VP and Board Chat Event Scheduled (Submit your questions now)

Okay, Breck.  Who knows.  Maybe you'll be in the history books as firing the first shot. 

 

 

Lillian, I do not think the Code of Ethics is covering the problem we are having.  I believe this was probably originally written to make sure that we weren't giving big vacations, beach houses, golf memberships, etc.   It, of course, might have been written even before that when these type of things looked like they would never occur and they were just giving it as a guideline.  Perhaps someone who was there or has seen the revisions could enlighten us because I am just guessing.

Our big problem is that some of the big firms are using this $100 to say they  only giving a $25 gift and they are entitled to $100.  We certainly need this rewritten to say if you are giving this gift with certainty that you will get something in return then that would be an incentive.  In fact, that is practically a kickback.  Some of these ads say that the job must go off.  So, obviously, this is not a gift but an incentive.  We need further clarification so there is no doubt exactly what is meant.

Big firms can run small firms out of business with gift giving.  They have the money to show losses in their firms if they think a few years down the line they will gain even biggrer profits.  So the problem is serious.  (I am only mentioning big firms because when they are doing this it is more noticeable.  I know some individuals are doing this type of thing as well.)

This was the No, 1 problem that I heard at the firmowners' seminar so obviously it is a big problem nationwide. 

The one where they are giving gasoline gift card took the cake.  What a wild idea.  Almost as tasteless as the firm that had a tree with their pretty reporters on it and encouraged you to pick a plum.  Have these people ever heard of professionalism?  It sounds like they may not even know how to spell the word.

Also, while they are writing they need to make the amount more than $100 because prices have gone up since these amounts were written.  Having the amount too low could cause firms to feel like they have to break the rules.   

 

Okay. Please withdraw the question from the list of questions. Sorry for asking it. I will be quiet now. Thanks. (Tipping hat)

Shirley Houston:

Breck, (who asked: Are any of you for or against other organizations joining NCRA.....especially based on some of the past attempts?)

From one Texan to another, you are about to start NCRA War III.  You weren't active in 2001 or 2004.  There were a lot of people hurt.  Let's not go to war again unless we absolutely have to.  Asking for other associations to be in this one would be like firing the first shot.

Shirley Houston 

 

 

  I've been hearing for months that the NCRA board needs to be more responsive.  THey need to answer questions.  THey need to let people know where they stand.  So they try something new, and offer to answer all those questions, with plenty of time to submit questions.    I'm sure they anticipated a question about membership, in fact, if I remember correctly, Jason has already stated his position and answered this question. 

  I'm not getting how that will start WW III.  Do you not want to know their positions?

 

Interesting. Already, I see some constrictions on the dialogue. 

1) Please keep in mind that the Vice President election is just that, for Vice President, with the presumption (but not certainty) that the successful candidate will be President in a couple more years. The President is not the king of the Association. The President may have some pet projects, ideas, philosophies, or theme to carry out. But while the President can undoubtedly be influential, there are 13 other voting members on the Board, all deserving of a voice, and the President's ability to carry out a pet project only goes so far as the Board and Bylaws allow.

2) Likewise, a creative candidate may have a solution in mind for a given issue, or hold a concept near and dear. But that's no guarantee that the solution or concept will endure, even for the conscientious Board member. In background work, a solution may be found to be impractical. Or infeasible. Or illegal. I've seen on Board where a seemingly good idea gets stopped at the gate for such reasons. Or Board members changing their mind simply because the facts brought out in the process bring out a different conclusion.

3) It'd be nice to engage in a dialogue here in this thread, but it seems more appropriate to follow the spirit of the thread and wait for the chat. How interesting that the main generator so far of questions on the issues is the suggestion, "Let's talk about the issues for an hour two Mondays from now."

- Jason
 

Shirley Houston:

Okay, Breck.  Who knows.  Maybe you'll be in the history books as firing the first shot. 

 

That's an interesting perspective.  

Shirley,

Not to hijack this thread, but I have to respond here now. 

Where do I stand?  See "What matters to my Record."  Or, "My Thoughts on the Record." 

I'm a court reporter, in an association that is the National Court Reporters Association.  Not the National Audiosync Association or Memorex Association.  While not being a member as long as many, if anyone wants to call my character into question as not doing everything I could in my own area to promote the profession, I welcome that challenge or those comments.  This is my life.  This is my profession.  This is my passion.  I've grabbed students every chance I get to try to train them, mentor them, share my experiences and the offices I've worked in.  If anyone thinks for one minute that I'm in favor or ER or Voice, they are mistaken.  I will not bury my head in the sand, though, and not understand what those groups are about, but, so far, I still feel I'm better than they are and have proven it against an ER court.  24 years of trying to better myself and spending the rest of my life fighting for the profession is what I'm about.  If other groups can do it better....I haven't seen it.   And if they think they can.....bring it. 

When it comes time to draw a line in the sand for or against.....I'm on NCRA's side, TCRA's side as far as what's best for the profession.  My last name is Record....not in regards to recording, but making THE RECORD and doing it the best way I can.....with a steno machine and realtime. 

You want to belong to this organization?  You better bring something besides ER or Voice for we ARE the National Court Reporters Association.  We are the best there is and the top of the food chain. 

Anyone else??

Respectfully and with conviction,

(tipping hat and grateful for what I have)

With all due respect, I think Breck has every right to ask these questions -- he's a current member, he is a foreseeable member and his questions are valid.

A current member's inactivity back in 2001 or 2004 should not hold much weight, but the importance is that member's participation and activity at present and into the future.

I was a member in 2001 and 2004, but was I active within NCRA?  Was I active within OCRA (or PCRA at the time when I was living there)?

No, I was not, but I was still a member of NCRA and a part of this profession, as I continue to be.

It's my belief that our goals within NCRA, within our State associations should be to get rid of the "well, you're not one of us because you've not put in the sweat and tears and been here for this long, fighting this fight and what not..." attitudes.  What we all need to recognize is that we are a profession together and the ONLY way we are going to move forward, gain membership and RETAIN membership is by providing a solid foundation of leadership from which we can grow.

From my background -- just thinking back to ten, five or even two short years ago -- I had little to do with PCRA, and then OCRA.  Why would I be?  I went to work everyday.  I got my CEUs when I needed to to keep my certifications, but what was my State association doing for me?  What was NCRA doing for me?  That was my perception, and that was my problem.  Over the course of the past 10+ years, I have realized what they've done for me and am very thankful, only wishing I would've stepped up to the plate sooner.

But only through the strong board members and leaders of OCRA was I able to recognize my worth within our association and our profession.  It's not been held against me that I was not "active" for this year, or that year.  The point is that I'm active now, I'm going to remain active (whether it be I continue on the board, or I continue as a member).  And my goal is to gain membership in our state from others who, like me, feel they have no voice in our associations.  And what about past leaders that are still reporting and have let their memberships lapse?  Where are they?  Why aren't they still active?  We need to focus on reuniting all reporters, across our states and across our country, bringing them together as much as we can.

We are all equal -- whether I'm a district director, she's the president, he's the treasurer, etc.  We are all court reporters through and through, and we should all recognize that the only way we are going to gain the respect of other reporters out there is by putting aside our pride and encouraging everyone's participation, learning more about our organizations, our profession and how to keep moving forward -- regardless of what this member's (or non-member's that we're recruiting) status was four or five years ago.

Sorry this is really not relevant to the post at hand (and who knows, it may be edited and removed from this post), but I've seen on numerous boards this superiority coming from some reporters.  We will never expand our horizons among ourselves, let alone the general public, if we don't work together and move into the future as a united front.  We all can learn from each other, despite age and experience differences.

I think Breck's questions were right on target, as well as the follow-up questions. 

One of my questions I would love to ask to each candidate (Melanie and Jason for V.P., Tami and Donna for director), if I can formulate it properly, has to deal with:

• Using 2010 as a reference point in time -- What do you see as NCRA's biggest struggle moving into the next decade?  What do you feel current members, board and leadership should do now to prepare?
• How can NCRA connect with new reporters and reunite with "seasoned" reporters who have so much to offer at the same time?

I will see you all in the chats on the 14th and 15th.  I look forward to viewing the responses and learning more about my leaders!

QUESTIONS FROM A STUDENT:

1.  I know it seems like a small, perhaps insignificant issue, but the biggest distress I have experienced as a student is the "theory wars."  I knew it would be hard.  I knew it would take a long time. I assumed circumstances had been set up to allow for success.  To then hear heated arguments and frequent assertions that one particular theory would doom the student was so distressing as to make me consider quitting.  Instead I spent dozens of hours researching the issue and various theories - hours I wished I could have spent practicing, but I also knew practicing when I wasn't feeling confident this was doable would retard my success.

  How would you address this issue? (feel free to contact me for my ideas - and I think there are alternatives to endorsing one theory over another which I presume is not feasible, nor advisable, for many reasons.)

2.  Do you think the Student Community of Interest should be run by students? or teachers?  Does it matter?   (again, feel free to contact me for more info if you wish.)

3.  What mechanism do you see presently to respond to initiatives from students?  Is it effective?  Is it necessary? Would you do it differently?

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Breck, you speak with conviction, and you say the words I would say.  I'm thrilled to hear you.  I think many of us weren't exactly sure where you stood or what you believed.  Maybe that's just been your style of writing.  It's always easygoing and fun to read, but I'm glad to hear your deeper convictions.  Yes, I've always wanted to learn everything I could about lesser methods, for we may know we are the best but we have to prove that to the judicial system continuously.  I do want NCRA to know and be aware of other methods, but I DON'T want NCRA to invite them to board meetings in Executive Session, or to have them promote their services at our booths at convention.   Why allow them to have our e-mail addresses?   Why would NCRA consider partnering with companies like JAVS.  They are not our partners.  Partners help each other.  ER companies would only take what they could take from us and pursue their own interests. 

I have also been amazed that the NCRA directors don't always know and understand the bylaws, and they have been easily swayed by the EC.  Jason speaks of differences among NCRA directors, but we never see that.  All we see are the "total agreement" votes.  Even if there are total agreement votes, the directors should speak their own minds and be able to see "I voted with the majority but have a minority opinion."   I think we all know that people don't always agree, so when we hear all these "in toto" decisions, we quite rightly wonder.

We need to hear specifically from the candidates on their plans to invite other forms of "making the record" into a stenotype association.  Our bylaws permit only stenotype, and that's it, period.  This partnering with ER does not comport with fighting ER. 

We need to hear specifically from the candidates about the vast sums of money that are spent by NCRA on conventions.  I think our members, me for one, would like to know the amounts spent on conventions and what for.

That's two for me for now, but I'll think harder...........

    Judy

Judy Hobart:

ER companies would only take what they could take from us and pursue their own interests. 

To quote Texan Dale Guedry on this subject, "Once the camel gets his toe under the tent, he's coming in."

Hi, Jason!

I'll just ME TOO the questions about gifting practices and Wal-mart Court Reporting Services?  These are huge issues in the markets in which I work.

I've recently learned that President Kathy DiLorenzo has appointed a task force for gift incentives.  

Thank you, Kathy, for appointing the task force.

Candis, one of your questions was, "What are the biggest threats to reporting today?  And what will you do to work to thwart those threats?"  My question would be, "No matter who is at the helm, in name or in fact, does NCRA have the power to affect the commoditization and corporatization of court reporting services through the business practices of its members?  Yes or no."

You also suggested a topic that's been near and dear to my efforts for many years, "What can be done to counter the effects of the 'WalMartization' of the reporting field (incentives, discounts, contracting, etc.)?"  But you followed it up with an addendum in parentheses, which was, "What do you personally do in your own practice, and what can NCRA do?"  My question would be, "Are the business practices of someone's firm an important consideration in choosing leadership?"

M.A.

My questions revolve around prior threads on the Forum:

http://ncraonline.org/forum/forums/p/2944/11412.aspx#11412

http://ncraonline.org/forum/forums/p/2944/10681.aspx#10681

http://ncraonline.org/forum/forums/p/2944/10676.aspx#10676

I would like to know what the candidates believe constitutes an open board meeting and when to go into executive session. I am still appalled that a member in the audience would be asked to give up notes, if true, as well as barring members from even observing the discussions on items that, for the life of me, don't rise to the criteria of personnel matters, pending litigation, contractual negotions, etc. Below are items taken directly from NCRA minutes that were listed as executive session items:

Transcript repository position statement and task force plan

Appeal of automatic failure of RPR test due to single spacing

ER task force cost study and recommendations for next steps

Member value proposition

FY 2008 Budget

Business plan for increased involvement in National Judical College

Citizens for Impartial Justice (CIJ)

Judicial advocacy/freelance focus report

NCRA grant to NCRF

Not in my wildest dreams do I think any NCRA board member has nefarious designs. I'm just looking for someone who will challenge the status quo and advice of whomever that it is more convenient to, say, discuss and adopt a budget in private, or a "cost study," or a "plan" or a "report."

My other great intrest is gift-giving and incentives. Lynda Goddard