CONTACT: Vicki Bendure, APR

540-687-3360

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Instructions for use: Please review the template carefully and fill in your specific information where the [brackets] indicate customization is required. When your press release is completed, you may:

  1. Distribute to your local media contacts if you’re comfortable doing so, or;
  2. Send your completed release to . The public relations team at NCRA will work with its PR firm to distribute to the media specific to your geographic area. This option is likely to guarantee the most comprehensive distribution for your release as our PR firm has access to a constantly updated media contact list that includes national and local outlets.
  3. Be sure to include a high-resolution head shot of yourself with your press release no matter which method of distribution you opt for.

NOTE: Please remove above text and adjust formatting before releasing to the media.

Local (please include your professional title, i.e. court reporter, captioner, CART Provider) attends NCRA Convention & Expo

(Your Full Name), from (city/town, state,) joined more than 1,000 attendees in Nashville, Tenn., to celebrate the court reporting profession

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 8-11, 2013—(Your Full Name), a (your professional title), from (city/town, state), joined more than 1,000 fellow court reporters, captioners, students, vendors, and guests, at the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) 2013 Convention & Expo in Nashville, Tenn., held Aug. 8-11. NCRA is the country’s leading organization representing stenographic court reporters and captioners.

“Attending the NCRA convention is a truly energizing experience. I had the opportunity to choose from somany valuable networking occasions and informative, fun, and insightful sessions and workshops,” said (your last name), who works for (name of company/court), in (city, state).

“It was very exciting and rewardingto bethere whenNCRA’s new slate of officers and Board of Directors were announced, and to hear keynote speaker Mack Dryden’s hilarious, touching, and motivational speech, during the opening session.”

This year’s convention offered attendees a wide array of educational and vendor sessions and special workshops that featured top-rated presenters from the court reporting arena. Among the topics addressed wereusing the Internet as a resource, ethics matters, wireless networking, punctuation, stadium captioning, safety tips for court officials, growing your business, and much more.

NCRA’s government relations team was also on hand to provide legislative and regulatory consulting services and insights.The team offered tips and strategies to help members and state associations create successful campaigns at the state level to address recent or proposed changes that could potentially have a negative impact the court reporting profession.

“The opportunity to meet one-on-one with NCRA’s government affairs representatives not only provided access to a vital resource, but also gave attendees the chance to experience first-hand the significant benefit this team’s expertise provides our members at the federal and the state level. We were able to ask questions and learn more about the issues facing the profession, and walked away better armed to address these issues,” said (your last name).

On the Expo floor, nearly 45 vendors that participated in this year’s eventprovided easy access to information about their products and servicesto convention attendees interested in experiencing first-hand the latest trends in the marketplace. In addition, a number of new NCRA-produced products were unveiled during the convention, including TheJCR.com, a new online newsroom that provides the most up-to-date information for members, and the 2014 Sourcebook which now takes the form of a special issue of the JCR magazine.A new glossaries book that features more than 25 additional glossaries compared to the previous version, and an updated Realtime Troubleshooting Pocket Guide, were also introduced and are both available through the NCRA store.

Other highlights of the 2013 NCRA convention included the attempt to break the current Guinness World Record for speed, the National Realtime and Speed competitions, and the President’s Party which took on the theme of James Bond’s Casino Royale.As always, the session that featured the canines and their handlers from the National Search Dog Foundation, was also a huge attraction. The NCRA-funded dogs are sponsored through donations to a community service memorial project in memory of Julie Brandau, a court reporter who was killed in a mass shooting in Atlanta, Ga., several years ago.

The National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF), the charitable arm of NCRA,held its annual Angels Luncheon that honorsmembers who contribute to the Angels fundraising program, and offered an informative session about how the Foundation can be beneficial in building a company’s brand. The Foundation also hosted a day-long Veterans History Day onsite that resulted in the transcription,by volunteer court reporters,of the stories of a number of local war veterans. The transcripts will be included in the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project archives and available to members of the public.

“The NCRA convention is always so invigorating and rejuvenating because of ample networking possibilitiesand the chance to catchup with old friends and meet new people. Anyone who attends always leaves with the reminder of how unique the court reporting profession is,” (your last name) said.

“It’s always so wonderful to see so many of our young, up-and-coming students and reporters be recognized for their achievements during special ceremonies and awards luncheons, and it is just as inspiring to have the opportunity to honor our colleagues who receive such coveted awards as the NCRA’s Distinguished Service Award and the Foundation’s Aurelio Award for Altruism, each of which recognizes a recipient’s commitment and dedication to the profession,” (your last name) added.

About NCRA

The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) is internationally recognized for promoting excellence among those who capture and convert the spoken word to text for more than 100 years. NCRA is committed to supporting its more than 19,000 members in achieving the highest level of professional expertise with educational opportunities and industry-recognized court reporting, educator and videographer certification programs. NCRA impacts legislative issues and the global marketplace through its actively involved membership. Forbes has named court reporting as one of the best career options that do not require a traditional four-year degree and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the court reporting field is expected to grow more than 5 percent in the coming years. For more information, visit .