| 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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MY EXPERIENCE AT THE
MISSOURI SCHOOL COUNSELOR ASSOCIATION CONVENTION
Melissa Hannah and I represented the Missouri Court Reporters Association at the annual convention of the Missouri School Counselor Association on November 5 and 6 at the Lake of the Ozarks.
There were over 100 vendors in the exhibit hall. Since Melissa is a steno writer and I am a voice writer, we had both methods of take down represented. We were very pleased to be kept busy during our time there.
Many counselors at the secondary school level stopped and spoke to us and took our brochures back with them. They were quite excited to learn of another career path to share with their students.
Many had never heard of court reporting. Many had no idea that court reporters do the broadcast captioning that they are so familiar with. All were impressed with the advances in the technology, the availability of career paths in court reporting, broadcast captioning and CART, as well as the earning potential.
This was a great experience for me. I felt that we made a difference in educating about court reporting. If you have the opportunity to do a similar event or attend a career fair or speak to a class, I would encourage you to jump on the opportunity. I am not by nature an outgoing person, but I make myself do these things and it is always rewarding.
This is exactly the type of grass roots effort we have to make to educate people about the potentials in the court reporting profession. The information is simply not widely available.
We can't leave this to our national associations; this has to be done on our local and state levels.
Together we can all make a difference!.
Submitted by Brenda Schmelz
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IF YOU HAVEN'T ....
CHECK OUT THE NEW WEBSITE!!!!!
mocra.org
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MCRA is looking for a
secretary starting in April 2018.
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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WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO MAN A TABLE AT A
HIGH SCHOOL CAREER FAIR?
Two people preferred: One to talk and one to demonstrate.
Candy jars are always a plus. And students have to take a selfie with the machine and post to get a piece of candy.
Exposure on the web is an awesome thing ... well, positive court reporting exposure :-)
October is the beginning of career fairs. Let me know if you're interested, and I will hook you up with your local school!
Submitted by Melissa Hannah, 417-827-4712
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GET TO KNOW THE BOARD
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This month get to know ...
Meet Kathy Foley,
I've been happily married to my husband, Eric, for 33 years. For the past three years, it's been a long-distance marriage as he is teaching in Salem, Oregon. Lots and lots of Southwest miles!
I have two sons. Alan works at Fed Ex and has a cute puppy, Sam - who you might see on my Facebook posts. Ryan, who is in his last year of law school, and his wife, Amy, who teaches math at Truman High School.
I live next door to my parents (think Everybody Loves Raymond.) My favorite vacations are going to Lake of the Ozarks and playing on my SeaDoo or standup paddleboard or going to Colorado and skiing.
I graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1984. After that, I worked for Dillard's as a manager and then Smith Barney where I got my license to trade securities. Following the birth of my second child, I began working as a transcriber in 1990, working for a voicewriting firm.
In 1992, I began working as a court reporter and purchased the firm. I had both voicewriters and machine writers working for me. In 1997, I started working for the Jackson County Circuit Court as a swing reporter. In 2005, I moved to working for Division 9 and in 2015 moved to working as the Division 19 and as the swing reporter.
I have served as Region II Vice President, President-Elect, and President of MCRA. My committee responsibilities for MCRA include serving as Legislative Committee/Chair for many years and various other committees.
I love trying new things! In the future, I think we need to continue to stretch and try new ways so that MCRA stays alive and relevant. We will continue to serve our members and represent reporters!
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| REGION 1 NEWS 
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STUDENTS CORNER ...
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Students always ask what should they do when they hit that plateau, how can they improve their speed. They are not progressing as fast as they would like.
My advice is to switch it up! Whatever you're doing for practice, try something different. As you progress in speed you have to practice more than what you did for the lower speeds. Maybe try practicing at a different time of day. Split up your practice into two sessions. Practice an hour and a half in the morning, then later that same day practice maybe two hours more. If you practice too long in one sitting you get tired and it's not good practice.
Every practice session should include a speed you have achieved for your own confidence, that, yes, I can do this! Then you should practice the speed you are working on, then speedbuild at a higher speed. You don't want to practice at too high of speed the whole practice session because then you drop a lot.
When you're dropping through the entire practice session, that teaches your brain to drop. So that even when you can achieve that speed, you will drop because that's what you're doing in practice. Then end your practice session with a slower speed for that confidence again!
As the old saying goes, if you think you can do it, you can! I hope some of these hints will help you pass some tests!
Submitted by Peggy Lange
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2018 CONVENTIONS
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MCRA
April 27-29, 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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VOLUNTEER FOR VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT
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If you are available Nov. 10 and/or 11th to volunteer for a Veterans History Project Event in the Northland, please contact me:
LIEBE STEVENSON, RMR, CCR (MO, KS, HI)
RSA, FCRR
8220 NE 83rd Terrace
#517
Kansas City, MO 64158
Cell: 484.226.5501
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NEXT MCRA BOARD MEETING
JANUARY 6, 2018
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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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