dig Sig
Update
by Candis Bradshaw
Editor’s note: Candis Bradshaw presented a seminar at our convention in Reno
on the subject of digital signatures. She
has asked to publish this update to her
presentation.
Recently, I had the opportunity to
speak at your annual convention in Reno,
Nevada. I enjoyed my trip immensely, and
I was honored to present my digital signature seminar to you. However, after the
seminar, it came to my attention that there
have been some recent changes in vendor-supported digital signature features. I
would like to take the opportunity to share
this information with you.
Two CAT vendors have digital signature capability built into their programs,
and a third vendor has detailed instructions
on how to use a third-party product to digitally sign files. A digital certificate must be
purchased before using any of the options
listed below. (Please go to this website
for information on purchasing and installing a digital certificate: http://tinyurl.com/
d8xz7b)
After installing the digital certificate,
go to the following websites for instructions on how to digitally sign files in ProCAT’s Winner and Stenograph’s Case Catalyst:
• ProCAT Winner: http://www.procat.com/
Winner/esign
• Stenograph Case Catalyst: http://www.
stenograph.com/marcom/pdfs/cc_dig_sig.
pdf
Eclipse now ships with CutePDF for
PDF file creation; however, Eclipse users
who want to digitally sign files need to upgrade to CutePDF Pro. Call Eclipse technical support for further information on how
to upgrade and use CutePDF Pro.
It was never my intent to mislead anyone or portray any vendor in a more favorable light than the others. The simple fact
is that I was unaware of the recent changes
regarding ProCAT and Eclipse. Please accept my apologies for this oversight.
2009 Annual Convention in Reno, M
Cecilia Vohl thanks out-going President Gayle Pichierri
Diane Lusich and Pamela McAnally
Incoming officers BJ Johnson, Mary Cox Daniel and Peggy Isom
Bev Herring and Stephanie Koetting
President Lori Urmston thanks Past-President Gayle Pichierri for h
Brian Clark, IT Wizard, and Kristy Clark
March 27-29
Carol Hummel and Marcia Ferrell
Candis Bradshaw explaining digital signatures
her service
Joan Dotson and Dick Williams
Julie Forbes
John Molezzo and Romona Malnerich
Peggy and Rob Isom
Convention ‘09
SueLynn Morgan and Mary Cox Daniel
Spelling Bee finalists compete
Peggy Isom, Karen Yates and Mary Cox Daniel
Spelling Bee also-rans
Stephanie Zolkowski and Lesley Clarkson
Vendor Janet Storie learns she won the $500 grand prize
11
S P R I N G
2 0 0 9
NEVADA CER TIFIED CO UR T R EPO R TER S BO AR D
500 N ort h R ain bo w Bo u le var d, S uite 3 00 L as Ve ga s, Ne va da 89 10 7
Tel: 70 2-44 8-8 14 0 Em ail: NV C CR @a o l. c om W eb site: ww w. crp tr.s ta te. nv. u s
SPRING 2009
IMPORTANT TO KNOW YOUR LAWS!
Before you accept work or assignments from a court reporting firm,
be sure the firm is registered with the Nevada Certified Court Reporters Board!
Pursuant to NAC 656.320, a court reporter shall not accept work or assignments from a firm that is not
registered with the Board. A court reporter may make inquiries to the Board to determine whether a firm is
registered with the Board. The authority of this regulation is NRS 656.250 that allows the Board to refuse to
renew or may suspend or revoke any certificate holder found in violation of this statute.
The court reporting firms listed below are registered with the Nevada Certified Court Reporters Board:
Accuscripts
All American Court Reporters
Area 51 Reporting
Associated Reporters a Paulson Reporting Company
Atkinson-Baker Court Reporters
Barkley Court Reporters, Inc.
Bonanza Reporting – Reno LLC
Cameo Kayser & Associates
Canyon Court Reporting, Inc.
Capitol Reporters
Captions Unlimited of Nevada
CSR Associates of Nevada, LLC
Davis Reporting Services
Depo International, LLC
Diane K. Lusich Court Reporters
Discovery Reporting, LLC
Executive Reporting Services, Inc.
Heishman Shrader Certified Court Reporters
Judd & Pichierri Court Reporters, LLC
dba Prestige Court Reporting
Lauren Bienenstock & Associates, Inc.
Litigation Services & Technologies
Liza Chapen, CCR
Manning, Hall & Salisbury, LLC
Margie L. Carlson
Minjares Reporting
Molezzo Reporters
Northern Nevada Reporters, Ltd.
Oasis Reporting Services, LLC
Peggy Hoogs & Associates
Red Rock Reporters
Rocket Reporting (effective 7/1/09)
Sarnoff Court Reporters & Legal Technologies
Set Depo
Shelburne Sherr Court Reporters, Inc.
Silver State Court Reporters, LLC
S.O.S. Litigation Services, LLC
Sousa Enterprises
Sunshine Reporting Services
The Reporter Group (effective 7/1/09)
Todd Olivas & Associates, Inc.
Turner Reporting & Captioning Services, Inc.
Valerie Rasmussen Court Reporting
Valley Reporters
Western Reporting Services, Inc.
Worken & Associates
Esquire Deposition Services, LLC
Free Lance Court Reporters
Laurie Webb & Associates
Paulson Reporting & Litigation Services
NEVADA CERTIFIED COURT REPORTERS BOARD MEMBERS
~~~
Mary Cameron – Chairperson (Carson City)
Severin Carlson, Esq. – Vice Chairman (Reno)
Lori Judd – Board Member (Las Vegas)
Diane Kumar – Board Member (Las Vegas)
Denise Phipps – Board Member (Reno)
12
Briefs
by Denise Phipps
commas Case CATalyst Text Steno
{Suffix}ly,| /HR*EU
, also,| /*LS
, basically,| /PWA*EUFL
, because| /PWA*US
, Bill,| /PW*EULD
, boy,| /PWO*EU
, Brian,| /PWRAO*EUPBD
, but| /PW*U
, by the way,| /PWA*U
, correct,| /KR*EBGT
, et cetera,| /*ETS
, everyone,| /*FRPB
, however,| /HO*UFR
, I believe,| /KWR*BL
, I guess,| /KWR*GS
, I mean,| /KWR*PL
, I think,| /KWR*PBG
, Kevin,| /K*EFPB
Editor’s note: Denise Phipps created this list of comma-intensive briefs for the 2009
convention in Reno and she has given Silver Statements permission to reprint it.
, let's say,| /HR*ETS
, like I said,| /HRAO*EUPD
, like,| /HRAOEUBGZ
, like,| /HRAO*EUBG
, look,| /HRAO*BG
, no,| /TPHO*E
, okay,| /O*BG
, on the other hand,| /O*ERPBD
, perhaps,| /PRA*PS
, please,| /PHRAO*ES
, rather,| /RA*R
, really,| /RA*EL
, remember,| /R*EB
, right,| /RAO*EUTD
, well,| /WH*EL
, which| /KH*
, which is| /KH*S
, yes,| /KWR*E
, you know,| /*UPB
, Your Honor,| /*URPBS
Spell check didn’t catch this:
Q.
A.
Q.
A.
w w w. nvcra. org
Did the doctor prescribe you anything for
the scabies?
Yes.
What did he give you?
Some itching scream.
Submitted by Kevin Daniel
really, really| /RA*ELZ
, actually,| /TWA*EL
, for example,| /TP*EG
, I take it,| /KWRA*EUBGT
, no, sir,| /TPHO*ER
very, very| /SR*ERZ
, yes, ma'am,| /KWR*EPL
, yes, sir,| /KWR*ER
, after all,| /TPRA*UL
, again,| /STKPW*EPBZ
, and| /SKP*
, anyway,| /TPHA*U
, as a matter of fact,| /SPHA*FT
, David,| /TKA*EUFD
, essentially,| /SA*EPBL
, finally,| /TPAO*EUPBL
, first of all,| /TP*EURL
, first of all,| /TPR*EUL
, first of all,| /TPR*EURL
, first of all,| /STPREURLZ
, folks,| /TPO*EBGS
, for instance,| /TPR*EUPBS
, gee,| /SKWRAO*E
, i.e.,| /KWRAO*E
, if| /TP*
, if you will,| /TP*L
, in addition,| /TPHA*D
, in essence,| /TPHA*EPBS
, in fact,| /TPH*FBGT
, in other words,| /TPH*ERDZ
, in that case,| /TPHA*BGT
, in this case,| /TPH*EUBGT
, initially,| /TPH*EURBL
, Jeff,| /SKWR*EF
, Jill,| /SKWR*EUL
, nevertheless,| /TPH*EFRLS
, no,| /TPHO*
, obviously,| /SRO*EBS
, obviously,| /SRO*EBLS
, of course| /STP*BG
, of course,| /TP*BG
, oh,| /HO*
, overall,| /KWRO*EFRL
, say,| /SA*EU
, sir,| /S*EUR
, so to speak,| /SPAO*E
, Steve,| /STAO*EF
, team,| /TAO*EPL
, then,| /TH*EPB
, therefore,| /THR*FR
, though,| /THO*E
, thus,| /TH*US
, too,| /TAO*
, Troy,| /TRO*EU
, unfortunately,| /TPH*UFRL
, we believe,| /W*EBL
, yes, ma'am,| /KWREPL
, yes, sir,| /KWRER
, yet,| /KWR*ET
13
S P R I N G
2 0 0 9
Las Vegas College Student
Nominated for Award
by Carla Hanson
Student Kellie Sutton has been nominated by Las Vegas College for consideration for the 2009 CASE Scholarships Award. As
mandated by the National Court Reporters Association, Kellie has
met the following criteria:
•
•
•
•
writing between 140 and 180 wpm
has attained an exemplary academic record
holds student membership in NCRA
has a proven interest and inclination in the field of
verbatim reporting of proceedings
Scholarships are awarded by NCRA based on a review of an
essay submitted by the student. This year’s topic, “In What Ways
Have the Lessons You Have Learned in Court Reporting School
Affected your Life?” The first place winner will receive $1,500;
second place, $1,000; and third place, $500. Recipients will be notified in June and formally announced at the NCRA Convention in
Dallas, Texas. The winning essays will be printed in the Journal of
Court Reporting magazine.
Editor’s note: The text of Kellie’s essay follows.
In What Ways Have the Lessons You
Have Learned in Court Reporting
School Affected Your Life?
All the lessons I have learned in court reporting school have
affected me tremendously. I have learned that anything is possible through hard work, determination, and believing in yourself.
I have gained knowledge that can be used in my everyday life, I
have a renewed sense of confidence in myself, and I feel I have
found something that was missing from my life. So to answer the
question: What ways have the lessons I learned in court reporting
school affected my life? That answer can be summed up in three
little words -- every way imaginable.
When I started my first day of Theory class in January 2007,
I was nervous and scared, not knowing what to expect. By the end
of the day, I was excited and motivated thanks to one of the greatest court reporting teachers I know, Alice Skoro. Everything she
has ever taught me has been filed away in my memory bank, and it
comes out when I need it the most.
If you want things in life, you need to work for it. To become
a court reporter, it is all about quality practice. You need to practice
with a clear purpose, which is the foundation on which you base
your decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources (Warren, 2002). Your practice should be specifically designed to target
your weak areas. Fortunately, I am now able to fully understand
this concept.
My older son is learning a musical instrument, and I tell him
the exact same things that we learned in Theory. If you do quality
practice, above and beyond what is required, you will excel in the
minimum amount of time. If you practice hard and with a purpose,
everything will fall into place.
When life has got you down, you need to have the determination and motivation to work through your problems and come up
with solutions. One of the most important lessons I have learned
is that we will never succeed without failing first. In school, we
are taught to do a lot of readback and analyze our steno notes to
see what our errors are. If we do not do this, we will just keep on
repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Again, this is
another concept that I have recently incorporated into my routine.
This has taught me that I must analyze all of my errors in school
and also in my personal life. You need to look at your mistakes and
face them head on. You need to be determined and motivated to
conquer any obstacle in your path.
I know that having faith and believing in myself will get me to
the end of this journey. I can definitely say I am not the smartest,
prettiest, or the most athletic person; however, from the moment
that I touched my machine in Theory, I knew that I had finally
found something that I was good at. This has given me a renewed
sense of confidence that I never had before.
With my renewed faith and belief, I will be able to help others see how important the court reporting profession is in today’s
society. As future court reporters, we will be held to a code of
professional ethics as set forth by NCRA guidelines. With the right
work ethic and continually striving to better myself, I will avoid
the negativity and improve myself and be an asset to the court reporting profession as a whole. As long as I just keep on believing
in myself and my abilities, I know that I will be a court reporter
very soon. All things are possible when you believe it.
As you can see, the lessons I have learned in court reporting
school have affected my life tremendously. I have learned that anything is possible through hard work, determination, and believing
in yourself. It has defined the type of person that I need to be in order to succeed in life. I feel I have finally found the missing puzzle
piece to my almost perfect picture. I have found my purpose.
14
The future of your profession is calling on you.
Part-time instructors needed day and/or night.
Have you ever thought about sharing your knowledge and experience
with an upcoming reporter?
Las Vegas College
is currently seeking part-time instructors.
Day and/or evening shifts available.
Don’t think you’re qualified? Think again.
There is no better court reporting teacher than the one with actual
reporting experience. Instructor training provided.
If you’d like more information, please contact Clara Hanson
at (702) 567-1920, ext. 127,
or chanson@cci.edu.
w w w. nvcra. org
On the
record
Q. Let me get it out. I
know you want to race
through this. I know you
know —
­
A. Uh-huh.
Q. — what I'm asking,
but I need you to wait —
A. Okay.
Q. — for me to ask the
question —
A. Okay.
Submitted by
Kevin Daniel
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