It has come to my attention that a member of the community was told that I am the author of Steno Imperium. This caused that member of the community to believe that I had done things that I did not do.
Let me be clear: I am not in control of WUNCRA or Steno Imperium. Both authors write anonymously. My name is clearly printed under all of my articles — Christopher Day.
Please be aware that if you falsely tell someone that I control either of those websites, and you cause someone damage, and that causes me reputation or monetary damage, I may very well have a cause of action against you for libel or slander. People know that when they write me their information is kept safe and not divulged to others unless they want it to be, with rare exceptions when I am investigating stuff as a “citizen journalist.” Damaging the unique brand I bring to the table is unacceptable to me, and I will seriously consider any and all means of defending it.
Stenonymous is a name synonymous with trust. Don’t violate that trust by lying about who I am and what I do.
I recently received a message about my student loans. It used an address I am familiar with and looked possibly legitimate at first glance.
Of course, my student loans have been paid for over a decade now.
Let this be a warning to all steno students: There are scams going on that may use addresses you are familiar with. Always double check the sender and DO NOT let the promise of debt forgiveness push you into FOMO (fear of missing out).
Scammers prey on human emotions. Don’t let them prey on yours.
Checking the sender can help identify scams using Hotmail and Gmail.
Einstein wrote in 1949 that the time had come where the rich controlled the means of communication, making it impossible for people to make informed decisions.
There is something called the illusory truth effect. People will believe false information if it is repeated over and over again, even if they know that information is false.
We have been living under a mass media apparatus that fewer and fewer people control as the years go on. Their ability to coordinate messaging and effectively brainwash generations of Americans has been improving. And what’s worse is most of us believe we are not susceptible to it thanks to things like the Dunning-Kruger effect.
There are not quick and easy solutions to this problem as best I can tell. But we should be aware of it. It impacts you all. It impacts your families. It impacts your neighbors. It shapes what we believe about our fellow Americans.
I have used propaganda techniques to raise consumer awareness for at least 3 years now. With about $10,000 from my professional community I challenged corporations that make millions of dollars. If one person can do such things with such little money, then imagine what the people controlling the money can do.
We should be aware of it. It impacts you. It hurts our country. It shapes what you believe about your fellow American.
Our spirit must prevail.
Addendum:
October 2025:
Most of this addendum deleted.
If anyone ever asks what my problem is, it’s that we’re human beings and we’re really good at war. So why not start a war on human suffering? I want everyone to have what I have or better.
Students, space is filling up so sign up at AFYEvents7@gmail.com to secure your FREE night out at the High Tea for High Achievers event on Thursday, August 1st @ 7:30 p.m. ET.
If you’d like to sponsor a student, it costs $55 & that covers:
Off-site Tea Party.
Party Bus.
Your OWN Fascinator Hat.
Sightseeing.
Tea-spilling with experienced court reporters.
You will leave well-informed about best practices in the industry.
NOTE: This blog is, in part, a platform for its readers who send essays and materials in to be republished. I have had some comments made about previous posts with regard to voice writing. I’ve made several calls for content from the community. If it’s voice writers and voice writing proponents that answer those calls, guess who gets published?
Without further delay, please join me in enjoying this piece by Marilissa Cram and Ana Fatima Costa!
Voice Writing: A Game Changer for Court Reporting
Shorthand was invented by Sumerian scribes, who captured speech by writing logo-syllabic cuneiform on clay tablets with a reed stylus. Since then, shorthand methods have evolved into writing with pen on paper; steno machine; and speaking into a steno mask.
On September 27, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill No. 156 (AB-156)(*1) into law, allowing voice writers to take the rigorous Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR) exam and to work in this state.
What is “Voice” Writing?
In the early 1940s, Horace Webb, a shorthand pen writer(*2), invented a method of capturing the record where stenographers repeat verbatim every word into a stenomask in a way that their voices are inaudible to participants and do not disrupt court or deposition proceedings.
AB-156 defines voice writing “… as a verbatim record of a proceeding using a closed microphone voice dictation silencer, steno mask, or similar device using oral shorthand and voice notes made by a Certified Shorthand Reporter.“
How does Voice Writing Differ from Steno Machine Writing?
There are more similarities than differences between these two methods.
Similarities
Complete rigorous education, training, and certification requirements
Use brief forms of complex words and phrases to shorten their writing (i.e., shorthand)
Identify every speaker and format and punctuate transcripts on the fly
Utilize Computer-Aided Transcription (CAT) systems to produce verbatim transcripts
Provide realtime(*3) text of proceedings instantaneously
Adhere to the same high standards of professionalism, impartiality, confidentiality, ethics, accountability, and local, state, and federal rules, statutes, and laws.
Differences
Steno machine writers
Voice writers
Write what they hear by precise finger placement of thousands of memorized shorthand word / phrase combinations and steno briefs, using technologically advanced, specialized, chorded steno machines which are connected to their CAT software
Dictate in English what they hear into specialized masks connected to two software programs. Their word / phrase combinations and voice briefs are simultaneously translated into text using advanced speech recognition such as Dragon and their CAT software
Learn the stenographic alphabet (theory)(*4) and how to write on a steno machine keyboard beginning at zero words per minute (wpm). May spend years building speed before taking the CSR certification exam at 200 wpm.
Begin learning voice theory in English at 120-140 wpm and build speed. May reach 200 wpm and take the CSR certification exam in as little as a year because they do not need to learn a foreign language.
(*4) Infographic of complex stenographic alphabet / keyboard by steno machine student Stefanie Bugosh
Impact on Court Reporting
Since the adoption of voice writing in 2022, court reporting schools throughout California have experienced an upsurge of enrollment. Voice writing students (many of whom switched from steno machine writing) have been passing the state’s difficult Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR) exam(*5) at a high rate. As a result, voice writers have been helping to meet the demand for court reporters by filling empty seats in courtrooms throughout the state(*6).
Challenges and Considerations
Although voice writers(*7) have worked for over 80 years in the military, abroad, and now in 46 states(*8), most California judges, lawyers, their staff, and consumers are unfamiliar with this method of capturing the legal record. Integrating voice writing into traditional court systems, deposition conference rooms, and in remote proceedings will require some adjustments to educate the legal community and public.
(*7) Photo of Jennifer Franklin, CVR, at SFTLA’s 2023 annual mock trial competition at San Francisco Superior Court, with Hon. Terence Bruiniers (Ret.) presiding. After passing the CSR, Jennifer became the court’s first voice writing official court reporter.
(*8) Map of states allowing voice writing, National Verbatim Reporters Association (NVRA)
The National Verbatim Reporters Association (NVRA)(*9) offers entry-level and advanced certification exams to both steno machine and voice writers. To earn the Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR) certificate, examinees must pass a written knowledge exam at 70% and three 5-minute dictations with one to two speakers at a 95% accuracy transcription rate.
California’s CSR exam requires a higher standard. To earn their license, steno machine and voice writing candidates must pass two written exams (English and Professional Practices) graded on the Angoff criterion-referenced method and a 13-minute dictation exam with four speakers at a 97.5% degree of accuracy.
Conclusion
California legal professionals are assured that licensed voice writers entering the field are well equipped to provide equally high standards of performance and verbatim transcripts as traditional steno machine writers. Voice writers are poised to join their steno colleagues as cornerstones of judicial proceedings who capture and protect the record to meet the needs of consumers and help eradicate the shortage.
(*1) 2022-09-28 Cal. Leg., Legislative Counsel’s Digest. Part of this law provides title protection to ensure only licensed Certified Shorthand Reporters (CSRs) are legally entitled to identify themselves as “stenographer,” “reporter,” “court reporter,” or “deposition reporter.“
(*3) Realtime is the instant transcription of reporters’ stenographic or voice notes into English, visible online or in person on viewers’ computers, tablets, or smartphones.
Special thanks to our authors for submitting this for publication on Stenonymous, the industry’s largest alternative publication for court reporting news & opinion.
Chris Day: To be forthright, my issues with the National Court Reporters Association are well documented.
That said, I follow a “doctrine” of fairness and freedom. I support the people that reach out to me with news of their events, and I support Chris DeGrazio. So here it is.
Below is information for 3 Louisville events — that’s the National Court Reporters Association conference this year. Then below that are 4 practice sessions unrelated to the conference.
Please feel free to spread these materials. Each is a flyer followed by explaining text.
And now from Chris DeGrazio:
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Student Giveaway:
Attention students!
If you’re going to be at the #NCRA conference in Louisville during August 1st-3rd, message me so that we can link up so you can claim your prize!
I’m collaborating w 10 creative people in our profession to create some custom & dope student swag. This is my third year doing this giveaway, so it’s going to be the best yet!
I’ll have a huge silver sequin duffle bag with me throughout the weekend filled w student swag. If you see me at any time, regardless of what I’m doing, come up to me so you can choose your gift.
The first year I did this (Vegas 2021), it was self-funded cuz I was too shy to ask people to donate & I didn’t know how I’d be received, some random guy giving out gifts to people he didn’t know. So I gave gifts to friends & colleagues & asked them to send students they knew my way.
The second year I did this (Orlando 2022), I was fortunate to have help from some friends whom I felt comfortable enough to reach out to prior to the conference. I also felt more comfortable encouraging students to come pick their gifts.
This year I’m going public w it. If you’d like to donate any amount, even $5, all of the $ raised goes towards the swag for the students.
After the conference I’ll share pics of the students & the awesome swag they received.
Regardless of whether or not you donate anything, plz share this post w students & reporters just in case they know a student who will be at the conference.
Thanks! 🤠🌈
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StenoMasters:
Exciting news! Joshua B. Edwards will be presenting StenoMasters at the NCRA conference this year on Saturday morning, the session before the awards luncheon. We need 3-4 prepared speakers to give speeches.
Giving a speech in front of your peers is a fantastic opportunity to share a story or a facet of your life that many court reporters don’t know about you. And you will get a ton of constructive feedback. Your speech does not have to be about the field. If you are interested in speaking for 5-7 minutes but need some ideas or help crafting a speech, please let us know. We’re happy to work with you.
Looking forward to seeing many of you in Louisville!
Join us on Friday, August 2nd @ 8 p.m. ET for our third annual Steno Pride Meetup at Miki’s Karaoke Bar @ 2230 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40206. You don’t have to be queer or sing karaoke or drink alcohol to attend. This is a fun way to celebrate our diversity in an inclusive & laid back way. Plz register in the link below so we can have an accurate head count ( : See y’all there! 🤠🌈👨🎤👩🎤
Just have to share. This link is making its way around stenographer social media.
Her client was denied a restraining order after deletion of crucial information. Which is not good, obviously. My sympathies.
Melissa B. Buchman, we could use a mediator to liaise with the corporate fraudsters of court reporting. Make sure they pay well for the privilege.
Christopher Day admits this is the first time he’s read the term Collaborative Law.
Makes me think about all the people that couldn’t come to an agreement.
“Your choices are figure this out or spend $$ on lawyers.”
Uh, your Honor, I think we’ll figure it out.
But no. People want to fight. I knew a man that wanted to fight. Gave up what he loved most in the world because of his hatred of his ex. And the pain of thinking of this man I barely knew was enough that I said I would share this with others because it was so impactful.
It’s a holiday, so I’m not going to take up too much of your time. NCRA Members are being encouraged by former Strong members to stand up against what has been done. I’m in full support, so these materials have a home here. I regret no longer having my membership. But just let it be known that I’d be first to sign.
Spread ’em around to fellow NCRA members. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see how the institutional machinery attempts to wiggle out of this one.
Years ago I would’ve wept at the sight of such division. Now I consider it wholly necessary for the advancement of our interests as a community. NCRA needs to understand — and needs to communicate that it understands — that it exists to serve our interests. The mission in the bylaws is leadership and enlightenment. Real leaders don’t toss away their strongest supporters.
There are simple things like truth, news, and gossip. And that’s a big part of what I’m doing here. I feel the stuff I have has value and encourage others to share things they find valuable.
But I wanted to write down, at least this once, some of the reasons I have for publishing beyond the factual stuff I’ve already put in print.
1. Performative. This is in some ways a parody of the news we consume and the people we admire. The ultimate question of a lot of my work is, even where corporate malfeasance is legal or ostensibly legal, is it a good idea? And similarly, even though all that I do and write about is legal, is it a good idea? I have difficulty with performative acts in the traditional sense that we know them. Best I ever did was a silent role in the Clinton Hill Halloween Show. But through the keyboard that has been an assistive technology to me my whole life, I am able to continue this performance for as long as it feels right. It extends to my social media activities, where I’ve planted several seeds to see if one grows. For this to work, I had to come to a place of not caring how the world sees me. Only a special few like you will ever know that this thing I do is, at times, an act.
2. Social experiment. Can the decentralized court reporters work together enough to tilt things in their favor versus the very centralized money and power represented by the big box brigade? Right now, corporate consolidation means the money in this field will be running through fewer hands as time goes by. If those fewer hands don’t choose you, it might be the end of your career — at least that’s the direction we’re headed. And with those fewer hands eliminating our jobs in favor of digital, that means fewer of our students will have the opportunities we had. Simply put, if I carry on knowing that what we’re doing will ultimately end in better outcomes for our students and future reporters will have the same opportunities I had, will others follow? Will enough follow that it makes a difference? My bet is on us. As part of the social experiment, on a more personal note, I also get to see the lengths people will go to ignore those of us willing to admit to having mental health issues.
3. Propaganda awareness. By using propaganda techniques to tell the truth I hope to open minds to the different ways corporations and governments manipulate populations. This also encourages the question, “is manipulating people into believing truth wrong?”
Bonus points if you can point out ways that your employer has propagandized you. For example, in a workplace I was a part of, we were referred to as the office “family.” I bought into this completely. I soon learned that “family” in the context of work means nothing. It was a good lesson to learn despite how much I yearn to trust others.
4. Side income. There are people that pay for my work and I am forever grateful to each of them for it. But again, this is, to some degree, performative. When people use money as an excuse to screw other people, “it’s just business.” So if I make it a side business to screw the corporations screwing you, “it’s just business.”
5. Lawsuit deterrent. As someone close to my heart says, I’m a prolific writer. There are hundreds of Stenonymous posts. Anyone that thinks they’re going to threaten me is only going to open my work up to more exposure and cost themselves a lot of money, and I take pride in that. The thought of creating billable hours for lawyers just brings joy to my heart. Alas, it’ll never happen, because nobody is stupid enough to fall for it. Naegeli almost was. In that same vein, the research I’ve done as far as unionization means that the larger companies will probably never bother me. If it became more common knowledge that reporters could do the same job and make more money, that would be very, very bad for their bottom lines.
6. Good cop, bad cop. Given a choice between dealing with the nice, sweet court reporters that let themselves be bullied into compliance with whatever big boxes want or dealing with Stenonymous for literally the rest of their careers, companies might just treat court reporters better just so they can keep the status quo. If they treat you all bad enough, the chance of you looking to someone like me for solutions goes up. I realized how much I was able to “move the needle” of this field with about $10,000. With relatively little buy in, we’ll be on top. Guarantee it*.
7. Workers Rights history. People don’t know how bad things really were. Not everybody, anyway. Workers and employers had armed standoffs in the past. This lampooning that I do is a revival of age-old traditions of nonviolent action to achieve political and social change. This is in the context of a time where greater publications like More Perfect Union are sprouting up in defense of the working person. It’s really an exciting time to be alive viewed through the lens of workers rights and the emerging unionization efforts across various industries. I’ve written before that in my world union was a dirty word until I started reading, researching, and learning about it. For example, a lot of people think union contract means lowest common denominator. But you can make a union contract whatever you want and can get people to agree to. If we successfully unionized a big box agency office, the contract could include ratios for digital v steno. That’s right. Digital could be contractually capped. What’s behind a contract? The force of law. You could also write a contract that rewards merit / hard work. The fact that so many people disparage unions without ever knowing these things or bothering to think about them turns me right off. But I digress. My overall point is just one moment in workers rights history. And if my following grows, it might grow to be many moments.
In my view, social change to a more worker friendly society is required. When money is in the hands of the working class, we start businesses and create jobs through demand for goods and services. When it’s in the hands of the banks and so forth, they kind of trade the money amongst themselves in that high-end billionaire economy. So money in working hands gets shared upward and downward. Money in JPM Chase’s “wallet” stays in its wallet or gets loaned to big oil. As awareness increases that the takers of society have taken too much, perhaps the givers of society will realize that they need to take some back if they are to continue giving. And of course I’ll concede that givers and takers can be defined differently than how I’m using it here. But at the end of the day if you have people whose mantra is “I want millions/billions of dollars” versus people who “just want to live a decent life”, the ones who want the millions are going to steamroll the good lifers and extract — take — from their economy all they can before moving on to the next population. The only thing you can do to avoid having all the money sucked from your ecosystem is fight back. It doesn’t have to be a physical fight. Look at the Stenonymous performance. Big brand names in the business abandoned the Speech-to-Text Institute rather than deal with a blog on the internet. That’s power. And my point to you is that you have that same power. Let it manifest in its own special way.
That sucking of the ecosystem is more or less what has happened in our case. The corporations have squeezed as much as they can. We’re working for a fraction of what they’re charging. It’s still not enough. Now they move to a population of digital court reporters to squeeze them. So I’ve done my part to preserve our history in a way that no organization has had the guts to do.
8. Government accountability. I was shocked to learn just how ineffective law enforcement is when it comes to false claims by businesses. I’m pretty sure most of America would be, on some level, surprised by some of the things I’ve seen and documented. If ever this work gets attention, the government’s inaction is why jobseekers were allowed to be defrauded. And if people in government feel embarrassment over letting thousands of people be defrauded in plain sight, then so be it. Perhaps they’ll help the next thousand or so people that come across such a situation. We are special. But our situation is not so special. Our situation is happening to many, many working people, including doctors. If we fight and win, we become a blueprint for others to follow.
9. Brand recognition. One of the most valuable things I learned about in continuing education was building a brand. More people know about Christopher Day and the Stenonymous brand every day. The bigger the brand gets, the more likely I’ll be able to do something big with it. Even the negative attention ends up being worth it in the end. I regret that we’ve structured society in such a way. But I’m willing to do what has to be done to make a difference in this world. Whether that difference is a small part of the world, such as our market, or something grander, makes little difference to me. At the end of the day, I guess I’m a writer, and the world has become just another thing to write with.
Christopher Day releases Stenonymous stats as of 7/3/2024.
*The words “guarantee it” were part of a propaganda technique. Comment if you spotted it.
Enjoy your Independence Day. Remember the words of FTC Chair Lina Khan. “…you don’t want an autocrat of trade in the same way that you don’t want a monarch.”
Although, perhaps given the Supreme Court’s recent decision to give the president immunity for all official acts, we do indeed want a monarch.
Perhaps we are no longer the America that I was born into.
Then again, it was the same for everyone ever born. Countries, kingdoms, and populations changed around them.
I will post without commentary this time*. These words are from Sue Terry and posted with permission as given in the post itself.
As posted to the Steno Intelligence Facebook Group
Good morning, everyone. I indicated that I would respond on the weekend regarding the recent decision that the NCRA Strong Committee would cease to exist.
It’s a bit perplexing to us to hear that we will soon have increased advocacy working for us, as Keith has indicated, particularly at a time when the budget is so lean and the Strong Committee has been self-funding our activities, as you will see in the list of activities below. But we will as members anxiously await the announcement of those plans just like all of you.
I’m only active in a few Facebook groups, and you can feel free to copy/paste my words in other groups you may belong to.
I want to thank everyone for the support you’ve given the Strong Committee through many years, and for your texts, messages, calls, events we’ve shared with you, etc. While it has been a lot of work for all of us on Strong, it’s been well worth the additional friendships we’ve made through our service.
As I just posted on the Leaders listserv, the Strong Committee’s work has always been rooted in integrity and commitment to the NCRA membership, and more importantly, to our professional colleagues. I think you can see if you take time to view just some of our work below, it has never been about personal gain or agenda. I think any organization would be happy to have volunteers like this, but apparently there’s something much better coming than we’ve been offering.
While we are quite saddened at this development, we fully intend to regroup, of course, and will now support our beloved profession outside the walls of the association to the best of our ability.
We don’t know yet what that’s going to look like, but we don’t sit and wring our hands much. And there’s likely some of our competitors thinking this is a good kind of dream; well, think again. We are now free of constraints and will be able to push information out with a little more agility than in the past. We are Free.
I’d like to recap some of what our committee has achieved for you through the last couple of years. It’s by no means an exhaustive list since none of us kept a running list, but I think you’ll see we’ve done our job as unpaid volunteers. And just remember, “Strong” has never been about the name, it’s about the people and the advocacy.
Here is a rundown of what we’ve contributed in recent memory:
Most recent this week that was a fantastic experience:
*Joining ABA as an interested member to get their emails, offerings and what’s happening in their world. Several days ago, our committee members attended a webinar on AI in the justice system that the ABA gave. Imagine this: they acknowledged the presence of so many court reporters during the meeting, and their valuable input was welcomed. I have also watched all of their “free” bar continuing education webinars on AI/courts. So much information to share in due time.
Elevator Pitches for members.
Keeping members informed about ABA Resolutions and Guidelines.
In 2019 or early ‘20, suggested an AI Bill of Rights or Disclosure Bill, to require disclosure if a transcript was processed with ASR. (We are excited to see it’s now finally on the table.)
Supported members with information to combat a proposed push requesting federal judges to electronically record more of their trials.
Compiled a database of every state bar association to enable flow of information.
The NCRA White Paper has been cited by CNBC, Reuters, NextGov, and others.
Channel 2 Dayton news story with Kristin and I regarding the NCRA White Paper and dangers to the justice system posed by AI.
State flyers.
Video series on YouTube channel for members to use, all captioned by Strong.
Letter to US Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing on AI use in judicial systems nationwide.
Letters to Indiana, both personal and on behalf of Strong.
Letters to Tennessee, both personal and on behalf of Strong.
Letters to Washington on sunsetting, personal and on behalf of Strong.
Other Presentations and Tasks:
Montana Bar Association.
Colorado CRA.
Zoom webinars during Pandemic to move to remote.
Quarterly articles in Journal and often in the Weekly.
Privacy webinar.
Created other webinars for the NCRA store.
Drafted NCRA Resolution which was released ahead of the American Bar Association, who then adopted their own similar resolution.
Stenopalooza.
Spring Fling.
Powerpoints created for member use.
Powerpoints created for board use to present Strong.
Updated the Tech Powerpoint the board gives at their request.
Lisa Mig drove to Sue’s to do a mini-boot camp for Texas leaders (4-hour drive each way)
Lisa Mig drove to Kim Falgiani’s, 7-hour trip each way involving an overnight hotel stay to appear with Kim for a TV interview on AI dangers in broadcast captioning and courts.
Remote and in-person presentations for Steno in the City.
Ilinois Bar Presentation to their Board of Governors (Phyllis).
San Francisco Legal Professionals
presentation at their request.
Washington Court Reporters Association presentation.
Ohio (‘21, ‘22, ‘23 and ‘24)
State Leaders Webinar on Strong Education.
Oregon Court Reporters Association presentation.
CALDRA presentation.
California Court Reporters Association presentation.
Steno in the City presentation.
NCSA meeting in Las Vegas presentation.
NCRA Convention in Orlando presentation.
Utah CRA.
Massachusetts Court Reporters Association.
Provided assistance/brainstorming Zoom sessions/letters – Arizona, Texas, Indiana (before they dissolved the association,) Illinois,
Connecticut, Minnesota, Tennessee, Nebraska preparing for elimination of jobs and raise issues.
Alaska presentation.
Many one-on-one calls for support by all the Strong team, requiring additional evenings, weekends.
Youtube video series of judges/court admins, audio forensic expert, privacy and captioning all videos.
Series of meetings with privacy expert.
Captioned the Murdaugh FTR trial clip.
Phyllis worked with “Free” audio forensic, former FBI experts, Doug Lacey and Bruce Koenig (Bek Tek LLC), who contributed to some of our self-education, work and white paper.
Work with audio forensic expert, Ed Primeau, to produce videos on alterations
Ohio Supreme Court.
Stenocat Users Network seminars.
Each Strong member spent at least four hours a week doing research, and then met every other
Sunday evening for 2-4 hours to discuss research, projects, requests, strategies, etc., upcoming articles, and a few invited guests when needed.
Liz and I as Strong worked with Max Curry in the revamp of NCSA by digging into our own old files to reinvent the history of NCSA, which was obliterated by a previous CEO, along with many of the historical documents where members could go to archives and educate themselves on the path and history of the association.
Expenditures off the top of my head by our Strong Committee out of pocket:
Software to caption our own videos and some
of NCRA’s videos $225.00 a year, two years now.
Software for live polls during webinars $210 year, two years now.
Joined IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals and signed up for their privacy bar emails, and that’s where much of the AI bills information and charts that I’ve forwarded to states comes from, three years of dues for that at $250 a year.
Attended Legalweek in NY (Registration, Air, Hotel, etc., cost of approximately $2,000 and also gave a full report of that experience and threats to our livlihoods and the major players threatening us to the board in a written report.)
Attended multiple court technology conferences to be able to ask pertinent questions of court recording vendors during presentations, and that’s been multiple members of Strong when the technology conferences are near them.
Boot Camp – Stacey Raikes and I both paid our own air and hotel for Boot Camp at a dent to our personal budgets of another approximately $2,000.00 each and additional days off calendar.
When we were provided a booth at our annual conference to meet and greet with members. Stacey bought a monitor to have at our booth for streaming the videos we had produced for all of you, and also provided snacks we passed out, and a life-sized cutout for “Strong selfies” for members. She wouldn’t share how much she spent or let us contribute.
Court Technology Conference this past year: NCRA did provide a table for us at CTC, and it was a very costly spot. We much appreciated that expenditure. In addition to their expenditure, Debbie, Stacey and I also funded our own air travel and took vacation days from our work schedules to man the booth, stocked the booth with candies and goodies, and also outfitted the best-looking booth there, complete with banners, etc., all paid for by us (Debbie mostly on this one). I’ve been to a lot of court technology shows, but our booth at this one was one of the most popular and we were handing out our information constantly due to our focus on AI with our tag line of “Can You Trust AI Beyond a Reasonable Doubt?” I do hope the new people are going to self-fund at the level we did, considering the reported budget shortfalls.
In closing, thanks for the many messages of thanks of support we’ve received this week, along with offers to help. Thanks to Kimberly D’Urso and Kelly Bryce Shainline for your support, too. It means a lot coming from two great leaders. Please, friends, keep your states strong (pun intended) at this pivotal point in our profession and do what you feel is necessary to urge – no, demand – that the organization that has been so crucial to our justice system continues to fight for us. If you don’t belong to your state association, please join today. If you can afford it, join a neighboring one, too. Lets, please, please, please, keep our state associations strong. Membership deserves nothing less. Business as usual shouldn’t be an option for any of us. Our profession deserves everyone’s best efforts.
Sue
————-
Back to Chris Day.
Perhaps I will make one comment.
This is how the National Court Reporters Association treats its most fervent volunteers. People admittedly willing to spend thousands of dollars of their own money for a greater good and spreading awareness to the world about the research we’ve done.
How much do you think it respects you for your membership dues?
How much do you think it respects non-members of the profession?
It’s likely a simple calculation. The vendors want AI. They’re going AI. NCRA can’t have a committee making so much ground on AI awareness. We’re talking more media and legal profession attention than I could’ve dreamed. Look at Sue’s list again.
Those vendors are more important than the truth.
Those vendors are more important than your jobs.
What’re you going to do about it?
It’s time for a new national association. And if you like that idea, stay tuned for updates later in the year.
*The asterisk represents a liepushed for dramatic effect.
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P.S.
So it came to be that everyone could see what I see.
