happy holidays - mocrapast presidents, like debbie mclaughlin and joanne martin and dawn mcteer and...

PROGRESSMCRA

December 2013

www.MOCRA.org

Post-Conference

The Missouri Court Reporters Association

I N S I D EMCRA Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg 3

President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg 4

MCRA News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg 6

TRAIN Training at MCRA Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg 8

Voice Writers Specialized Training at MCRA Conference . . .pg 8

Mark Kislingbury’s Magnum Steno Presentation . . . . . . . . .pg 9

Take Control of Your Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg 10

Cookin’ with MCRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg 12

2013 Distinguished Service Award Ceremony . . . . . . . . . .pg 14

MCRA’s Special Presentation to Vivian Ford Sheppard . . .pg 16

MCRA Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg 17

People You Should Know: The Court Reporter . . . . . . . . .pg 18

Minutes of the Pre-Conference Board Meeting . . . . . . . . .pg 22

Minutes of the Post-Conference Board Meeting . . . . . . . .pg 24

Minutes of the 68th Annual Business Meeting . . . . . . . . .pg 25

MCRA Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg 26

Peace

Happy Holidays

HopeJoy

3MCRA Progress • December 2013mocra.org

MISSOURI COURT REPORTERS ASSOCIATION

MCRA Progress • December 20132

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Issues Published: June and December

Deadline for submitting information to Progress for

the June 2014 issue:May 1, 2014.

Send Submissions to:Marian ReinMCRA Editor

Phone: (314) 807-1323E-mail: [email protected]

Statements and opinions expressed ineditorials and articles are not necessarilythose of MCRA. Publication of advertis-ing does not imply endorsement of

products/ services or statements made concerning them.

Got a Question? Start with

INFO LINESMCRA Support and Assistance

MCRA Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .mocra.orgMCRA Webmaster/Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . .Debbie Tolstoi [email protected] Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dawn McTeer (314) 622-4312Address Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Susan Steen (816) 881-3702CCR Testing Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Maggie Burch (573) 751-7342Continuing Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mary Conway (816) 271-1473Convention 2013 . . . . . . . . . . .Renee Bierman [email protected] (314) 952-8625

Shana Crane [email protected] (314) 622-4666Distinguished Service Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mary Conway (816) 271-1473Legislative Affairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joanne Martin Co-Chair (314) 622-4787

Kathy Foley Co-Chair (816) 808-7016 NCRA Member Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Toll Free (800) 272-6272NVRA Member Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(601) 582-4345Progress Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Marian Rein (314) 807-1323Progress Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sarah Marshall (816) 881-3708NCRA Testing (St. Louis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Debbie Kriegshauser (314) 244-7449NCRA Testing (Kansas City) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Irene Narvaez (913) 432-3315

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MCRA PROGRESS ADVERTISINGMISSOURI COURT REPORTERS ASSOCIATION

MCRA Progress

PRESIDENTShana L. Crane, CCR818 Aston Way Dr.O’Fallon, MO 63368Court: 314-622-4666Home: 636-244-0453Cell: [email protected]@courts.mo.gov

PRESIDENT-ELECTSarah M. Marshall, CCRJackson County Courthouse415 E. 12th Street, Div. 8Kansas City, MO 64106Court: 816-881-3708Cell: [email protected]@gmail.com

VICE-PRESIDENTKathy J. Foley, CCR415 East 12th St., Div. 9Kansas City, MO 64109Court: 816-881-3709Cell: [email protected]@gmail.com

SECRETARYMelissa Holcomb, CCR3016 West 26th StreetJoplin, MO 64804Court: 417-625-4310Cell: [email protected]@cableone.net

TREASURERKaren Rottmann, CCRDivision of Workers’ Compensation3737 Harry S. Truman Blvd, Ste. 300St. Charles, MO 63301Cell: [email protected]

IMMEDIATE PASTPRESIDENTRozann Brancato, RPR, CCRJackson County Courthouse308 West Kansas, Division 17Suite 212Independence, MO 64050Court: 816-881-4517Home: 816-468-6777Cell: [email protected][email protected]

VICE-PRESIDENTREGION I Renee Bierman, CCR, CSR (IL)11128 Larimore Rd.St. Louis, MO 63138Court: 314-622-4502Home: 314-869-5317Cell: [email protected]@charter.net

VICE-PRESIDENTREGION IIRena Tyne, CCR5807 Pleasant Ave.St. Joseph, MO 64503Court: 816-271-1475Cell: [email protected]@yahoo.com

VICE-PRESIDENTREGION IIITracy Taylor, CCR3803 Crocodile Dr.Columbia, MO 65202Office: 573-999-2662Cell: [email protected]

VICE-PRESIDENTREGION IVMelissa Hannah, CCR108 Red Fern Dr. Ozark, MO 65721Court: 417-581-2727Cell: [email protected]@aol.com

VICE-PRESIDENTREGION VSheila C. Irvin, CCR, RPRCommon Pleas Courthouse44 N. LorimierCape Girardeau, MO 63701Home: 573-238-4383Cell: [email protected]@dishmail.net

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORLinda Dattilo, RPR, CCR2270 Buttercup Dr.Florissant, Missouri 63033Court: 314-615-2682Fax: 314-615-2604Home: 314-838-2303Cell: [email protected]@sbcglobal.net

MCRA Board of Directors 2013-2014

I thought I'd start off with a shortstory. Some of you have heard it before, soyou'll just have to bear with me.

A couple weeks ago I was talking tomy sheriff about this weekend and myupcoming presidency in the Missouri CourtReporters Association. And he was askingme what my duties are going to be and if Ihad started writing my speech yet. As a side note, I've known that I was goingto become President for the last two yearsat least, and so, of course, I've been writingmy speech since this past Wednesday.

As every working reporter knows, youcan go for a month without a transcriptrequest, at least if you're an officialreporter, and then, three weeks beforeyou're planning a convention, needing towrite a speech, making an outline for yourBoard meeting agenda, you get fourrequests, all needing to be done as soon aspossible.

But I digress.So I was telling him that I needed to

write my speech and get things ready forthis weekend to assume my role asPresident when he told me the reason I'm aborn leader is because I'm a Taurus. AndHitler and Saddam Hussein were alsoTauruses. I wasn't quite sure what to say atthat point, so I just said, "Well, hopefully, Iwon't be that kind of leader. But we'll see."

I mean, are there not any Americanpresidents that are Tauruses too or heads ofmajor corporations? Or was he trying to tellme something after working with me after

all these years? I wasn't quite sure. I justlaughed to myself and went back to myoffice and thought, I think he started myspeech off for me.

Seriously, though, it is truly an honorto be standing before you as President ofthe Missouri Court Reporters Association.This is something that I never thoughtwould happen when I started this career 13years ago. I remember signing up as a stu-dent member of MCRA in school to go tothe seminars and conventions for motiva-tion and networking with the workingreporters, who would hopefully, one day,want to hire me, and also thinking being amember would look good on a resume.

Then as I became a working reporter, Iwould come to conventions and look at thehead table and think, I could never do that.And especially the job of President, with allthat pressure and responsibility. And defi-nitely not the public speaking. I would die.

I had another friend tell me that thepublic speaking is the number one fear ofAmericans, even over the fear of death. Hetold me this when I was telling him that Iwas giving a speech for today. I've got tofind some new friends.

But as I started coming to more andmore conventions and I started to becomebetter friends with Board members andPast Presidents, like Debbie McLaughlinand Joanne Martin and Dawn McTeer andTiffany Thompson, the more I thought Iwould like to get involved. I'm lucky that Ilive and work in such an active region likeRegion I. There are many opportunities tovolunteer. So I started by volunteering for acommittee or two. And then I wasapproached to be the Region I VP. And afterdoing that for a few years, someone got thecrazy idea that I should move up on theBoard, and here I am today.

I share this with all of you becausesome of you may be thinking, Who is thislady and how did she become President?But also for you students and reporterswho may be thinking that you could neverget involved or even become a Board mem-ber, I'm here to tell you that you can andwe need you.

The Missouri Court ReportersAssociation is just that, an association ofthe court reporters of Missouri. This is your

Association, not just the Association of the12 of us. We are here to protect andexpress your interests and you can help us.MCRA's President-Elect Sarah Marshall andI will be forming committees for theupcoming year in the next few weeks. Wehave many committees and we're alwayslooking for new members with fresh ideas.Please let Sarah or me know if you areinterested in volunteering for one of them.Additionally, if you know someone who'snot a member or has dropped their mem-bership, encourage them to join. Remindthem of the wonderful lobbyist we have inDave Klarich, who, along with yourLegislative Committee, monitors, promotes,and lobbies to pass legislation favorable tocourt reporters, captioners, and CARTproviders. Our Association is only as strongas our members.

Along with that, a good leader knowsnot to lead alone. Luckily, I have a wonder-ful Board and a reserve of Past Presidentsfrom all across the state who I know I cancall on when I need help or advice. And Ihope they're ready.

Through this Association, I have madefriends that will last a lifetime, and for thatI am truly grateful.

Now before I end my speech, I wouldlike to take a minute to thank myConference Committee for helping meorganize this wonderful conference week-end. Especially my co-chair, ReneeBierman; Tiffany Thompson, who did hersignature decorations; Faith Olliges head-ing the registration table; DebbieMcLaughlin, who always jumps in wherev-er she's needed; and most of all, LindaDattilo. If anyone is wondering what anexecutive director does, the answer is:Everything. Linda has been like my rightarm these last few months.

In closing, I would just like to say thatI look forward to the year ahead serving asyour President. I appreciate you puttingyour trust in me and giving me the oppor-tunity to lead this wonderful Association.But just in case, during the course of thisyear, I start acting like a dictator, just knowit's not my fault, I was born that way.

Thank you.

Shana Crane


mocra.org


CONVENIENT. AFFORDABLE. CERTIFIED.

Begin your court reporting career in the

Information Reporting Technology program

at St. Louis Community College.

www.stlcc.edu

www.stlcc.edu/IRT

314-984-7433 [email protected]

President’s Message

Hello from Region I. I would liketo thank everyone who had theopportunity to attend the MCRA2013 Conference in St. Louis,Missouri. I hope you found the sem-inars educational and informative. Itwas a fun and educational experi-ence for me, being the first seminarhosted by Region I since I have beenour Region VP.

It is now time to look towardthe winter months and the Region Iholiday party. This year, we will behosting the party at Bravo! CucinaItaliana, located at West CountyCenter, at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday,Dec. 5, 2013. Price is $25 per person.You should have received a flyerdetailing all of the informationalready. Hope to see many of ourmembers attend.

We again will be sponsoring 10children this year with the Motionfor Kids Project. Our new coordina-tor is Sue Moody. If you would liketo help by donating to this greatcause, please contact Sue [email protected] or bringa check to the Holiday Party, or mailit to me directly. All checks shouldbe made out to MCRA Region I with

a note indicating that it’s for Motionfor Kids. All donations should bereceived by December 5 in order forSue to shop for the wish list items.

Looking further into winter andspring, we are in desperate need of atrivia coordinator, especially if ourregion plans to host a trivia event in2014. If you would like to lead thiscommittee, please contact me [email protected]. Triviahas been very profitable in the pastand we would like to keep up thetradition.

Lastly, if there are any ques-tions or concerns you have regard-ing our region, please feel free tocontact me via email. I am here topass on any information from ourregion members to MCRA. Thankyou for the opportunity to serveanother year as your Region I VP. Itis a pleasure to represent such a finegroup of reporters and professionalsin this great occupation of courtreporting.

Renee BiermanRegion I [email protected].




mocra.org


Dear MCRA Members,

It’s been a wonderful year for somany reasons. Can you remember hav-ing more comfortable weather? Andnow that the year comes to a close, it’sa great time to count our many blessingsand focus on creating positive change inthe new year.

Despite the gloom and doom of the“news,” the world is thriving. For everypiece of negative news there are count-less positive things happening in theworld. So in the new year, perhaps youwill join me in focusing on what’s rightabout the world and appreciating allthat it has to offer us. Perhaps you will

consider turning off the news and turn-ing on your creativity, powering up yourimagination, and tapping into the pow-erful resources of your mind.

As your editor for many years, I’dlike to remind each and every one of youthe importance of Progress. It is a wayfor MCRA to be noticed on so many lev-els. Of course it’s not the only way, butit’s a significant avenue for not onlycommunicating with members, but alsodemonstrating the outstanding qualitiesof members of MCRA!

With each and every communica-tion with MCRA, I am more and moreimpressed by their kindness and profes-sionalism. Where did people get the idea

that professionals can’t be nice and fun.Not from MCRA, that’s for certain!

Progress is YOUR publication. Bysharing information about your commit-tee and your professional experience, aswell as more personal stories, MCRAbecomes stronger and stronger as itsmembers become more unified. Soplease take the opportunity to con-tribute information to MCRA. Feel freeto call me at (314) 807-1323 or email [email protected].

Happy Holidays

Marian Rein

NEWSMCRA NEWSMCRA

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Members! MCRA publishes PROGRESS twice

a year in June and December. Pleaseremember to send us articles andinformation that may be of interest toother court reporters. And we wouldlove to hear what you’ve been up to!Send us a note and share your storieswith other members.

The DEADLINE for the June 2014issue is May 1, 2014. Please emailyour articles, information or questionsto [email protected].

(800) 796.9559 (phone)(855) 796.9801 (fax)[email protected]

Originally from Texas, I am proud to call Missourimy home for 19 years now and counting. Moving herein 1994, I started working at Court Reporting Advantagein Springfield, Missouri. In 2002, I began working as anofficial in Springfield, then on to Ozark in 2006.

I’m married to my husband, Greg, I have a daughterwho is 14 and a 24-year-old son in Afghanistan in theArmy, along with his wife and stepson.

Although I’m a behind-the-scene kind of gal, I’mpassionate about our profession. So I am truly proud toserve you as your Region IV Vice President this year.

Region II is planning a Trivia Night forMarch 2014. If you have great questions you wouldlike included, please contact Sue Steen and LiebeFranges. If you have donations, please contact BeckyRamsay, Rozann Brancato or Sarah Marshall. If you’dlike to help with food, please contact Annisa Justice.Any other questions or concerns, please contact RenaTyne at [email protected].

Region II is also planning for Convention 2014,which is being held September 19-21, 2014, at CrownCenter in Kansas City. If you have ideas you would liketo see implemented, we would love the input. TheConvention Committee consists of Rozann Brancato,Dwight Carlson, Sarah Marshall and Liebe Franges.Please drop them or myself a note with any ideas orconcerns you may have. Volunteers would be muchappreciated!

Region II would also like to welcome new mem-bers Stevi Way, Ksenija Seltkalns and Liebe Franges!

Rena Tyne

Region I News

Melissa HannahRegion IV Vice President Region II News

“It takes courage...to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain ofunconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.”

~ Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections onthe Principles of "A Course in Miracles"




mocra.org


WOW! Seems like realtime is easy!Wonder why I don’t JUST DO IT?

On Sunday, Sept. 22 at the MCRAConference held at the Westport Sheraton,there was a lot of whistles blowing amidcourt reporters moving from station to sta-tion and being trained on TRAIN.

TRAIN stands for Taking RealtimeAwareness and Innovation Nationwide. Theprogram isn’t necessarily designed to teachreporters realtime. Rather, it is designed tohelp alleviate the fear of realtime.

Realtime involves a reporter’s writingskills, but also includes the features of yourcourt reporter program that you can utilize.Many of today’s court reporter programshave features to help them write realtime.It is important for reporters to know theirprograms and what they can do to helpreporters’ efficiency. It is important to beeducated in the features of your individualprogram.

After listening to Mark Kislingbury onSaturday and attending TRAIN on Sunday,seems like we should all jump on boardwith realtiming.

I know, I know, I can hear you whisper-ing and saying, “But I don’t have requestsfor realtime.” One thing about realtime isthat even if you realtime to yourself, it cutsdown immensely on untranslates. It helpsyou see where your weak spots are. It will

improve your writing more than you canimagine.

Some years back it was a lot of work tohook up to realtime. You had to have somany cords and plugs and attachments—how could anyone ever figure out what toplug into where. Not any longer. Many of usare cordless, wireless or use Bluetooth.Now, we need another excuse not to real-time, right!

Debbie Dibble, our NCRA representa-tive, was the “conductor” for our TRAINseminar. Talk about enthusiasm plus!Debbie has more energy than 10 of us puttogether! She was a great conductor for ourTRAIN.

NCRA is willing to help us with TRAINin Missouri. TRAIN can be conducted inyour freelance agency, your courthouse,even in someone’s home with somereporter friends. TRAIN can be conductedby local reporters who are utilizing real-time. It’s a great CEU opportunity that youcan put together with a couple co-workersor reporter friends.

As we know, realtime will keepreporters employed in the court reportingarena. It’s something that we have the abil-ity to perform that tape machines cannotperform. It’s a form of job security. It makesrush transcripts much easier to produce. Itallows more income because we charge for

realtime. Realtime provides us more freetime—even allows us to take on a heavierworkload, which allows us to earn moremoney.

In our technologically advanced world,many lawyers are now appearing at deposi-tions with an iPad in hand. I’m sure just asmany are walking into courthouses with aniPad. While they may not come to us insearch of realtime, we should reach out tothem and give them a little tease with real-time. Some years ago, the reporter had tofigure out the lawyers’ laptops and try toconfigure them, and it was just a lot of timeand energy. Not true today. Setting up real-time is a snap.

I enjoyed the TRAIN seminar at theconference, and I felt that everyone in theroom enjoyed the ride and seemed to soakin what they were learning. We had somegreat reporters tending to the stations, andthanks to them for devoting their Sundaymorning to encourage us to become real-time writers and showing us ways to makeour programs and equipment work for us inrealtime.

TRAIN makes realtime seem easy! Tryit, you might like it!

Thanks to all those who conducted theTRAIN seminar. Awesome! Motivating!Encouraging!

Happy realtiming!

TRAIN Training at MCRA Conferenceby Deborah K. McLaughlin

What a phenomenal lineup they had atthis year’s convention! To top it off, we hadthe one and only Mark Kislingbury. This wasmy third time being in Mark’s audience as aworking reporter, and I finally walked awaymore pumped and prepared than ever.

The first time I attended Mark’s pres-entation, I left with my chin dragging onthe ground and mouth gaping wide open.Information overload—what an under-statement for how I truly felt. I left theseminar feeling deflated, worn out andwondering how on earth I could possiblyrewrite everything I had learned and prac-ticed so hard to retain, and apply it at highspeeds. Talk about a new level of process-ing! I was blown away by his creativity andlogic. However, I was paralyzed!

A year or two later, he graced theMidwest again and I found myself eagerlyawaiting his presentation. It was very simi-lar to what I had remembered from the pre-vious time, but he was still so engaging andfunny, and his delivery was so eloquent andhe made everything seem so simple—waymore simple than the way I was operating.(Yeah, I’m your fellow colleague, the“writer-outer”) This time, however, I wasdetermined to at least apply what he hadso freely given and demonstrated. So Ieagerly went straight to my dictionary andstarted entering the things that seemedcommon and things that I just knew Iwould face on a daily basis. The worst partabout it, though, was that I never reallypracticed them or made note of thoseentries in order to really learn them andsubmerge them into my way of writing.

MCRA brought Mark to us this fall andit enabled me to attend my very firstMissouri convention. I don’t know if it wasthe “third time’s a charm” scenario or thefact that I was surrounded by supportivecohorts and local colleagues within my ownorganization, but this time it clicked andput an extra spring in my step! (Or maybeit’s the simple fact that I was beat downand tired from writing out EVERY SINGLESYLLABLE and I finally opened my mind to

change rather than turning away—again!)Whether this was your first time being

exposed to everything Mark has to offer orit’s your third, fourth or fifth, I found thatbreaking up the wealth of information iswhat made me finally stop, listen and actu-ally apply it this time around. If you haven’talready started a game plan for incorporat-ing some of his tricks and theory into yourvery own writing style, I suggest you startwith the following:

FIRST: Do as Mark said and search inyour dictionary for the 20 most used two-stroke words. WRITE THEM DOWN in amanner that will grab your attention, andkeep them close at hand and readily avail-able while at your job or out in the court-room. Once you see them in black and

white, you will be surprised at how oftenyou hear and write those words and howquickly you can adapt to your newlydefined dictionary entry.

SECOND: Go through Mark’s presenta-tion handout (if you have yet to receive it,please feel free to shoot me an email [email protected] for your very owncopy) and find a family of phrases thatappeal to you most that you think youcould benefit from and start implementingtoday. For example, adopt the left-handphrases or the right-hand phrase enders(i.e., do you remember, do you think, do youfeel, do you believe, etc.). Again, WRITETHEM DOWN in a manner that will grabyour attention and keep them close at handand readily available while at your job or

out in the court room.THIRD: Start listening and looking for

those new phrases. Read through tran-scripts to actually see how often suchphrases come up, especially the little ones(to the, if the, for the, and the, etc.). Youwill start to notice them when you read forleisure or while reading with your childrenor even actually seeing the phrases comeup on your real-time screen. Once you startseeing the words and phrases together, youwill then begin to hear them together andthen you can actually start to apply thenew theory and strokes. Although thisseems like an immeasurable step, I believeit’s the most important and most valuable.

Be sure to set goals for yourself, too,that you would like to have these incorpo-

rated in your writing by such and such timeor after so many months or weeks or what-ever. And then once you reach your goal,you can reassess and start the processagain, adding even more to your dictionaryand new repertoire. ;)

I look forward to searching my next 20two-strokers and hope that my previous listwill be buried deep within my dictionary.What do you look forward to?

If you have motivation tips, practicetips or other ways you have started toimplement Mark’s tips and tricks, pleaseshare them by writing an article for nextmonth’s Progress or send me an email [email protected].

Get on Your Mark!

Mark Kislingbury’s Magnum Steno PresentationAre you on The Mark?by Reagan Fiorino, RMR, CRR, MO-CCR IL-CSR

Missouri voice writers were giventhe opportunity to receive trainingspecifically directed to their method oftakedown at the recent MCRAConvention in St. Louis.

On Saturday, Dessa VanSchuyver ofAtlanta, Georgia, nationally recognizedas the “Dragon Tamer,” presented her all-day Dragon 101 workshop for voice writ-ers. Attendees went through setting up anew user in Dragon Natural Speaking12.5, addressing individual concerns andquestions. One attendee said, “I haveattended all sessions offered by Dessa at

NVRA conventions and I even traveled toMemphis for a two-day training with herseveral years ago. I’ll always attend ses-sions offered by Dessa because I alwayscome away with information and/or toolsto improve my speech recognition. Allvoice writers owe it to themselves toattend one of her sessions.”

On Sunday, Linda Winfrey of Seattle,Washington, President of the NationalVerbatim Reporters Association, present-ed a three-hour program on preparing forreal time. Attendees were presented withthe benefits of providing real time, were

given a demonstration of how real timecan be improved by the use of CAT dic-tionary entries, Dragon vocabularyentries, and the use of on-the-fly dic-tionaries. There was also a demonstrationof hooking up real time wirelessly tosmart phones, iPads and laptops utilizingthe Bridge Mobile software offered byAdvantage Software. Attendees were soexcited that a number of them startedmaking plans to form a users group toget together regularly to improve theirreal time.

VOICE WRITERS RECEIVE SPECIALIZED TRAINING AT MCRA CONFERENCEby Brenda Schmelz

Do as Mark said and search your dictionary forthe 20 most used two-stroke words!

WRITE THEM DOWN in a manner that will grab your attention, and keep them close

at hand and readily available while at your job or out in the court room!




mocra.org


having absolutely nothing to dowould feel like a markedimprovement over having to dosomething that you really don’twant to do—especially when youwork in an environment wherepeople do not appreciate yourefforts. But if you can focus in anattitude of being in control ofyour choices, then almost any-thing you do would, in the longrun, feel better than choosing todo nothing, because we arealways happier when we aredeliberately focused on some-thing.

We want to be active partic-ipants in this life experience. Wereally do want to have areason to focus and a rea-son to decide. We wanthands-on creative controlof our life experience. It’snot about wanting to donothing. It’s about wantingchoices. It’s about havingmore individual say inwhere we turn our atten-tion. It’s not about doingor not doing. It’s notabout going to work orsitting on a beach. It’sabout the feeling ofbondage or the feeling offreedom.

What makes onething seem more appeal-ing than another thing?Many people have stubbornlyconcluded that there’s muchmore that they don’t like aboutbeing at work than what they dolike. So when they are there,they set themselves up to auto-matically feel less than joyful. Butwe could train that out of our-selves, with just a little bit ofeffort, by saying, “Hey, I chooseto be here. Nobody is makingme be here. They wouldn’t putme in jail if I said I’m not comingtomorrow; I probably wouldn’teven lose my job. I have thechoice of being here or not beinghere (in the bigger picture), andI’m choosing to be here.”

Can you feel that saying,“I’m choosing to be here” feels

infinitely better than saying, “Ihave no choice in the matter?” Soif your most discouraging ordepressing thought is that youhave to be someplace that youdon’t want to be, and your bestscenario is being on the beachand feeling that you can staythere as long as you choose, per-haps you could build a bridgebetween the two and see if youfeel the resistance/negative feel-ing lift.

Start with the most negativethought and try to move it to abetter-feeling place. Here’s anexample of how to do it. “I haveto be here, and I really don’t

want to be here. But I’m here bymy choice, and I am pleased withit in comparison to some otherwork environments. And thereare some components of it thatare more satisfying than others.”Now, if all of those statementsare true, then you should be ableto feel better about your workenvironment, because thosethoughts are more in alignmentwith what you want—to feelenthusiasm for your work and tofeel that you have choices.

The idea is to reach for thethought that feels best. The issueis not, “Should I work or should Ibe on the beach.” The issue is,“What thoughts can I think thatare freeing thoughts?” And by

“freeing” I mean freedom fromthe bondage of the thoughts thatdo not allow you to be who youreally are, which is free to makechoices. The freedom we’re look-ing for is the freedom frombondage thoughts. The freedomwe’re looking for is the freedomof the energy flowing.

So your thoughts of free-dom may be, “Here I am in thiswork environment where theypay me to be here—that’s a goodthing. They expect good thingsfrom me—that’s a good thing.And I’m capable of satisfyingthem—that’s a good thing.” Canyou feel how much better those

thoughts feel—how much closerthose thoughts are to the free-dom you seek?

This speaks to what I thinkis one of the greatest humandilemmas, which is, “Do Irespond to my environment andtherefore need to control it(which we cannot do), or do Iachieve a thought—by sheerpractice of achieving thoughts—and establish a positive feeling,which then creates an environ-ment?” It’s one way or the other!(In the field of psychology, peo-ple are referred to as havingeither an internal locus of con-trol—“I control my experiencesand choices”—or an externallocus of control—“the world con-

trols me.”) We are either observ-ing what is (what is happeningright now) and having a responseto it, or we are conjuring animage, and then what is respondsto the conjured image.

That’s why so many peoplefeel they have to control circum-stances, why there are so manylaws, so many rules. It’s becausepeople, when they see some-thing that makes them feel good,say, “Yes, more of that!” Butwhen they see something thatdoesn’t feel good, they say, “No,I do not want more of that,” andthen they attempt, in large num-bers, the impossible. They say, “I

would feel better underthis condition, so I’ve gotto control that condition.”This is what so many of usthink. We say, “I wantplenty of money so that Idon’t have to do anything,but I don’t think that’s pos-sible. I’m happiest when Idon’t have to do anything,but I don’t see a way tonot have to do anything,so I’ve resigned myself to aless than happy life.” Or,they set out to control sit-uations, and they becomemiserable in the process.

But there’s got to beanother way around this.And when we discover

that there is another way, thenwe put to rest, once and for all,the dilemma that says, “I needyou to be different before I canfeel better” or “I need conditionsto change before I can feel bet-ter.” But when we discover thatwe can feel better whether any-thing changes or not, then every-thing changes. Until we figurethat out, nothing can change. Wehave to say, “I can find happiness,right where I stand, right hereand now, no matter what the cir-cumstances.” One less resistantthought at a time and before weknow it, we’re right out there onthe beach where we want to be,thinking of all kinds of things wewant to do. �

It’s Sunday night and theweekend is winding down.You’ve had a fun-filled couple

of days that began with a back-yard barbecue with friends.Saturday morning you donnedyour workout attire and attend-ed a weekly yoga class, thenstopped at a grocery store for a

couple of items with which tocreate your favorite recipe for apot-luck dinner party at thehome of a friend. Sunday morn-ing you attended a spiritual serv-ice, then spent a relaxing after-

noon reading and gardening inyour backyard.

Now, as you prepare for thecoming workweek, your feelingsof positive anticipation and play-fulness come to a halt as you con-template another five days untilthe next weekend begins.

What is it about “work”that is so much less appealingthan “play?” Would we reallywant to snooze on a beach allday—everyday? Life isn’t aboutdoing nothing. It’s about feelinggood about what we are doing.

There is more joy experi-enced in deliberately doing some-thing than indeliberately doingsomething, such as going to workbecause we think we have to.And there is more joy in deliber-ately doing something than delib-erately doing nothing at all.What I mean by that is, whenyou intentionally focus on some-thing, and you feel in control ofwhat you’re doing, that is theoptimum human experience. Butmany people set themselves upfor not liking work, for example,by saying that work is not a goodthing and leisure time is a goodthing. However, there are peoplein work environments that areon fire with the joy of theirwork. What’s their secret?

There’s something about

deciding that you’re in bondageor deciding that you’re not freethat keeps work from being agood-feeling experience. We canbe joyful in anything we do, butwe have to stop saying, “I don’thave choices” when in fact we do.We think that we don’t have achoice about work because if wedon’t go to work, we won’t havemoney, and if we don’t havemoney, then there are a lot ofother preferences that can't besatisfied.

The most important thingto do in order to feel in controlof our experiences—and to feelgood—is to stop thinking moreabout what we don’t want andstart thinking more about whatwe want and what we enjoy inwhatever we’re doing—whetheryou call it work or play. In oursociety, we often think that theonly way to have pleasurablemoments is to pay the price of acertain amount of hardship—wecan enjoy ourselves and are wor-thy of having fun only after we’vepaid the price of hard work anddoing things that we really don’tenjoy. But that’s not the truth.

The truth is, our dominantlife experience can be of joy. Ifwe could assume the identity ofone who is on an endless cruiseor on a path of beaches and

interesting people and wonder-ful, adventurous things to do, andadopt that persona as our ownpersonal identity, life can becomemagical.

Of course it takes a bit of liv-ing the opposite of what wewant in order to spike a desire tolean toward what we want, butthere’s no reason not to have pri-marily one joyful moment afteranother. We don’t have to dipback into the unwanted. I spentmany, many years doing toomany things that I didn’t enjoy. Inretrospect, there was so much toenjoy in those things. If I had real-ized that I was actually makingchoices rather than feeling I hadto do this or that, and focused onthe many things I enjoyed aboutwhat I was doing, my experienceswould have been much moreenjoyable.

Where did we get the ideathat we have to pay a price inorder to feel good? People oftenthink, “I have to work for manyyears before I can retire and dowhat I want.” But look at thepeople around you who haveretired—many are in absoluteboredom or living limp livesbecause they are accustom tofeeling more energized.

It is certainly understand-able that being on a beach or

Take Control of YourEXPERIENCES

by Marian Rein

positivethoughts

createapositivelife!

It’s one way or the other! …

We are either observing what is

(what is happening right now) and

having a response to it, or we are

conjuring an image, and then what is

responds to the conjured image.


mocra.org


Cookin’ with MCRA

Perfect Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients4 cups sugar1 cup vegetable oil4 cups pumpkin (canned orfresh)5 cups flour4 tsp. baking soda1⁄2 tsp. cloves1 Tbsp. cinnamon1 Tbsp. salt1 cup dates or raisins2 cups chopped nuts

DirectionsPreheat oven to 350degrees. Blend sugar andoil together. Add pump-kin, then dry ingredients.Mix in raisins and nuts.Bake for one hour.

Ingredients2 turkey thighs3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted1 tsp. kosher salt1⁄2 tsp. garlic powder1⁄2 tsp. ground black pepper1⁄4 tsp. dried rosemary1⁄4 tsp. dried sage1⁄4 tsp. dried thyme1⁄4 tsp. paprika

DirectionsPreheat oven to 400 degrees.Brush both sides of the turkeythighs with melted butter.

Mix together remaining ingre-dients. Rub seasoning mixture

over both sides of the thighs.Drizzle with any remaining but-ter.

Transfer to a roasting pan.Cook for 20 minutes at 400degrees. Reduce heat to 325and continue to cook for 2hours or until a meat ther-mometer reaches 180 degrees.Spoon pan juices over the topevery 30 minutes.

Remove turkey thighs from theoven and allow it to rest for 10minutes. Carve and serve, driz-zled with pan drippings. Or,use the drippings to create agravy with flour, butter andmilk.

Roasted Turkey Thighs

Sweet & Savory!


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Good afternoon, everyone.It is an honor to stand before you

today to present the 2013 DistinguishedService Award (DSA) to this year’s recip-ient. As the recipient of the DSA lastyear, I’m honored to make this presenta-tion honoring a court reporter who sitsamong us.

The first MCRA DSA was presentedin 1984. The DSA committee is now astanding committee of our association,and this year’s recipient is the twenty-seventh court reporter that MCRA haspresented with this award.

According to MCRA bylaws, thecommittee is comprised of five recentDSA recipients. One of the most seniormembers chairs the committee and eachyear a former DSA goes off the commit-tee as a new DSA is named.

Each year, the DSA Committee seeksnominations from our membership.Once the committee selects the recipi-ent, it is top secret information! No oneelse is to know who has been named DSAuntil this moment.

Before I call this year’s recipient tothe podium, let me tell you a little aboutthe person.

This year’s recipient was born inAffton, Missouri, and attended gradeschool at Seven Holy Founders and highschool at CorJesu Academy. She then

attended Brown’s Business School and isa court reporter. This person has spenttheir court reporting career as a free-lance reporter, holds an RDR, CRR, CSR inIllinois, and CCR in Missouri, and hasserved as Regional Vice President, MCRAVice President and President.

This person met their spouse atSteak ’n Shake and just last month thecouple celebrated their forty-secondwedding anniversary. Congratulations!

This year's DSA recipient is FaithOlliges. Faith and Gerry were married in1971 and have two sons, Ryan andScott. Ryan is a Captain in the U.S. Armyin the position of Judge AdvocateGeneral and is stationed in Ft. Polk,Louisiana. Scott is a First Assistant GolfPro at Timberlake Country Club inColumbia, South Carolina.

Faith has worked with WallerReporting; Gateway Reporting; and Gore,Perry, Gateway and Lipa, which is nowknown as GorePerry Reporting & Video.

Not only is Faith an excellentreporter, she has been and continues tobe a great mentor to many reporters.One new reporter had been sent on adeposition by an agency because shewas the only one in the office when adesperate call came in needing areporter as soon as possible.Unbeknownst to everyone, the job

turned out to be a nightmare with anexpert that lasted for more than fourhours. Afterward, Faith took the reporterunder her wing and helped her transcribethe job. That reporter is forever gratefulfor Faith's help.

Faith continues to help newreporters and faithfully and unselfishlydevotes her time to the court reporterprofession. She is a perfect example ofan excellent reporter, dedicated to thecourt reporter field.

Faith has always been a dedicatedmember of MCRA who has expendedmany, many hours working in the bestinterests of all reporters. She has con-tinued her commitment to the organiza-tion in many ways, even after beingPresident, including serving on severalcommittees and assisting in this conven-tion. Her dedication to this professionand new reporters is amazing and tire-less. Her professionalism is exemplaryand so is her character.

MCRA thanks you for your dedica-tion and service to our association. And,Faith, you certainly deserve this award.Congratulations!

Dorothy Jean BrownDSA 2012

2013 Distinguished Service Award Ceremony

Calling all MCRA Members! MCRA publishes PROGRESS twice a year in June and December. Please remember to send

us articles and information that may be of interest to other court reporters. And we wouldlove to hear what you’ve been up to! Send us a note and share your stories with other mem-bers.The DEADLINE for the June 2014 issue is May 1. Please mark your calendars now. Email

your submissions to [email protected].

MCRA COMMITTEES 2013–2014

AUDIT COMMITTEEAngie CullerBrett HarrisonRozann BrancatoShana Crane, ex-officio

BYLAWS COMMITTEERozann Brancato, ChairCarolyn KeelingDawn McTeerShana Crane, ex-officio

BUDGET & FINANCEBarb Tomblinson, ConsultantKaren Rottman, TreasurerBrett HarrisonRozann BrancatoShana Crane, ex-officio

CONTINUING EDUCATIONRozann Brancato, Chair

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDCOMMITTEEMary Conway, ChairLinda DattiloDebbie McLaughlinDorothy “Jean” BrownFaith Olliges

FACEBOOK COMMITTEESarah Marshall, ChairRenee BiermanCathi BoydBrenda SchmelzShana Crane

TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEEKathy FoleyMichael ZajdelFundraising CommitteeKathy Foley, Chair

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEEKathy Foley, Co-ChairJoanne Martin, Co-ChairAngie CullerSarah Marshall

Rozann BrancatoFaith OlligesLinda DattiloStephanie PrewittMary ConwayDawn McTeerShana Crane, ex-officio

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORYSue Steen

PROGRESS EDITORMarian Rein

PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEEFaith Olliges-ChairShelia IrvinMelissa HolcombCarrie CampbellStephanie PrewittElizabeth GravitzElaine MatthewsRenee BiermanRena TyneTracy TaylorMelissa HannahKathy Foley

STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEEDeborah McLaughlinSarah MarshallLaura Lynn MurphyPeggy LangeRobin CoxKaren RussoDianna HarkDr. Patti ZieglerKate SaundersRebecca BrewerRozann BrancatoShana Crane

TRIVIA EASTRenee BiermanShana CraneBeth GravitzReagan Fiorino

TRIVIA WESTSarah MarshallRena TyneKathy FoleyRozann Brancato

WWW.MOCRA.ORG WEBMASTERDebra Tolstoi, ConsultantShana Crane

CONFERENCE COMMITTEESarah MarshallRozann BrancatoKathy FoleyRena TyneJulie Del PercioDwight CarlsonLiebe Franges

ADVERTISING DIRECTORSarah Marshall

NCRA CHIEF EXAMINER-WESTIrene NarvaezNCRA Selection Approval

NCRA CHIEF EXAMINER-EASTDebbie Kreigshauser-ChairFaith OlligesNCRA Selection Approval

NOMINATING COMMITTEERozann Brancato, ChairRegion I: Faith Olliges/Deb McLaughlinRegion II: Gayle Wambolt/

Sharon CrawfordRegion III: Bev Bentch/

Stephanie PrewittRegion IV: Diane Woods/Margie PierceRegion V: Sande Meyer/Sandy Stewart




mocra.org


EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LINDA DATTILO: Good afternoon.I’d like to ask you all to join me in

welcoming and honoring retired courtreporter Vivian Ford Sheppard, her fam-ily and friends. Vivian, can you raiseyour hand for us?

Vivian Johnson, as she was knownthen, started as an official courtreporter for the State of Missouri,working for the Honorable RichardBrown in the Court of CriminalCorrections in the City of St. Louis in1966. Eventually, the Court of CriminalCorrections was abolished and Vivianand Judge Brown moved to the CircuitCourt, where she served as JudgeBrown’s reporter until he retired inOctober of 1982.

Judge Edward Peek took his placein November of 1982, and Judge Peekretained Vivian as his court reporter.

Vivian worked on a number ofcriminal cases and big civil casesthroughout the years, including a law-suit against Honda involving its all-ter-rain vehicles that lasted for severalmonths. And after a long and illustrious

career, Vivian retired in 1996.One of Vivian’s fondest memories

as a child—and this got her started inthe profession—was peering throughthe glass of a local business onChestnut Street, watching a womantype on a typewriter. One day thewoman saw Vivian, who was nine yearsold at the time, watching her and hermachine, and she invited her to come inand type on the typewriter. Vivian washooked after that experience, and sheknew that was what she wanted to dowhen she grew up.

She eventually went to a businesscollege to learn stenography and againwas encouraged by an instructor not togive up. And she didn’t.

Vivian’s tenacity and steadfastnessin her chosen career field has broughther to us this day to be honored as thefirst African-American official courtreporter for the State of Missouri.(Applause.)

HONOREE VIVIAN FORD SHEPPARD: Very quickly, Linda did mention the

Honda case, but I would be remiss if I

did not mention the capital murdercase where there was just so muchattention to that case. Every day I sawmy judge aging just a little bit. Thenumber of times that he hit that gavel,I couldn’t count. And this was a deathpenalty case, one of them. And that hadto be 15 years ago. Would you believethat they’re still fighting that case?And you probably have heard of itthrough the news media. If you haven’t,it was publicized and is still being pub-licized.

But in the death penalty case,which the State asked for and got,there were demonstrations outside ofthe courtroom. The news media wasthere. There were contempt of courtproceedings. And it was very, very emo-tional. Outbursts in the courtroom. Andwith it being a capital murder case, Iwould hate to tell you what I had tomark as an exhibit. But it was myresponsibility.

So I say to all of you, once the fin-gers having written, they write on.

Thank you.

MCRA’s Special Presentation to Vivian Ford SheppardSeptember 26, 2013

Most of us have had a Thanksgivingday on which, after a feast of turkey andcranberries, we loosen our belts a notchand sink into a cozy chair. Then comesthat familiar phrase, “I feel the trypto-phan working on me,” followed by a sym-phony of snores. But is tryptophan trulythe culprit?

Sort of. Tryptophan, an amino acid,is a building block for serotonin, whichregulates appetite and also improves ourmood. Serotonin, in turn, helps makemelatonin, a chemical involved in many

bodily functions, such as healthy brainactivity and sleep patterns. In an inadver-tent way, tryptophan can lead to drowsi-ness.

But there isn’t more of this helpfulamino acid in turkey than in any othermeat. We don’t get exhausted after eat-ing a burger! So what causes this post-feast pass-out?

Portion size! When we eat a largemeal of carbohydrates and protein, ourbodies divert large amounts of aminoacids to the digestive system to break

down the large quantity of food we’veeaten. This means there is proportion-ately more tryptophan in our blood,which then enters the brain, increasingmelatonin and making us crash on acouch in a food coma. Add a drink ortwo and you’re out for the count!

So if you’d like to escape thatThanksgiving nap, your portions willhave to be reasonable. If you’re like me,though, when you see the smorgasbordof succulent foods, be prepared to suc-cumb to slumber.

Does Tryptophan in Turkey Really Tire?by Jacob Tedrow




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MCRA Progress • June 2013mocra.orgMCRA Progress • June 2013 mocra.org

270 / Journal of the MISSOURI BAR

If we are honest, those of us who frequent courtrooms must admit that we are often bored, exasperated, and even aggravated by what goes on there and by the actions of some who spend time there, but never by those who spend the most time there: court reporters. They deserve our gratitude and politeness. You should learn something about them, meet them, and work with them. No one spends more time with your judge than your judge’s court reporter. Do you think they talk?

The History2

�ere is a patron saint of court reporters – “St. Cassian of Imola, a shorthand teacher who was martyred … in Italy” and beati�ed by Pope Pius XII in 1952.3 Court reporters have a wonderful creed adapted from a poem by reporter W.C. Jones.4 Here are some of the creed’s highlights:

My profession stems from man’s desire and his necessity to preserve the happenings of yesterday and today for tomorrow.

. . . . . I was with the founding fathers of �e United States when they drafted the Declaration of Independence.

. . . . . �e immortal Abraham Lincoln entrusted me to record the Emancipation Proclamation.

. . . . . My profession protects the truthful witness, and I am a nemesis of the perjurer. I am a party to the administration

of justice under the law and the court I serve.

. . . . . I am the verbatim Court Reporter!5

�e Greek historian Xenophon is said to have developed a shorthand system to preserve the writings of Socrates in the third century B.C.6 Around 63 B.C., Marcus Tullius Tiro recorded a speech by Cicero substituting abbreviations (e.g., the ampersand (&)) for commonly used words.

Despite this auspicious debut, by the Middle Ages shorthand became associated with witchcraft and virtually disappeared. In 1588, Timothy Bright published “Characterie,” which broke the spell and started the modern era of shorthand.7 �e Bright system used more than 500 characters or symbols that reporters were required to memorize.

�e alphabet-based shorthand system took hold in England. Samuel Pepys – The Diary of Samuel Pepys – used it in his writings, as did Charles Dickens. Dickens served as a parliamentary reporter and this “tribute” to the di�culties of the craft can be found in his book, David Copperfield:

I bought an approved scheme of the noble art and mystery of stenography (which cost me ten and six pence); and plunged into a sea of perplexity that brought me, in a few weeks, to the con�nes of distraction. �e changes that were rung

People You Should Kno

BY THOMAS M. DUNLAP1

Thomas M. DunlapRiley & Dunlap, PC

People You Should Know:

September-October 2013 / 271

upon dots, which in such a position meant such a thing, and in such another position something else, entirely di�erent; the wonderful vagaries that were played by circles; the unaccountable consequences that resulted from marks like �ies’ legs; the tremendous e�ects of a curve in a wrong place; not only troubled my waking hours, but re-appeared before me in my sleep.8

In 1750, the shorthand system of �omas Gurney was published. �e use of shorthand entered the courtroom when Joseph Gurney, �omas Gurney’s son, reported the trial of William Hastings, who was accused of high crimes and misdemeanors after becoming governor-general of India.9

Isaac Pittman created a phonetic-based shorthand system in 1837. �e Pittman System remains the predominant system in England, but not in the United States. Fifty years after the Pittman system was created, John Robert Gregg created a system based on the use of cursive rather than geometric symbols and taught his system at specialized schools.

By 1879, Illinois court reporter Miles Bartholomew patented a shorthand machine that pushed the pen to obsolescence in court reporting.10 �e steno machine was re�ned by Ward Stone Ireland to include a high speed keyboard with 20 keys.11

And now, the system has developed to computer-assisted transcription

and real time reporting – the witness speaks; the court reporter keystrokes the words on the stenograph; and software instantly generates words across a computer screen.

Today, court reporters fall into two camps: the stenotype court reporters and the voice writing court reporters. Both record – verbatim – what lawyers, witnesses, judges, and others say in court proceedings and transcribe that communication into written form. �e stenographic court reporters use key strokes. �e voice writing court reporters use their voice, muted by a stenomask and supplemented by electronic/digital recording. Charles Russell, who was a court reporter for Judge John M. Cave in the 13th Judicial Circuit, used the mask technique for many years and, in my experience, didn’t

miss a word. Judge Cave, always considerate, frequently asked lawyers in his courtroom if their arguments were to be on the record and, upon con�rmation that the record wasn’t required, would tell his reporter: “Rest your voice, Russ.”

Do you realize that the National Court Reporting Association suggests licensing requirements that court reporters meet a writing speed of 225 words per minute?12 Fortuitously for our court reporters, only a few of the central Missouri lawyers think at that speed and at least some have an Ozark twang that idles at 55.

The Legal Requirements �e Supreme Court of Missouri, by its Rule 14, established a Board of Certi�ed Court Reporter Examiners. �e board regulates the examination

ow: The Court ReportersThe Court Reporters(Printed with permission from the Missouri Bar and the author.)




mocra.org


Appeal, Court Reporter, and You

A Dozen Practice Tips

content, conducts examinations, ds, and cerestablishes standar

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of good moral characterand “can apply for the examination to

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A Dozen Practice TipsY1.

appeal to obtain a transcript. Coureporr

a transcript (paropriate rappr

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our impending deadline.extend y

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appeal to obtain a transcript. Coureparters can transcribe and prepor

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er – okayother lawyother lawyer – okay

oblem of the judge or the oblem, and our prt is y

ou oblem will magnify itself if yoblem will magnify itself if you become the appellant.

t een the court stand betwter and the person speaking,

es t witness who leavthe stand to use an exhibit; the

e , some things arer – okayer – okay

.tereporr

Appeal, Court Reporter, and Yout is the obligation of the appellant I

e the legal �le and transcript eparto prom the trial courin appeals fr

issouri.M 17 ithin ten days after W “the notice of appeal is �led, [the]

der the transcript, appellant shall orom the [courin writing, fr

Appeal, Court Reporter, and Yout is the obligation of the appellant

e the legal �le and transcript ts of om the trial cour

ithin ten days after the notice of appeal is �led, [the]

der the transcript, t] om the [cour

a copy of the transcript. I havtial transcripts prpar

sometimes I r

2. Iy the judge, yb

exhibits befoready“R“Ready

plainti�s use numbers, defendants use letters, and other par

e had a copy of the transcript. I haved because epartial transcripts pr

ead better than I listen.sometimes I r

voule or appry rf permitted b2. Iour k you can mary the judge, yy the judge, you can mar

ou announce, e ye you announce, exhibits beforcuit, n the 13th Cir” I.eadyeady.

plainti�s use numbers, defendants use ties use what the letters, and other par

e had ed because

ead better than I listen.

ed v

plainti�s use numbers, defendants use ties use what the

er – okayother lawyother lawyer – okayaccidental.

our witness not to rell yTTell y9. oerbally – “Hnon-v

transcribe that?” Cornglish worerbal, Ev

y to corollarquestion. Core not acceptable ” arunh unhunh unh” arand “

esponses. �ey will happen, so erbal rv

e , some things arer – okayer – okay, some things ar

espond our witness not to rou w do yoy: get a ollartranscribe that?” Cor

our esponse to yesponse to your d rnglish wor” uhuy: “ollary to cor

e not acceptable esponses. �ey will happen, so

in writing, fr”.tereporr 18 �e “[c]harges due for

eparation of the transcript [the] prected in § 512.050, shall be paid as dir

”.oRSM 19 �e rate is $2 per original page and 35 cents per copy

ent that the actual charges due for eveparation of a transcript cannot be pr

eadily determined, a deposit in the ramount of the estimated charge due

t] om the [cour �e “[c]harges due for

eparation of the transcript ected in § 512.050,

�e rate is $2 per original .page and 35 cents per copypage and 35 cents per copy.20 n the I

ent that the actual charges due for eparation of a transcript cannot be

eadily determined, a deposit in the amount of the estimated charge due

t rcour

3. Eexhibits, preporr

list has this format:

letters, and other parer to use.ter tells their lawyeport r

k e-mart pr’ou canen if yv3. E3. Eve an exhibit list for the eparexhibits, pr

ter (and judge). A typical exhibit eporlist has this format:

er to use.

e an exhibit list for the ter (and judge). A typical exhibit

esponses. �ey will happen, so s that a yw-up: “Ithe follo

t hear or understand ’ou canf y10. Ithe witness, neither can the cour

.tereporr

esponses. �ey will happen, so es?”s that a ys that a yes?”

t hear or understand t the witness, neither can the cour

eh tf olnaruo J/272 M

eparation of the transcript shall for prbe paid within the 10-day windoAfter �ling a notice of appeal, the

e of the appellant to take the failurther steps to securfur

RA BIRUOSSI

eparation of the transcript shall . ww. be paid within the 10-day windo

After �ling a notice of appeal, the e of the appellant to take the

w eviee the rther steps to secur

Conclusion

Endnotes

t is not the cour11. I

s ’tereport rt is not the courlaw for 38 y

2 H

.ears in Callaway Countyears in Callaway County.law for 38 yting, eport Rt Repory of Couristoristory of CourHHistor atural CourN

t atural Cour12 ee SSee .ncra.org.http://wwwhttp://www.ncra.org.

ule 14.05.13 R13 Rule 14.05.

.ncra.org.

t is not the cour11. Ijob to keep up with y

. Sy numberkind or b, if engendersympathysympathy, if engender

e not the boss of the ou arYYou ar12. . �e judge is the boss of tereport rcour

.tereport rthe cour

Conclusion

s tereport rt is not the courour exhibits, in job to keep up with y

y he does so b. Sed., if engender

e not the boss of the . �e judge is the boss of

ters Association; eporRRepor.courwwwwww.cour

stenographer3 Se

info/imola_histor4 �e crcerpted frex

Kansas Smeeting;

bout/content.crA5 �e Courhttp://www

ting, epory of Courters Association; ailableav at http:// http://at

tingofamerica.com/law_eportr.cour.html.stenographer

e http://wwwSe tersmuseum.eportr.cour http://www http://www.coure.htm.yy.htm.info/imola_histor

e been ted to haveporeed is r4 �e cren at a 1964 ’ speech givonesom Jcerpted fr

ters Association eporthand Rthand ReporhorKansas Smeeting; ailable at avavailable at .ncra.org/http://wwwhttp://www.ncra.org/

umber=10144temNfm?Ibout/content.creed, rs C’tereport Rt Repor5 �e Cour ailable av

tersmuseum.info/http://www

tersmuseum.

en at a 1964

.ncra.org/umber=10144.

ailable tersmuseum.info/

uide for the Certudy G14 Sxaminiation, Boarter EeporRRepor

xaminers (rter Eter Examiners (report Rt ReporCour2011); ailable at av http://www�le.jsp?id=29720.

ection 485.040, RSM15 S16 IdId. e that cour I am awar

other jobs (depositions, legislativt re is the o�cial courher

ule 81.12.17 R17 Rule 81.12.18 .IdId.19 Id

t ti�ed Couruide for the Certi�ed d of Cerxaminiation, Boarugust evised Axaminers (r

v/.gots.mo.courhttp://wwwhttp://www.cour

o 2000.ection 485.040, RSMters do eport re that cour

y focus e). Mother jobs (depositions, legislativ.tereport r

ters haveport rCourw so much. Otalent and they kno

course, some things they cane sworn o�cers of after all, they ar

tthe cour 24 and keep the con�dences ut, they can help eposed in them. Broom wortrour courou do yy

ou can quote me.that, y

Endnotes

e a unique ters havf w so much. O

ou; t tell y’course, some things they cane sworn o�cers of

and keep the con�dences ut, they can help

k and, on oom worou can quote me.

at http://wwwimages/O

eed%205.jpgrC6 H

.t-script.cowwwwww.t-script.co7 Id8 Charles Dickens, D

228 (H9 R

of Southwesley & SWWesley & S10 Gr

tersmuseum.info/eportr.courhttp://wwwhttp://www.courters%20eport%20Rt%20Reporriginal%20Courimages/O

eed%205.jpgthand; hory of Sy of Shoristoristory of SHHistor ; thand ailable atavavailable at http://

.phpyy.php.uk/histor.t-script.co . IdId.

field ervid Coppaavid CoppCharles Dickens, DCharles Dickens, Daothers 1872).rarper & BH

ches ers, Sketwoodger BoWWoodger Bot oberobert RRoberw d Old and Nearof Southwof Southwar illiam W32 (

on 1905). esley & Sosed , Clywney J. DoegorGr

tersmuseum.info/ters%20

http://

field

ches illiam

19 IdId.ection 488.2250, RSM20 Sevised and e�ectiv2012 (r

adjournment of the 97th Gto “$3.50 per legal page for prof a paper and an electr

”) S. 100, 97th Gtranscript. 2013), signed boess. (MS

uly 2, 2013.Jection 512.050, RSM21 S

ainCCain .2d 100 (M, 587 S.W, 587 S.W.2d 100 (Mule 81.19(b).22 R22 Rule 81.19(b).

. uppo Section 488.2250, RSMe 90 days after evised and e�ectiv

eneral Assembly adjournment of the 97th Geparation to “$3.50 per legal page for pr

ersion of the onic vof a paper and an electreg. ., R., Reg. en. Assemb”) S. 100, 97th G

on on ixay N. Jvv. Joy G. 2013), signed b

o 2000; ection 512.050, RSM . Botkin vBotkin v. . S.D. 1979).pp. Ao.2d 100 (M

Endnotesunlap is a par1 �omas M. D

ulton �rm of Riley & DFestminster College and the WWestminster College and the a graduate of issouri-Columbia School of ersity of MnivU

e has been in the general practice of . HLawLaw. H

tner in the unlap is a pare is .C. H, P, P.C. Hunlapulton �rm of Riley & D

estminster College and the issouri-Columbia School of

e has been in the general practice of

10 GrCaptioning: Subthe digit

vision (eleelevision (TTele2008).

11 Id

osed , Clywney J. DoegorGr, and hytitling, stenograpCaptioning: Sub

ext with TText with gence of eronval cthe digitthe digital cess . Prohn Hopkins UnivJvision (vision (J

2008)..IdId.

, and ext with

ule 81.19(b).22 R22 Rule 81.19(b).t of Aissouri Cour23 Missouri Cour; Mule XVule XV; Mistrict Ristrict Rule XVD

ule 340; and Mistrict Ristrict Rule 340; and MEastern Douthern Dppeals-Sof A

ection 485.040, RSM24 S

estern WWestern ppeals-ppeals-Wt of Appeals-t of Aissouri Cour

t issouri Courule 340; and Mule 3.istrict Ristrict Rule 3.outhern D

o 2000ection 485.040, RSM .

ebmepte S

373 / 210r 2ebotcO-re




mocra.org


The Pre-conference BoardMeeting of the MCRA Board ofDirectors was called to order at10:40 a.m. The Board members inattendance were:

Rozann Brancato, PresidentShana Crane, President-ElectSarah Marshall, Vice PresidentSue Steen, SecretaryKaren Rottmann, TreasurerDawn McTeer, Immediate PastPresidentRenee Bierman, Region I VicePresidentRena Tyne, Region II VicePresidentMelissa Holcomb, Region IV VicePresident (late arrival)Sheila Irvin, Region V VicePresident

Board member not present:Ann Sprague, Region III VicePresident

Also present: Linda Dattilo, Executive Director

Tracy Taylor, Incoming Region III Vice President

Debra Dibble, NCRA representative

RATIFICATION OF E-MAIL VOTESPresident Brancato called for amotion to ratify the following e-mail votes:

MOTION/STEEN. MOTION SEC-ONDED/MARSHALL.July 17, 2013I move that Wendy Golding beadmitted as an active member ofMCRA.

MOTION/TYNE. MOTION SECOND-ED/ROTTMANN.

July 17, 2013I make a motion we approve theboard meeting minutes from6/29/13.

MOTION/STEEN. MOTION SEC-ONDED/ROTTMANN.August 1, 2013I move that Elizabeth Kavelmanbe accepted as a student memberof MCRA.

MOTION/STEEN. MOTION SEC-ONDED/ROTTMANN.August 7, 2013I move that Kathy Turner andKathleen Porter, both employeesof Midwest Litigation, beapproved as general members ofMCRA.

MOTION/STEEN. MOTION SEC-ONDED/ROTTMANN.August 19, 2013I move that Kelly Pieper and LiebeFranges be admitted as newactive members of MCRA. Bothare new CCRs and are beingoffered a free one-year member-ship.

MOTION/STEEN. MOTION SEC-ONDED/TYNE.August 21, 2013I move that Ksenija Zeltkalns beadmitted as a member of MCRA.

MOTION/STEEN. MOTION SEC-ONDED/MARSHALL.August 30, 2013I move that the following stu-dents be accepted as members ofMCRA: Dawn Michelle Danscomb,Linda Ross.

MOTION/STEEN. MOTION SEC-ONDED/MARSHALL.September 11, 2013

I move that Carole J. Willenbergbe accepted as a student memberof MCRA.I move that Carolyn Keeling, whowill be retiring at the end ofSeptember 2013, be moved toMCRA’s retirement status.

MOTION/STEEN. MOTION SEC-ONDED/MARSHALL.September 16, 2013I move that Janice Ensminger bemoved from active to retired sta-tus as she retired from reportingon 7/1/2012.

MOTION/MCTEER. I move to ratifythe e-mail votes as set out below.

MOTION SECONDED/TYNE. Therebeing no further discussion,President Brancato called for avote on the motion. Unanimousaye. Motion carried.

PRESIDENT’S REPORTPresident Brancato noted

that the CREC seminars will beheld October 15 and 16, 2013, atthe Hilton St. Louis Frontenac.

President Brancato reportedon the status of our delinquentmembership. Our secondreminder dues notices were notsent out to the membership untilvery recently. President Brancatomade personal telephone calls toall whose dues were in arrearsasking them to please get theirdues current. A number of mem-bers indicated that they wouldlike to be able to pay their duesonline, so President Brancatothinks it’s something we shouldlook into. There was discussionabout having an interactive web-site so that members couldchange their contact info and pay

dues online. President Brancatoreported she and MembershipChair Stephanie Prewitt haveinvestigated several options, butthey can be expensive and theyhaven’t yet found something thatmeets our needs. It was agreedthat at the very least we will sendregular dues notices and remindernotices through e-mail and thatthe second reminder notices willbe sent out timely next year, pos-sibly around April 15th.

At this point in the meeting,Region IV Vice President MelissaHolcomb arrived.

Incoming Region III VicePresident Tracy Taylor reportedthat she is aware of a companythat could probably handle theonline payment by credit card fora reasonable percentage.

There was additional discus-sion of some problems that haveoccurred with switching to a newCPA. The Treasurer and ExecutiveDirector plan to meet with theCPA within two weeks to discussthese issues.

President Brancato reportedthat she sent letters to a numberof Kansas City freelance firms tolet them know that MCRA sup-ports all reporters in the state andinviting them to our conferenceand to become members ofMCRA. It was agreed that weneed to do more outreach to free-lance reporters. Incoming RegionIII Vice President Tracy Taylornoted that a number of freelancereporters feel that MCRA is moregeared toward official reporters.There was discussion about thetiming of the yearly conferenceand legislative issues.

Vice President SarahMarshall stated she wants to work


Minutes of the Pre-conference Board MeetingSheraton Westport Hotel900 Westport PlazaSt. Louis, MissouriSeptember 20, 2013

with Region VPs on outreach fornew members.

There was agreement amongthe Board that our website andfacebook page need to be updatedfrequently.

President Brancato reportedthat she had been approached bya freelance firm about the possi-bility of getting continuing educa-tion points for pro bono work.NCRA Director Debra Dibble notedthat NCRA makes a distinctionbetween continuing educationpoints and professional develop-ment points. The professionaldevelopment points might includepro bono work. The Missouri CCRBoard does not make such a dis-tinction and only grants continu-ing education points.

PRESIDENT-ELECT’S REPORTPresident-Elect Shana Crane

reported that she had attendedNCRA’s Leadership Conference.Additionally, she has been workingon the conference and preparingto take on the role of President.

VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORTVice President Sarah

Marshall also reported she hadattended NCRA’s LeadershipConference. She mentioned someideas she has about gaining newmembers.

SECRETARY’S REPORTSecretary Sue Steen reported

that she has been working on pro-cessing new member applications.

MOTION/STEEN. I move that Dennis Jaeger bemoved to retirement status.

MOTION SECONDED/MARSHALL. There being no further dis-

cussion, President Brancato calledfor a vote on the motion.Unanimous aye. Motion carried.

TREASURER’S REPORTTreasurer Karen Rottmann

reported the following accountbalances:U.S. Bank checking: $ 66,032.79U.S. Bank savings: $ 20,050.34Morgan Stanley investments:$103,000.21

Executive Director LindaDattilo gave a fairly lengthyreport about her discussions withGary Schnell, our investment rep-resentative. He reported to herthat our investment has beenaffected by the rise in interestrates and we may want to consid-er changing a portion of ourinvestments, but the money is stillvery safe and these fluctuationsare to be expected in an invest-ment account. Executive DirectorDattilo recommends having Mr.Schnell attend a Board meeting.

There was discussion of theaging summary. TreasurerRottmann believes she will havemore information on that at thePost-Conference Board Meeting.

President Brancato statedthat Mary Conway will have thebudget prepared before the newfiscal year begins.

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT’SREPORT

Immediate Past PresidentDawn McTeer noted it’s been anhonor to serve on the MCRABoard for the past eight years.President Brancato thankedImmediate Past President McTeerfor her service on the Board.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORTExecutive Director Linda

Dattilo reported that MCRA mem-ber Susanne Moon has had adeath in her family and will beunable to attend the conference.Ms. Moon asked if her conferenceattendance fee could be refunded.

MOTION/MARSHALL.Move that Susanne Moon’s regis-

tration fee be refunded.

MOTION SECONDED/IRVIN. Therebeing no further discussion,President Brancato called for avote on the motion. Unanimousaye. Motion carried.

REGION I VICE PRESIDENT’SREPORT

Region I Vice PresidentRenee Bierman reported thatRegion I raised approximately$5,000 on their Trivia Night.Region I’s annual meeting washeld at the Hacienda restaurant.In addition, Renee has been work-ing with the conference vendorsand assisting Shana Crane withpreparing for the conference.

REGION II VICE PRESIDENT’SREPORT

Region II Vice President RenaTyne reported that Region II willbe having their Trivia Night inMarch. MCRA’s 2014 conferenceis planned for September 11through 13 at the Sheraton CrownCenter in Kansas City.

REGION III VICE PRESIDENT’SREPORT

President Brancato reportedthat Tracy Taylor will be the newRegion III Vice President.

REGION IV VICE PRESIDENT’SREPORT

Region IV Vice PresidentMelissa Holcomb reported thatMelissa Hannah will be the newRegion IV Vice President.

REGION V VICE PRESIDENT’SREPORT

Region V Vice PresidentSheila Irvin reported that RegionV had their annual meeting at theend of June and had about sixreporters present. Sheila will onceagain be the Region V VicePresident.

NEW BUSINESS

President Brancato called fordiscussion of new business.Executive Director Dattilo notedthat we are trying to have a NewsAround the State article in eachissue of PROGRESS. This is a goodplace to mention new reporters,retirements, deaths. Membersshould contact Executive DirectorDattilo if they have information tocontribute.

Executive Director Dattilothanked Tiffany Thompson fordoing the decorating in our con-ference rooms.

MOTION/MCTEER.I move that we authorize thePresident to pay the day-to-dayexpenses of the Association untilthe next Board meeting.


President Brancato thankedthe members of the Board fortheir service and assistance to herthis past year. She presentedeach Board member with a gift.

MOTION/MCTEER.I move that we adjourn.


The meeting was adjourned at11:50 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue SteenMCRA Board Secretary


mocra.org


President Brancato called toorder the 68th Annual BusinessMeeting of the Missouri CourtReporters Association at approxi-mately 12:15 p.m. All in atten-dance recited the Pledge ofAllegiance.

President Brancato called onRegion V Vice President SheilaIrvin to give the invocation.

Lunch was served.President Brancato recog-

nized the current Board ofDirectors: Shana Crane, President-Elect; Sarah Marshall, VicePresident; Sue Steen, Secretary;Karen Rottmann, Treasurer; DawnMcTeer, Immediate Past President;Renee Bierman, Region I VicePresident; Rena Tyne, Region IIVice President; Melissa Holcomb,Region IV Vice President; SheilaIrvin, Region V Vice President.Ann Sprague, Region III VicePresident, was not present.

President Brancato intro-duced the incoming Board ofDirectors and the remaining peo-ple at the head table: ShanaCrane, President; Sarah Marshall,President-Elect; Kathy Foley, VicePresident; Melissa Holcomb,Secretary; Karen Rottmann,Treasurer; Renee Bierman, RegionI Vice President; Rena Tyne,Region II Vice President; TracyTaylor, Region III Vice President;Sheila Irvin, Region V VicePresident; Linda Dattilo, ExecutiveDirector; Debra Dibble, NCRADirector; Linda Winfrey, NVRADirector. Melissa Hannah, RegionIV Vice President, was not present.

President Brancato called fora moment of silence to honormembers of the Association andfamily members who have passedaway in the last year: Region I,Dolores Newman, mother ofReagan Fiorino; Region I, JosephEdwards, father of Darlene Foots;Region I, Herbert Foppe, father ofDebbie Kriegshauser; Region I,Gloria Stelfox, mother of JulieStelfox; Region II, Rhonda Bowen,member; Region II, David Hoyler,retired member; Region II, IreneVirginia Milne, mother of CharlaMilne-Cathcart; Region II, JimOnstot, father of Sue Steen;

Region III, Lawrence Sprague,father-in-law of Ann Sprague;Region III, Neil Lunn Merten,father of Marjorie McFann; RegionIII, Russell K. Poulter, father ofKristal Murphy; Region III, BrendaSprecher, sister of Diana Taylor;Region IV, Bessie J. Gibbs, courtreporter and mother of ChristineRichele.

President Brancato recog-nized and asked to stand PastPresidents of MCRA in atten-dance: Dawn McTeer, JoanneMartin, Faith Olliges, Pat Manners,Rhonda Laurentius, DeborahMcLaughlin, Jennifer Dunn, LindaDattilo, Cathy Boyd, Randy Dunn,Bo Kriegshauser, and GeraldWilkison.

President Brancato acknowl-edged past recipients of theDistinguished Service Award inattendance: Jean Brown, DeborahMcLaughlin, Bo Kriegshauser,Linda Dattilo, Randy Dunn, andJoanne Martin.

President Brancato welcomedDebra Dibble, NCRA Director; andLinda Winfrey, NVRA Director.

President Brancato thankedthis year’s conference sponsorsand exhibitors: MidwestLitigation (Gold Sponsor), TigerReporting (Silver Sponsor),Eclipse/Advantage Software,Jordan Essentials, Miche Bags,Midwest Litigation Services,Origami Owl, PohlmanUSA CourtReporting, PROCAT, Stenograph,and Tiger Reporting.

President Brancato thankedthis year’s conference speakers:Debra Dibble, Jill Farmer, MarkKislingbury, Dessa Van Schuyver,and Linda Winfrey.

President Brancato recog-nized and asked to stand first-time conference attendees.

President Brancato recog-nized and asked to stand the 17students in attendance. Shethanked those who participated inthe Adopt-A-Student program andoffered a special thank you toMCRA member Pat Manners forher generous donation toward thestudent sponsorship programagain this year.

President Brancato recog-

nized and asked to stand theretirees in attendance.

Faith Olliges and MaryConway comprised the committeethat approved the 2012 BusinessMeeting Minutes prior to publica-tion. President Brancato calledfor the approval of the minutes ofthe 2012 Business Meeting.Hearing no corrections, the min-utes are approved as printed inthe 2012 Postconference issue ofPROGRESS. Kathy Foley andDeborah McLaughlin wereappointed to approve the minutesof the 2013 Business Meetingprior to publication.

President Brancato recog-nized Renee Bierman, Region IVice President. Renee reportedthat there are 102 members and106 reporters in attendance at the2013 conference. PresidentBrancato noted that a quorumwas present.

President Brancato called forthe approval of the agenda of the2013 MCRA Business Meeting andadoption of the Standing Rules forthe Business Meeting. Hearing noobjection, both were adopted.

President Brancato notedthat the reports of officers, stand-ing committees, and special com-mittees are available at the regis-tration desk and on the website:www.mocra.org. Hearing no ques-tions regarding these reports, thereports will stand as submitted.

Jean Brown presented the2013 Distinguished Service Awardto Faith Olliges.

Executive Director LindaDattilo made a special presenta-tion on behalf of MCRA to VivianFord Sheppard, the first African-American official court reporter inthe State of Missouri.

President Brancato deliveredher outgoing presidential messageto the attendees.

Nominating CommitteeChairperson Dawn McTeer submit-ted the following slate of officersfor 2013-2014: Shana Crane,President; Sarah Marshall,President-Elect; Kathy Foley, VicePresident; Karen Rottmann,Treasurer; Melissa Holcomb,Secretary. There were no further

nominations. The nominationswere closed and the officers wereelected by acclamation.

Debra Dibble, NCRA Director,conducted the installation of the2013-2014 Board of Directors:Shana Crane, President; SarahMarshall, President-Elect; KathyFoley, Vice President; KarenRottmann, Treasurer; MelissaHolcomb, Secretary; ReneeBierman, Region I Vice President;Rena Tyne, Region II VicePresident; Tracy Taylor, Region IIIVice President; Melissa Hannah,Region IV Vice President; andSheila Irvin, Region V VicePresident.

Shana Crane, 2013-2014President, delivered her presiden-tial acceptance speech.

Dawn McTeer presented RozannBrancato with the Past President'sPlaque and thanked her for herservice to MCRA.

There was no old business and nonew business.

Region II Vice President Rena Tyneinvited all to attend the 69thAnnual Conference of the MissouriCourt Reporters Association to beheld September 12 through 14,2014, at the Sheraton CrownCenter Hotel in Kansas City.

President Brancato acknowledgedJudge Edward Peek being presentat the meeting.

Kathy Foley made a motion toadjourn the meeting. Sheila Irvinseconded. The winners of thedrawings were announced andPresident Brancato adjourned the68th Annual Business Meeting ofMCRA at 1:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan L. SteenSecretary, MCRA

Missouri Court Reporters Assocation

Minutes of the 68th Annual Business MeetingSheraton Westport Hotel

900 Westport Plaza, St. Louis, MissouriSaturday, September 21, 2013


mocra.org


The Post-conference BoardMeeting of the MCRA Board ofDirectors was called to order at12:30 p.m. The Board members inattendance were:Shana Crane, PresidentSarah Marshall, President-ElectKathy Foley, Vice PresidentMelissa Holcomb, SecretaryKaren Rottmann, TreasurerRozann Brancato, Immediate Past President

Renee Bierman, Region I Vice President

Rena Tyne, Region II Vice PresidentTracy Taylor, Region III Vice President

Sheila Irvin, Region V VicePresident

Board member not present:Melissa Hannah, Region IV Vice President

Also present: Linda Dattilo, Executive DirectorDebra Dibble, NCRA representative

PRESIDENT’S REPORTPresident Crane announced

the NCRA convention would beheld on July 31st through August3rd at the Hilton San FranciscoUnion Square. The MCRA conven-tion will be held next year inKansas City. The Legislative BootCamp will be held March 2-4,2014. The Court ReporterEducation Committee will beOctober 15-16 at Frontenac St.Louis Hilton. President Cranereminded MCRA’s fiscal year endsOctober 31 and to have expensesturned in. The winter board meet-ing will be held in Kansas City atthe Sheraton Crown Center anddate to be determined.

POST CONVENTION REPORTPresident Crane thought the

convention went well with no finalnumbers to report at this time.Debra Dibble NCRA representativeadded the comment she thoughtthe convention went well andlooked forward to attending nextyear.

SECRETARY’S REPORTNo report given.

TREASURER’S REPORTTreasurer Karen Rottman

reported no final numbers fromconvention. She asked the board ifold registration forms from previ-ous year needed to be saved.

PRESIDENT ELECT’S REPORTPresident -Elect Marshall

made the comment could old reg-istration forms, secretary files,treasurer files be scanned andsaved to help with the storageissues. Vice President Foley statedthat the Board would need to lookat policy and procedures to seehow far back we need to saveforms. NCRA Representative Dibblesaid she would check on whatNCRA’s policy is and forward toMarshall. Marshall agreed to lookat NCRA’s policy and present tothe board.

VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORTNo report given.

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT’SREPORTNo report given.

REGION I VICE PRESIDENT’S

REPORTNo report given.

REGION II VICE PRESIDENT’SREPORT

Region II Vice President RenaTyne reported that Region II willbe setting a date for trivia. Thedate for trivia will be determinedonce Boot Camp dates are set.Tyne also stated that Region IIwould have convention ready bythe end of the year.

REGION III VICE PRESIDENT’SREPORTNo report given.

REGION IV VICE PRESIDENT’SREPORTNo report given.

REGION V VICE PRESIDENT’SREPORTNo report given.

OLD BUSNIESSExecutive Director Linda

Dattilo asked the board to refundJoyce Lawrence fifty dollar fromconvention revenue due to her sta-tus of non-member. She registeredfor convention as a non-memberbut had paid membership dues.

MOTION/ FOLEY,I make a motion to refund

fifty dollars from convention rev-enue to Joyce Lawrence.

MOTION/FOLEY. MOTION SECOND-ED/BRANCATO.

No further discussion.Unanimous aye. Motion carried.

Immediate Past PresidentBrancato made the statement thatthere may be one additional per-

son like Ms. Lawrence but not sureof the name that will need arefund due to renewal of member-ship.NEW BUSINESS

Region III Vice PresidentTracey Taylor made suggestions forfuture convention in regards tovendors. She gave some sugges-tions on how vendors could bemore visible and accessible toreporters while attending confer-ence.

Immediate Past PresidentBrancato made suggestions that infuture conventions if reportersfrom other states wanted toattend convention and if theycould show proof of membershipto their state MCRA could reducethe fee from non-member tomember. This could increase regis-tration to the convention from ourneighbor states.

MOTION/BRANCATO. MOTIONSECONDED/MARSHALL.

I move that we pay the day-to-day expenses. No further dis-cussion. Unanimous aye. Motioncarried.

MOTION/IRVIN I move that weadjourn.

MOTION SECONDED/TYNE. There being no further discus-

sion, President Crane called for avoted on the motion. Unanimousaye. Motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at1:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,Melissa HolcombMCRA Board Secretary

Missouri Court Reporters Assocation

Minutes of the Post-conference Board MeetingSheraton Westport Hotel

900 Westport Plaza, St. Louis, MissouriSeptember 22, 2013



Please select one: ___ New Active Member: $105

___ New Student Member: $35

Payment method: Check No. ____________

Visa/MasterCard No._________________________________ Exp. Date:_________

Membership Status applying for (circle 1): Active • Associate • Student • General Retired

(see page 14 for description of each status)

Type of Reporter (circle): Official • Freelance • Federal • Public Service • Workers’ Comp

Admin. Hearing Commission • Other (specify): _________________________

Student (school):______________________ Graduation Date: ____________

Reporting method (circle 1): Stenotype • Stenomask

Reporting Experience (years and months):

Current Certifications/Designations (circle all that apply): CSR (MO) CCR (MO) RPR RMR RDR

CRR CVR CVR-CM CLVS PSSC Other:____________________

Attach a copy of each certificate if applying for new membership

Transcript Production Method: Please list the brand of software/equipment you currently

use to produce transcripts (example: Case Catalyst, ProCat, SpeechCAT, MS Word, Work Perfect):

Name:

Address:

City: State: Zip:

Telephones: Ofc: Res:

Fax: Email:

Place of Employment:

Address of Employment:

Which address for mail (circle 1): Home Office

Mail this application form and copies of all professional certifications with credit card information or check made payable to MCRA, to

Melissa Holcomb, CCR3016 West 26th StreetJoplin, MO 64804

This membership application is also available online at mocra.org.

MCRA Membership Application

� Active Member: $105

� Student: $35

Membership Category. Please select one:

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