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  • 5 Jan 2020 4:04 PM | Christopher Reho (Administrator)


    Join us for the 2020 VCRA Convention on March 20th through 22nd at the beautiful Virginian Hotel in Lynchburg, Virginia.  It will be a three-day celebration of our profession!  Our keynote speaker is Mark Kislingbury, the Guinness World Record holder for "Fastest Court Reporter."  Register today!  You're not going to want to miss this!

    Register now!  Early Bird pricing ends January 31!

    Learn More and Register


  • 3 Jan 2020 1:51 PM | Christopher Reho (Administrator)

    SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FAST APPROACHING….

    You still have time, but Virginia Court Reporters Association’s deadline to submit your application for the Carolyn M. O’Connor Education Scholarship Fund is fast approaching.   All applications must be received by January 10, 2020 to be eligible for consideration.  

    If you are a student who is actively engaged in the study of court reporting, either enrolled in a traditional school setting or attending an online program, and you have completed  at least 1 semester of court reporting school, along with passing at least 1 test at a minimum of 160 words per minute, then YOU should apply!

    Instructors, please encourage your students who qualify to apply!  The recipient(s) of the award (up to $1,000) will be notified by February 15, 2020, along with being invited as our guest to our 2020 Convention in Lynchburg, Virginia, where they will be recognized and receive their award, along with a 1-year membership to VCRA.

    Please submit your application to Rachel Cramer at treasurer@vcra.net .

    Questions?  Please feel free reach out via social media, email, or telephone!

    Click Here to Learn More and Download the Application

  • 31 Dec 2019 5:07 PM | Christopher Reho (Administrator)

    The VCRA has launched a new website that provides greater ways to connect with our membership.  All members now have an account where they can update their directory information, register for events and change preferences.  Setting up your account is easy and should only take a few minutes. In order to set up your account, follow the steps below.

    1.  Go to the following link: https://vcra.net/Sys/ResetPasswordRequest
    2.  Input the email address you used to register your VCRA account, and copy the characters in the image on that page into the box marked “Code.”  Click “Submit.”

      3.  You will then receive an email with a link to reset your password.  Click this link and enter your new password (Minimum of seven characters).

        4. Once your password is set, use it and your email address to log into your VCRA account by clicking the “Log in” button in the top right corner of the website.

          5.  You should now be logged in and see your name in the top right corner of the website.  To edit your profile, click your name and click “View profile.”  This page displays your current profile information and settings.  

            6.  To update your profile, click “Edit profile.”

              7.  From this page, you can update your profile information, which will also update your listing in the directory.  

                8.  Next, click “Privacy.”  Here, you can control what is and is not visible to other people from the directory.  By default, certain items are set to “Anybody” and certain to “No Access.” Go through the list and decide which items you would like to share in the directory.  Be sure to click “Save” to save your changes.

                  Congratulations!  You’re done!  Your account is now set up.


                  Christopher D. Reho, RPR, CCR

                1. 15 Dec 2019 10:16 PM | Christopher Reho (Administrator)
                  After several months of work behind the scenes, the new website for the Virginia Court Reporters Association is now LIVE!  Besides a visual upgrade, the new website offers a range of new features for our members and visitors.  Current members will receive information about how to log into their accounts shortly.  
                2. 15 Dec 2019 10:59 AM | Christopher Reho (Administrator)

                  VCRA would like to congratulate our raffle winner, Becky Remsen, all the way from California! Thank you all for supporting the VCRA StrongBox!  With your help, the raffle was a resounding success, selling through all of our tickets.  Enjoy your wonderful prize, Becky!

                3. 25 Oct 2019 10:44 AM | Christopher Reho (Administrator)

                  VCRA is excited to announce our raffle for a Peloton bike and a year of unlimited class content! If you’re not familiar with the Peloton bike, it is the latest exercise craze. It is immersive indoor cycling where you can join live classes with realtime instructors directly in your home. You will also have 24-hour access to a library of cycling classes. There are classes ranging from 5 to 90 minutes with varying exercise levels and music genres. The Peloton exercise experience will keep you coming back for more! As an added bonus, if a court reporter wins the raffle, Mary Ann Payonk has donated free registration to her 2020 Empowerment Conference! What could be better than that?!

                  • The prize package is worth $2,713.
                  • The drawing will be held on 12/14/19 via Facebook Live.
                  • The cost per ticket is only $25.00, and we are limiting the tickets to 325.
                  • All proceeds are to benefit VCRA’s StrongBox Legislative Fund

                  If you would like to purchase a ticket (or two or three), contact one of the VCRA board members or send a message via our Facebook page or the email address below, and we’ll take care of you. Good luck!

                   

                  To order tickets or inquire further, please contact vcraraffle@vcra.net

                   

                  VCRA LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE RAFFLE RULES

                  Below are the official rules of the Peloton Bicycle raffle being held by VCRA:

                  1. The winning ticket will be blindly drawn at random in a method which gives all parties a fair chance.
                  2. Participants do not have to be present at the drawing to win.
                  3. Any tax implications from winning this raffle are solely the responsibility of the winner.
                  4. If the winner desires to upgrade from the Peloton Bicycle to the Peloton Treadmill, they may do so by paying the difference.
                  5. If the winner lives in AK, HI, PR, U.S. Virgin Islands, or at a ferry-only accessible location, Peloton may charge delivery fees, which will be the sole responsibility of the winner.
                  6. If the winner is a court reporter, their name will be submitted to Mary Ann Payonk for the 2020 Empowerment Conference, and the arrangements will be made directly with Mary Ann Payonk.
                  7. If at least 110 tickets are not sold, it is within the Board’s discretion to not hold the drawing and refund all monies.
                  8. VCRA Board members and their families are eligible to participate.


                4. 24 Oct 2019 9:55 AM | Christopher Reho (Administrator)

                  “Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” I recently came across this quote by motivational speaker Les Brown. So why do we let our fears hold us back?

                  For more years than I would care to admit, I knew I should focus more of my time towards improving my writing skills. While I would write realtime for myself every day, until recently I would become very anxious when sharing my screen with attorneys. At present, I dedicate a portion of every day towards learning new brief forms and adding them to my dictionary. It is astonishing how many words I continue to add to my CAT dictionary, but there is great satisfaction in setting a goal and getting closer and closer to reaching it.

                  Perhaps your goal is to write at faster speeds with a higher translation rate? Our March 2020 convention keynote speaker will be Mark Kislingbury, who holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest court reporter by writing 360 words per minute with a 97.23 percent accuracy. Mark founded the Mark Kislingbury Academy of Court Reporting in Houston, Texas, in 2011; and, in addition to teaching, he also captions for a national political radio program. During his hands-on presentation, Mark will share his short-writing methods and speed-building techniques.

                  Have you ever considered entering a speed contest or realtime contest? VCRA will be holding our first-ever speed contest during the convention and will be offering two separate tests, one consisting of a 280 WPM Q&A selection and a 225 WPM realtime selection.

                  There is no better time than now to start planning your flapper dress or zoot suit from the Roaring ‘20s for our convention’s welcome reception extravaganza.

                  But before we get to March and our next convention, VCRA has scheduled several software training events and town halls. The town halls will focus on the highlights of the bill for licensure, which includes a provision for apprenticeship licensure, and we are inviting the audience to ask questions and share your views. The Virginia General Assembly will begin their next legislative session on January 8, 2020. Times and locations of these events may be found on our VCRA website and Facebook page.

                  Do you have an older steno machine sitting in your closet? Consider donating it to the VCRA loaner program. At present, there are two introduction to steno machine programs being offered, one by NCRA’s A to Z and one by Project Steno’s Basic Training. Over the past few months, numerous people have submitted applications to begin these programs, and there are waiting lists due to the shortage of available machines.

                  Our strength remains in our numbers. The membership of VCRA has continued to grow over the past several years, and membership has almost doubled over the past five years. As your Board of Directors, we continue to explore the best ways we may serve you, our members, and we thank you for your continued support.

                  VCRA offers programs such as mentorship and pro bono, and we encourage all members to become involved in your association. Don’t let you fears hold you back. The benefits of volunteering are enormous and very rewarding!

                  With warm regards,


                  Leslie Etheredge, RMR, CCR

                  President, Virginia Court Reporters Association


                5. 23 Sep 2019 5:11 PM | Christopher Reho (Administrator)

                  Lynchburg, here we come! Our March 20-22, 2020, convention will be held at the beautiful location of The Virginian Hotel in Lynchburg, Virginia. The year will be 2020, and our convention’s theme is The Roaring ‘20s. This will be a wonderful time for us to reflect on the past and future of court reporting. VCRA is now in the process of securing speakers and planning events for our convention, and it is shaping up to be a convention with many new speakers mixed in with some old favorites.

                  Recently, during a discussion with a potential speaker for our convention, I was asked to describe the certification requirements in Virginia for a practicing court reporter. As our members know, literally anyone can hold himself or herself out to be a court reporter. At present, our Code of Virginia is silent with regard to who may practice as a court reporter in our commonwealth. This particular convention presenter lives in a state where there is mandatory certification and was astounded to learn Virginia does not have any requirements in place for court reporters.

                  On the same day, another conversation, I was asked the question, “Why do you even care about licensure?” I have given much thought to this question. Why should we care if court reporters are certified and licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia? The answer to why is state certification ensures a standard of competence to protect the consumer. Court reporters are responsible for protecting the record for all parties. The work of court reporters is of critical importance in the production of accurate and timely recording and transcriptions of proceedings. The public should be able to rely on the fact that their court reporter has attained the necessary skill levels of proficiency and competency.

                  The Board of Directors of VCRA will be holding a series of town halls beginning in the fall so we may share the provisions of the proposed bill for licensure, and we will be available to answer questions.

                  VCRA is planning on once again appearing as an exhibitor in Hampton at the 2019 Virginia School Counselor Association Conference. The dates are October 16-18, 2019. Many court reporters volunteered their time last year to promote our profession, and all who did so expressed this was a rewarding experience for them. Volunteers demonstrated their writing skills and shared information about court reporting with the school counselors.

                  Stay tuned as we make announcements of the dates and locations of our planned town halls, meet-and-greet socials and fundraising events; and please let us know if you are able to participate in October in Hampton or perhaps teach an A-to-Z class.

                  The Board of Directors of VCRA appreciates the support of our members and sponsors. We arededicated to promoting the profession of court reporting and the general welfare and mutual professional interests of Virginia's freelance and official court reporters.

                  Warm Regards,

                  Leslie Etheredge, RMR, CCR

                  VCRA President

                  president@vcra.net


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