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Thank you so much. It's an honor and a privilege to be with you today. Definitely one of the
high points in my career.
I would like to thank my immediate family: My mother Joanne and her husband Verlin, my
brother Dennis and his family.
Really? I would.
I would really like to thank him. Well, we'll get there.
There. My brother Dennis and his family. My best friend Valerie and my Goddaughters, my
three stepsons and their wives and babies, Jeff and Brooke Griffin and Jennifer and Galen
and Taryn.
I wouldn't be here without the fabulous court reporters and staff at Sonntag Reporting.
My in laws and my aunts and nieces, cousins, my nephews. I could go on and on. Thank you
guys for being here.
Court reporting is a huge part of my life and I'm truly blessed to have found such a
rewarding career into which I could totally immerse myself. I met my soulmate
[Laughter]
I met my soul mate.
[Applause.]
At my first NCRA speed contest and married into a fabulous court reporting family. Gary,
his siblings, and cousins are part of the fourth generation of court reporters in their
family, following in their grandfather's footsteps, who was NSRA President in 1947.
Although none of the fifth generation has gone into reporting, I have high hopes for
the sixth.
And I'm starting them young.
[Laughter]
They went home and appreciate the PAC home there.
When Gary first met my mom, he told her he'd make me better than I'd ever been. Although
she was doubtful, he was right.
I won my first NCRA speed contest medal three weeks after we got married. But to be fair,
he won his first medal after he married me, as well.
[Laughter]
When Gary passed away suddenly five years ago, many of you in this room are the ones
who kept me going, putting one foot in front of the other, my extended family. Thank you.
One of the things that makes our profession so great and so unique is that there's always
another rung to climb, always another achievement to work toward. As our convention theme echoes:
Striving for new heights.
Being here and being at this convention, being a member, demonstrates your commitment to
professionalism and continuing to provide excellent and necessary services to our clients
and consumers.
I was honored last night to welcome nearly 100 people to their first NCRA convention,
many of them students, our future.
A lot of challenges are facing us these days: Alternative methods of making the record and
of compensation, alternative ways of writing steno and doing business, sometimes turning
things on their heads from the way we thought it should be.
Change is the only constant that we can ever count on. Regardless of how we think it should
be, we must be visionary enough and flexible enough to understand the change and create
our future.
And drink.
[Laughter]
Part of my personal philosophy is to continually reach for that next rung, the next certification,
a perfect transcript, and higher translation rates.
Maybe the song "the climb" sums it up: I got to keep trying. It ain't about how fast I
get there. It ain't about what's waiting on the other side. But it's the climb.
I submit to you that life, and our reporting profession, is truly a climb. As with the
great Rocky Mountains from my western upbringing, the view is fabulous from the top and it's
definitely worth the effort.
I believe it's up to each of us to strive to be the best we can be, to reach for new
heights, whatever heights those might be, at whatever level you're at at the time. But
to encourage our fellow reporters to make the journey with us, peers helping peers.
Maybe we don't all need to be realtime all the time 24/7 or maybe we do. Maybe the next
rung on your personal best ladder is the RPR. Maybe it's graduating from reporting school.
Maybe it's finishing that last leg on your Merit. Maybe it's entering the national speed
and realtime contests.
Whatever your personal best is, that's what I'm asking for from you. I ask you to keep
on moving, keep climbing, keep the faith. In striving for perfection, we achieve excellence.
And that's what I believe our profession is about: Excellence and personal achievement
at every level at all times. People don't regret having taken a risk and failed, but
they always regret the risks they failed to take.
Make the climb.
Take the risk.
Do your best.
Strive for perfection.
Achieve excellence.
We have serious issues facing our profession: A dwindling pool of reporters, aging demographics,
lowered student recruitment, shared copy sales, identity theft and privacy concerns, technological
advancements at blinding speed as well as issues with our Association.
Apathy, fewer members, communication concerns, stringent testing, fewer charitable donations
to the Foundation.
When we work together, however, I believe we can overcome our recent obstacles and remain
a relevant force in the record making profession, continuing to make our voices heard on Capitol
Hill and around the country as we deal with administrators, clerks, judges, attorneys,
and contribute to the justice system.
NCRA's newly created taskforce to study reporter roles in our courthouses will yield opportunities
to solidify and strengthen our roles.
Our ethics first program will continue to educate the bench and bar by promoting reporters'
skills and ability over incentive gift giving.
Our student graduation numbers are rising again as schools extend their online training
and streamline their theories.
There is strength in numbers and I challenge each of you to increase our numbers of NCRA
members. Be a member and get a member. If each of us recruit just one new person, we
immediately double our ranks and provide the stability needed for NCRA's credentialing
and education programs, our lobbying efforts and our training of state leaders.
Reach out to those around you in your freelance firms, your courthouses, your captioning offices.
Speak up about the advantages of being an NCRA member. Advocate for yourself, for your
profession and for all of us.
While there's strength in numbers, there's also weakness in the lack of numbers. Every
reporter, captioner and CART provider should be a member of their professional association.
There are no excuses.
There are more than 100 reasons on NCRA's website to join NCRA. Pick out your top three.
Carry applications with you. And go make a difference out there. Invest emotionally in
your future.