NCRA Information, Issues, and Member Services

Eclipse edit station

StephanieClark53736 — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:09:20 GMT

I am looking for the 'for sale' items. Anyone know where that would be located?

Is there anyone wanting to sell their Eclipse edit station?

Thanks.

Stephanie Clark

ClarkRS@satx.rr.com

New NCRA Forum Opens

Karen Yates — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:10:10 GMT

As many of you are aware, there have been many issues with the software here at the NCRA Online Forum. Although we have diligently attempted to address these issues, we are unable to solve all of the reported problems.

Therefore, we are opening a new NCRA Online Forum using an entirely different software package. The Online Forum Committee members began testing a number of forum software packages earlier this year, and after weighing the pros and cons of many alternatives, the forum committee identified a forum software that we believe will best meets the needs of the NCRA Online Forum community.

Although no forum package offered all of the features that everyone wanted, we believe that the feature set offered by the package we selected will enable us to offer a reliable, convenient, and user-friendly forum environment. A new site was set up, and the Online Forum Committee members have been testing it with the help of several reporter volunteers.

The new forum is located at www.ncraforum.org. It will open for registration beginning this Monday, October 20^th.

Please note that you will need to register with your first and last name and a new password before you can log in for the first time and view messages.

The NCRA Online Community that you are at now is being moved to an NCRA members-only area. NCRA members will continue to be able to access this site and use the other features (blogs, communities, galleries, chat, etc.).

I look forward to seeing you in the new forum!

Karen

Qustion about renewal of membership

Patricia A. Bidonde — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:57:56 GMT

Today I received my NCRA membership renewal form. I see the fine print says. "Membership dues include a $69 one-year subscription to the JCR."

Can I opt out of the JCR? Can I deduct that from the membership fee and only pay $181?

If not, it should read. "Membership dues include a mandatory $69 one-year subscription to the JCR."

Confronting Digital Recording

Karen Yates — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:57:38 GMT

An NCRA member wrote a letter of concern to the president of NCRA, wanting to know how she can reconcile the message contained within the recent JCR article on digital recording and the message brought to the membership in Kathy DiLorenzo's inaugural speech in Dallas in '07. Jennifer Lewis's letter and Kathy's and my responses are posted in a blog on this Web site (see the Blogs section in the bar above on this screen.) Please log in and read it all there!

Karen

Question about chief examiner at NCRA testing sites

Lillian Freiler, RMR — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:15:20 GMT

Can someone tell me what you have to do and what your qualifications must be to be a chief examiner at an NCRA testing site? There's a site in PA that is in desperate need of a chief examiner for Nov. 1 in Nanticoke, PA and I said I'd think about it but need to know more before I make a final committment.

Lillian

RMR/CRR testing rule change

Rhonda Hall-Breuwet, RMR, CRR — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:38:14 GMT

I saw that NCRA is now allowing members to test for the RMR and the CRR on both the same day; however, it is only available at certain test sites. While I think this is a fantastic idea, I don't believe it should be made available AT ALL unless available at ALL test sites.

CLVS Seminar and Test Rescheduled in New Orleans

Sara Wood — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:48:01 GMT

We are pleased to announce that the following events have been rescheduled as follows:

CLVS Videotape in the Legal Environment Seminar, October 17-18
CLVS Legal Video Forum, October 19
CLVS Production Exam, October 17-20 - click here for more rescheduling options

People who registered for the September dates will receive individual notification from NCRA. They will also receive first priority and will be guaranteed a spot for the educational program and/or test for which they previously registered. A full refund will be issued for anyone who cannot reschedule. If you did not register previously for these programs and are interested, please call NCRA at 1-800-272-6272 or email CLVS and we may be able to accommodate you.

Membership Question

Gina Altizer — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:33:36 GMT

I hope someone can help me. I have tried to e-mail as well as call the NCRA, but so far have not received an answer to my question. Last week, I received a card in the mail that said if I joined NCRA before 9/15/08 for 2009, I would get the rest of 2008 free, plus $10 in free gasoline. However, when I attempted to log in using the ID number and password on the card, it did not work.

I'm sure I obtained that ID number and password quite some time ago, when I had previously signed up for the on-line community. However, since that time I had a computer failure and obtained a new Internet service provider, and therefore, I now have a new e-mail address. I signed up again for the on-line community on NCRA just last week, obtaining a new ID number and password, because there was no way for me to retrieve the old information, due to the loss of the password through the computer failure, and my having a different e-mail address.

My question is this: Can I join NCRA using my new ID number and password that I received last week and still get the same special membership offer?

Any assistance or advice will be so much appreciated! Thank you.

How do I change my name...

Judy Runes — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:15:59 GMT

How do I change my name to get rid of the JudyRunesSimpson6970 and just say Judy Runes?

Hurricane Gustav Forces CANCELLATION of CLVS Seminar and Test in New Orleans

Serge Obolensky, CAE — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:23:15 GMT

Hurricane Gustav Forces CANCELLATION of CLVS Seminar and Test in New Orleans
Due to the anticipated effects and aftermath of Hurricane Gustav, NCRA is canceling the CLVS events scheduled for the coming week in New Orleans. This decision was made in consultation with management of the New Orleans Marriott and the New Orleans Visitors and Convention Bureau.

This decision was made based on the safety and best interests of our participants. All seminar registrants and test candidates will be issued a full refund of their registration fees. Participants are encouraged to contact your airlines directly regarding your airline reservations. As of today most airlines are reporting liberal policies regarding refunds and changes to and from New Orleans during this period.

The specific events cancelled are:

CLVS Videotape in the Legal Environment Seminar, September 5-6, 2008
CLVS Legal Video Forum, September 7, 2008
CLVS Production Exam, September 5-8, 2008

Within the next week to ten days we will contact participants directly regarding rescheduling of these events.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all citizens in the Gulf area.

copy of transcript for R&S

CurtisCloward828790 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:21:45 GMT

Today an attorney challenged me, saying I could not refuse to mail a copy of the transcript to the deponent for reading and signing when no copy purchase has been made. In this particular instance, the attorney making the challenge was not representing the deponent. She basically said I could not, "under the rules" require a deponent to take time out to travel to an agency office to sit down and review a transcript. The issue was left as we agree to disagree, but I wanted to cite some case examples where this has been the issue...any help?

Courtroom 21 Information (CLCT)

Sarah Nageotte — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:43:24 GMT

I'm vaguely familiar with Courtroom 21 and its inception in the early to mid-'90s. I'm under the understanding that C-21 was started with the help of Stenograph and NCRF.

However, I'm curious as to its state at this point. My judge wants to take a field trip to the William and Mary School of Law in Williamsburg, Virginia (the Center for Legal and Court Technology).

In reading their website, I get the feel that it's mainly gearing toward electronic and digital recording now -- instead of the realtime translation from court reporters at its start.

Specifically, seminars relating to "The Privacy Implications of Electronically Accessible Court Records." As well as "The need for people to support the ever growing population of courtroom audio/video systems has become critical. At the same time, budgets have become tighter, making it almost impossible for many courts to hire outside experts. In the absence of dedicated expertise, many courts have been compelled to turn maintenance (and sometimes installation) of audio systems, digital recording equipment, evidence presentation hardware, and video conferencing equipment over to staff charged with other responsibilities, often court or county IT personnel. Given this situation, courts across the country have been asking for a way to train existing personnel, especially Information Technology personnel, in audio and video techniques. To aid in this problem, we have developed both the Basic and Advanced CLCT Court Technologist Audio/Video Certification Course. Successful completion of the program will provide the participant with a basic understanding of how the systems work, what is required to maintain them, and how to be more knowledgeable in dealing with vendors and installers."

I see that the National Court Reporters Foundation is still a financial support of the CLCT, so maybe I can get reassurance concerning any training that we would go to at the Center (i.e. will my judge hear how great ER/DR is? or is a trained, stenographic reporter included in the presentation and training?) I understand Diane Gray is still on staff at the Center and she is a machine and voice writer (I believe).

Any help in this area would be appreciated.

THANKS!!

2009 Boot Camp

Greta Duckett — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:27:03 GMT

I am planning ahead -- my judge's docket is set six months in advance, and I need to plan time off for Boot Camp. Does anyone have next year's dates?

Thanks!

August 14: President signs Higher Education Opportunity Act!

Sarah Nageotte — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:22:25 GMT

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It's official!

President Bush has signed the Higher Education Opportunity Act, with the Realtime Writers Training language included.

I'm still trying to find the exact language of the bill he signed (I'm curious to know if the President signed it "as is" or if there were any changes made from Congress' passage on 7/31/08), but am having a hard time finding much of anything, so if someone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it! So far I have found this:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/08/20080814.html

and

http://senatus.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/president-signs-higher-education-consumer-product-safety-bills/

The main page of www.ncraonline.org has this information as well.

CAN WE CELEBRATE NOW?!?!!!

Where do I Post Job Vacancy Information

Tori Pittman — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:32:26 GMT

Hi, all!

My state has openings and my supervisor asked me to post the information. where is the appropriate place here on the Forum?? (is there one now?)

Realtime Coach and CEU hours?

Amy Katz — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:12:15 GMT

How many hours would you have to write at 160 and above to get 1.0 CEUs?

And does the quality of your writing count?

For example, if I had a horrible practice session tonight (which I did ), really miserable writing and accuracy just in the toilet ... would that time not count towards the total?

Thanks ...

test message

Lillian Freiler, RMR — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:55:43 GMT

just testing.

Does anyone have the results of the Speed and Realtime Contests?

Allison Kimmel — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:32:57 GMT

So...how'd everyone do?

the "I Love Court Reporting" mug

Wynne A. Pauly — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:55:44 GMT

I bought one at the convention. Love it!

Capitol Hill Victory -- Woo-hooo!!!!

Lillian Freiler, RMR — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:21:56 GMT

Just got this info from Nate Smith at NCRA:

Dear state leaders,You heard it here first! The victory detailed below is the result of many years of hard work. NCRA, the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, and the court reporting and captioning profession owe a huge debt of gratitude to all the NCRA members who called, wrote, e-mailed, and visited their representatives and senators. You, as state leaders, helped to make this initiative happen.

Congratulations to all of you on your hard work and dedication.

On July 31, 2008, Congress, in an overwhelming and bipartisan fashion, passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act. Included in the act is language that creates a grant program to train realtime writers to provide both captioned information and communication access for the 30 million Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. The passage of the bill marks a triumphant end to eight years of effort put in by NCRA and our partners in Congress. Many legislators, such as Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), have been advocates of this language since it was first introduced. NCRA has worked hand-in-hand with these lawmakers to ensure that this vital language reaches the President’s desk.The passage of this legislation is a major step in ensuring equal access to information for those who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. In addition, this legislation enables the growth of the court reporting profession in order to keep up with the increasing demand for trained court reporters.

Tune into the NCRA Web site, www.ncraonline.org, in the coming days to read more press releases and see updates on the President’s actions. Again, congratulations to everyone!-Nate

Nathan R. SmithSenior Government Relations Specialist

National Court Reporters Association

8224 Old Courthouse Road

Vienna, VA 22182

Telephone: (703) 556-6272 ext. 165

Fax: (703) 556-6291

Email: nsmith@ncrahq.org

www.NCRAonline.org

10x10

Tori Pittman — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:43:54 GMT

Well, I was not at Karen's address on Friday of convention, but I heard about the 10x10 project, about talking to 10 people and asking them to take a test or become more active by 2010. So far I have one person ready to sign up for the RPR - she hasn't been a member for about 5 years now, and has decided that she wants a change... and the RPR is the first step in marketing herself.

This concept - of which I have the bare bones - of talking up NCRA, certifications and volunteerism, is a GREAT idea. Surely those of us here aren't the only ones who love what we do and want to better ourselves AND the perception of the profession.

One down, nine to go (officially!)