SUSAN WASILEWSKI 2009-2010 PRESIDENT



Hello, Everyone. I'm extremely honored to be able to address you today, but I have to tell you, this is the scariest part of this job, to me anyway. I've sort of dreaded this day because of this speech. It's because I have a healthy fear of public speaking, that's true, probably always will, but it's also because of the message that I feel compelled to give.

I've thought a lot about what I might say today. I gathered some advice from friends and colleagues. One bit of advice you'll be glad to know that I'm going to take is: You can never be too brief, so I will get to the point and then sit down.

What I want to do is let you know the state of affairs as I know it. There are some observations that I've been able to make in my travels and along my journey, as they say, and I've formed a few opinions and I'm going to share them with you.

First of all, we as stenographic reporters are at a technology crossroads. We've speculated about this era, perhaps dreaded it, but I think if you're honest with yourself, you knew it was coming. Ladies and gentlemen, it is here. It is evident in the choices our clients, our traditional clients, are making.

For instance, the State of Florida has installed electronic recording equipment in virtually all of its 20 circuits over the last decade and a half.

The most recent installation of Depotek in Broward County's State Attorney and Public Defender's offices made headlines in the press. An article entitled “Are Court Reporters a Thing of the Past?” appeared in the Daily Business Review in July of this year.

Orange County's Digital Court Reporting System is one of the most sophisticated in the country. It allows digital court reporters to monitor courtrooms throughout the entire Ninth Judicial Circuit remotely, all the courthouses in the circuit from one location.

In July 2009, Veri-Core, a digital recording equipment company, was awarded court contracts in Polk and Orange Counties, touting “more districts to follow” in their press release. My heart sank as I read those words. I'm from Polk County.

There are agencies in Florida today that report civil depositions by using digital audio recording systems and then later someone produces the transcript from the audio recordings. They tell the attendees of the deposition “this is the new way to be a court reporter.”

It seems we hear the words “digital recording” more and more.

I attended the Court Technology Conference held in October of 2007 in Tampa, Florida, put on by the National Center for State Courts. This is a gathering of state court administrators, court technology officers, technology committee people, judges making purchasing decisions, and others that come from courts across the country and from around the world. They come to see what's new in the technology aspect of running a courthouse.

My friend and esteemed colleague, Florida's own Rick Greenspan and I had the absolute privilege of representing NCRA and stenographic reporters at our booth. We were in a combined booth with Courtroom Connect, RealLegal and Stenograph. The technology we presented was impressive. Karen Yates of Nevada CARTed the keynote speaker address for the conference. Rick and I projected realtime in our booth as a demonstration of what live “speech recognition” is. We were the only stenographic booth there.

Ladies and gentlemen, what an eye-opener that conference was for me. Imagine our booth surrounded by dozens of other recording “systems” opting for the job of “capturing and maintaining the court's records.” I mean, after all is said and done, the government is a good client to have. These vendors know this. They want to make it look as cost-effective and hassle-free as they can for the court personnel making important purchasing decisions. They want to be able to say “Pick me. I don't need the amount of personnel as the traditional stenographic reporter method, I don't cost near as much, and I will always be there when you need me. I will never be late for court, or sick, or pregnant, or need health insurance and benefits. And check out the slick technology I have to offer.”

Friends, it changed the way I look at my job.

Now enter a sluggish economy. What do you think is going to happen?

As I said, we're at the crossroads.

But why was it that Rick and Karen and I were the only stenographers there? Although there are some real cool ways to capture the sounds and store the audio and retrieve it in an orderly fashion, those systems don't do what Rick and Karen and what you guys here do. We hear the words, instantly translate them into readable text, and then display the text at a location chosen by us. They don't do that. We do that. That's our job. That's our technology. That's what makes us unique. We have been blessed with this wonderful ability.

But, folks, rarely does a profession go unchanged for decades. Technology is advancing, budgets are changing, and businesses are born because we live in a society that craves newly-developed products and upgraded features. Think about the phone you have now and the one you had five years ago. Have you upgraded your technology? Our clients are no different.

My message today is meant to make you aware of what we're up against. That's my job as your president. But let me tell you something. I have faith in our future, I have faith that we will survive, and I have faith in that awesome stenographic machine. I want you to be courageous in these changing times. I believe that anything can happen.

My advice is: Be the best you can be, now more than ever. When you are on the job, bring your A game. If you don't have an A game, then work hard to get one. You are a walking advertisement for every stenographer in the profession.

Recently, there was a great debate on the national level about NCRA investigating the feasibility of testing nonmembers. What would happen if NCRA tested voice writers across the nation and had a designation for that? What about transcriptionists being able to obtain a designation for the skills that they have? Well, an uproar ensued over the mere suggestion. NCRA's leadership found themselves in the crosshairs of controversy.

Did you know that that is exactly what the Florida Professional Reporter program does? We test voice writers. We test transcriptionists. We test electronic and digital reporters. We are NCRA's test study. We award the designation of FPR to all guardians of the record engaged in the practice of court reporting…regardless of methodology. We award a Florida Professional Scopist certificate to all scopists actively providing services to the court reporting profession and who can pass the test. We think everyone should be tested.

Our interpretation of the laws precludes FCRA from being able to exclude anyone from taking our test…anyone…and they don't have to be a member. Membership is not required.

So you have to ask yourself, how did we get here? Well, let's take a look at Florida law.

In Florida, court reporting is defined as “… the act of making a verbatim record of the spoken word, whether by the use of written symbols, stenomask equipment, stenographic equipment, or electronic devices…”

That is Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.535(a).

And then there's the most recent Florida Supreme Court decision in

Case No. SC-08-1658. The court adopted the “approved” language: Approved court reporter…approved transcriptionist…and approved civil court reporter.

The good news out of the Supreme Court's decision was that the official record is the transcript….it's the written words, not the sounds that are recorded. It's the written words. That's what we do. That's our job. That's our technology.

We all know the heavy lifting in making a transcript is writing it down. There's no faster way to do that than with a stenographic machine and a reporter writing realtime.

I will say it again because this is extremely important: The Supreme Court declared that the “official record” is the transcript, the written words.

Does that mean we are saved?

We're at the crossroads, aren't we?

We can't change the laws or the rules to maintain some kind of exclusivity for ourselves. We can't force a market to NOT diversify. This is a technology economy. The market determines the market, not a trade association or a trade methodology itself. That is the truth as I know it to be.

Will I make predictions? Never would I.

Even captioners and CART providers face a similar situation with C-Print and TypeWell occupying their speech-to-text marketplace.

So what is a reporter to do? I will tell you what I do. I maintain my certifications. I participate in my trade associations, FCRA and NCRA. I realtime every job that is humanly possible to realtime because I want to showcase my technology. I say yes when clients call on me, because I'm so grateful that they still call. I show up early for jobs and meet my deadlines, and I know what the rules are. I don't complain about expedites or working after hours….at least not out loud to my clients. After all, it's not about me!! I'm there to provide a service.

Never complain about your work, ladies and gentlemen. These are tough times and you can bet that there's someone out there who would be glad to have your job.

I'll admit, this is hard work that we do. It's long hours. It's going the extra mile every single time, but it's what I do to be indispensible. I am the “premier” way to make a record. I am the fastest and most accurate that there is. I'm expensive, but I'm worth it.

You want your clients to appreciate what you're worth, but they have to recognize it first. We have to be the best we can be, now more than ever.

Do members of the Bar think stenographic reporters are worth what we get paid? Does the court system still think we're worth it? Does the public recognize our worth? I think they do, but it's becoming a matter of what they can afford.

We are at a crossroads.

One of the reasons I dreaded making this speech is because the audience my words are aimed at aren't even here. This sermon isn't intended only for you folks. It's for the reporters that are not here, the ones that never come, the ones that don't donate, won't participate, we can't educate, they won't update, they often aggravate, but they're happy to delegate….delegate the job of promoting this profession to those of us sitting in this room, delegate to you who are here, to you sitting at the board table, to you who take the tests and maintain the certifications, who keep abreast of the technology, who donate your money and volunteer your time.

The membership of FCRA makes a cry out for certification, and they're not interested.

We've got to get ahold of those reporters and get them to join us, to help us, ladies and gentlemen.

You've heard the saying: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Think about the message these disinterested and disengaged reporters convey. Then remember those decision-makers and court technology purchasers I spoke about. Remember those traditional clients making choices when it comes to making their record. They're looking for credentials, they're looking for professionalism, they're looking for technology, they're looking for skill, and they're looking for value.

We have to be the best we can be, now more than ever.

There are two ways to look at the crossroads we find ourselves. You can view it as a splitting of the paths: “You can choose to go this way, but I'm going this way.” You can say the stenographic method is the “one and only” and the other systems are the devil. Or you can open your eyes and realize this is the way it is in Florida. Florida courts have embraced digital recording technology. Our laws and our rules were written and they dictate to many methodologies of court reporting, not just stenographic. That's the reality of where we are. This is what we're up against.

So what is the way forward for the Florida Court Reporters Association?

If you turn that image of a crossroads around, it can become where paths meet, where paths start traveling together as one.

I feel there are none more qualified on how to make a record than those stenographic reporters involved with the Florida Court Reporters Association. There are none more qualified to assist the courts in guarding its records and protecting the public in the preservation of that most precious record.

Ladies and gentlemen, it may be that it's time for FCRA to make the push to broaden its influence. FCRA deserves to be the authority on how to capture and preserve the spoken word in Florida. We need to be that source of integrity and knowledge and experience for the judiciary and the Bar and the public in the Sunshine State. We are the experts in our field. We are the wealth of knowledge and we know what it takes to be an “approved” court reporter and “approved” transcriptionist and “approved” civil court reporter.

For this reason, FCRA will continue to improve our FPR program. We will continue to present ourselves to the Supreme Court through the coalition of methodologies known as the Florida Coalition on Court Reporter Certification, and we will make efforts to broaden our influence to all those who call themselves court reporters in the state of Florida.

That's how your leadership intends to proceed at the crossroads we find ourselves. That is what FCRA can do.

Please keep supporting FCRA and please, please do all you can to be indispensible to members of the Bar, the judiciary, and the public in general. That is what you can do.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for being here and for all that you do for your association.