MCRA ANNUAL CONVENTION
4/28&29/2018
Drury Plaza Hotel, St. Charles, MO
Address:
380 Mulholland Drive, St Charles, MO 63303
*** IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND VIA WEBINAR, PLEASE USE REGISTRATION FORM & WRITE WEBINAR ON IT. PAY VIA PAYPAL OR CHECK. MAKE SURE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS ON IT, AND YOUR SESSION NUMBERS WILL BE EMAILED TO YOU.
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| Come hang out ... 
Swim or relax in the pool or hot tub ... 
Use to morning workouts? 
Forgot to do something at work? Business center 
The facilities are new. They have free food and drinks available at specified times. |
 
Region V of the Missouri Court Reporters Association will be selling court reporter themed coffee mugs, wine glasses, and 20 oz. RTIC insulated tumblers at Convention in April and donating the proceeds to MCRA.
Please email
[email protected] to order. Payment due at the time you pick it up at Convention.
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April 28th, Saturday, come join Tracy Bianco at 8:30 a.m. for Personal Responsibility/Juggling It All
Tracy Bianco, Speaker
Personal Accountability and Juggling It All
(.2 CEUs)
Tracy Bianco has a Master's in Education from Southern IL University and attending Leadership Development Training. She is a Certified Professional Coach and is affiliated with the Certified Coaches Federation. She is an experienced trainer, speaker, coach who teaches others to recognize and live up to their true potential.
We all are part of our own juggling act. Balancing the many roles and responsibilities on our plates is at times overwhelming. Ms. Bianco will speak on bringing organization and time management to the forefront while also tackling the all-important concept of work-life balance.
At 10:45 a.m. Sue A. Terry, NCRA's President-Elect, will address Legal Education.
And then after lunch at 1:45 p.m.:
Kim Greiner, KCRA -
Program: Gadgets and Dropbox
(.15 CEUs)
Kimberly Greiner has 28 years of experience in verbatim reporting as a freelance and official court reporter. She has experience with lengthy jury trials, highly technical material, news media involvement, governmental audits, and constantly changing situations. She has experience providing realtime on-site and remotely for court and counsel.
Kim will be showing us a variety of gadgets and tools to assist us with our transcripts and duties as court reporters. She will also work with us on Dropbox.
Saturday, April 28th, at 3:30 there will be a Town Hall meeting moderated by Deborah McLaughlin, Sue Terry, and Shana Crane.
Sunday, April 29, at 8:30 a.m. join Sergeant Chad Stieferman for Active Shooter Scenario (.2 CEUs)
Chad Stieferman is the owner of Advanced Tactical LLC in Jefferson City, MO, and is also a Sergeant with the Jefferson City Police Department and a Special Weapons and Tactics team leader. Chad is a fifteen-year Law Enforcement veteran and has been a certified active shooter instructor since 2007. He specializes in teaching armed intruder response methods to Law Enforcement, Businesses, and Individuals. In addition to teaching armed intruder response and work place violence Chad teaches stress management techniques and critical decision making. He has worked with private/government offices, grocery stores, churches, medical facilities, factories, gyms, etc. to help develop armed intruder response plans for their employees.
Sunday, the 29th, at 10:45 a.m.
Detective Jim Karase will speak on Digital Forensics (.15 CEUs)
Detective Karase is a police officer in the St. Louis County Police
Department. He is currently heading up the Digital Forensics Unit of the
department.
Program: Digital Forensics
is a branch of forensic science encompassing
the recovery and investigation of material found in digital devices,
frequently in relation to computer crimes and investigation of mobile
devices. Digital forensics investigations have a variety of applications.
The most common is to support or refute a hypothesis before criminal or civil courts. Digital forensics encompasses identifying direct evidence of
a crime, attributing evidence to specific suspects, confirming alibis or statements, determining intent, identify sources and locations from digital d
evices.
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TOWN HALL SEMINAR
There will be a Town Hall Seminar during the MCRA Conference. This seminar is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, 2018 from 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
The Town Hall will have a proctor, myself. Geez, will I ever learn what the word "No" means!
A Town Hall is a forum to discuss specific interests, concerns, upcoming legislation and any variety of topics that court reporters may want more information and/or opinions of others to help them better understand how to handle certain situations.
I would like input from the membership on topics of discussion for our upcoming Town Hall seminar. Please send your ideas and thoughts for topics of discussion to [email protected]. I will be putting together an agenda for this seminar. This seminar will be conducted the same as other seminars and is meant to be educational and orderly.
Please keep in mind, freelancers cannot get into any rates for services. Officials can discuss rates and compensation because that is public knowledge set by the legislature.
This seminar will be open to officials, freelancers, CART providers and captioners.
I look forward to your submission of any item(s) you would like to be considered for discussion.
Deborah K. McLaughlin, RPR, MO-CCR, IL-CSR, KS-CCR Moderator for Town Hall Seminar
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| MCRA MEMBERSHIP IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO HAVE ENOUGH ARROWS IN THE QUIVER TO FIGHT FOR YOUR CURRENT & FUTURE RIGHTS. PLEASE CONSIDER RENEWING TODAY! |
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JOIN MCRA WITH AUTOMATIC MONTHLY PAYMENT!!
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For the cost of a vanilla latte or chocolate mocha you can make a monthly payment of $9.32 and be a member of MCRA!! Consider it a cup of MoCRA
Set it up on recurring payment and never think of it again!
And it's a deduction on your taxes!
WE WORK FOR YOU!!
LET'S MAKE MCRA GREAT!!
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WOULD YOU CONSIDER DOING A CAREER FAIR OR SPEAK AT YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL?
Your MCRA Region Vice President has a bag with all the things you may need to man a table at a career fair or speaking engagement. You can find your Region Vice President listed at mocra.org at the bottom of the first page. If you do not have the contact info, just ask! Email us at mocra.org and we will be happy to provide you with all the information you need.
You will find in the bag an event table cover, brochures on court reporting schools, posters exhibiting both machine and voice writers, and even a sample spiel.
Ninth graders are your target group of high schoolers. You can contact the ninth grade school counselor to set those up.
Thank you for all that you do!!
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MCRA is looking for someone to fill the
following in April 2018:
* TREASURER
* REG 4 VP
Would you be interested?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
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If you have a machine that you can donate for this cause, working or not, please contact Melissa Hannah
(417) 827-4712. Or if you would like to lead a class, and you need machines, please contact Melissa Hannah.
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STUDENTS CORNER ...
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BIG NOTE TO STUDENTS
YOU ARE FREE AT THE 2018 CONVENTION!!
SIGN UP TODAY!!
Hello, Future Court Reporting Professionals!!
First thing, don't forget to sign up for the MCRA Conference in St. Louis at the end of this month. It's April 21 & 22nd in St. Charles, Missouri. Besides listening to the great speakers the Conference Committee has lined up.......OMG... you get to attend free. Where else can you spend a fantastic Spring Saturday with outstanding professionals who work in the best profession and did I mention it's FREE!!! So I hope to see you all there.
Well, let me just say, I've been a court reporter for 37 years and every day I still love my job. I too was a student in school practicing, practicing & practicing and then test after test wondering will I ever finish. Oh, and, yes, I did get stuck in a few speeds and thought the end of school would never arrive. Then one day there it was the last 225 test, and onward a few more tests and I was embarking into my court reporting career. So, here I am year's later still working in a profession I love.
The court reporting profession will continue forward because there are students as yourselves who want to join our profession. So practice, practice, practice and practice and test onward... this profession is so rewarding.
How to stay positive while in school is sometimes a difficult task when you are stuck in a speed that is challenging. Just remember, it is one take at a time. Read back your steno notes and see where your problem is. Read back about every third practice take. Reading back is crucial to see what is hanging you up and how you're actually writing. I know we all don't like to read our steno notes, but when you read back you find out exactly what it is that's causing the problem. When you become frustrated, step away for a few minutes. Come back with a fresh mind, fresh fingers and try again. Sometimes it only takes a quick break to accomplish what you are trying to achieve. Then it's on to the next level!
Keep your mind positive when you sit down to your steno machine for practice.. Your practice time is what is going to move you forward towards you passing those speed tests. Practice is a priority, so make it your priority. Practicing is essential to the ultimate goal. Your practice time is your time with you and your steno machine. Think of each time you sit down to practice you are a step closer. I know it's hard sometimes to practice uninterrupted, but it's pertinent to your success. Uninterrupted practice time is essential. One place I learned while in school to go for uninterrupted practice was the public library. You can set up your machine & laptop and write away. No one will bother you until it's time to close up.
I was asked one day while I was in court reporting school if I enjoyed practicing. Of course, I answered in the negative. I was then asked if I have ever seen a ballet. I answered, yes. (Thinking what the heck does ballet have to do with court reporting.) The analogy is: The ballerina who performs on stage so delicately has to practice daily to achieve her goal to become a ballerina. So to achieve the goal of moving forward to the next speed level and towards the ultimate goal of becoming a court reporter you have to practice, practice and practice. Of course, I did not glide delicately across a stage as the ballerina, but the result of daily practice was passing those speed tests and becoming part of this great court reporting profession.
Feel free to reach out to those of us on the Student Affairs Committee. You can go to the MCRA website and under the tab of "Students" we are listed. We are here for each and every student to listen, to mentor, to encourage. Remember we have been where you are sitting and we know how difficult and trying it is being a court reporting student, but the end result is being part of a wonderful profession!
Stay Positive, Work Hard & Make it Happen!!!
Rozann Brancato, RPR, CCR
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2018 CONVENTIONS
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MCRA
April 28&29, 2018
Drury Plaza Hotel
St. Charles, MO
NVRA
June 27-30, 2018
Double Tree Resort
Myrtle Beach, SC
NCRA
August 2-5, 2018
Hyatt Regency
New Orleans, LA
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HELP WANTED
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NEOSHO COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
OTTAWA, KANSAS, CAMPUS
COURT REPORTING INSTRUCTOR/COORDINATOR
Reports to: Associate Dean-Outreach and Workforce Development
Classification: Full-time, 10-month Employee
Applicant must be a certified reporter.
Pay Status: Academic Management Support, Exempt
Fringe Benefits per Board Policy
Starting Salary: $39,000-$44,000
Created: June 2017
Contact Chris Herndon, M.S. Ed., CSR, RPR, CRI, Interim Director at 913.221.7479
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MCRA Website ..................................................................... mocra.org
MCRA Webmaster/Consultant ............... Kathy Foley (816) 881-3804
Address Changes .............................................................. Pat Baeske
CCR Testing Information ..................... Maggie Burch (573) 751-7342
Continuing Education .................... Rozann Brancato (816) 881-4517
Convention 2018 ............................... Rebecca Brewer (314) 974.2386
Distinguished Service Award .... Deborah McLaughlin (314) 974-1199
Legislative Affairs .................................... Kathy Foley (816) 808-7016
NCRA Member Services ............................... Toll Free (800) 272-6272
NVRA Member Services ............................................... (601) 582-4345
Advertising ......................................... Melissa Hannah (417) 827-4712
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