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Well, I can’t believe I’m actually President of FCRA. I have probably served on the FCRA Board longer than any one board member in history before moving into the President’s position. I finally made it!!! I would like to give you some brief history of-how I came to be involved in FCRA. While working in Jacksonville in 1980, I attended my first NCRA convention in Atlanta, Georgia, that same year. One evening there was an FCRA reception. My good friend and mentor Marie Splane from Jacksonville encouraged me to go. I walked in the room to be met at the door by one of the most vivacious, energetic individuals I had ever met. This “spitfire” was the President of FSRA at the time, and her name is Gayl Hardeman. I didn’t quite know what she was on, but I knew I wanted some of whatever it was, and I was really hoping it was over the counter. I joined FCRA on the spot that evening. I thought, wow, what a great group of people and what a wonderful organization. That’s how and when I got hooked on FCRA. Gayl, see what you did 27 years ago!!! You hooked me!!! Membership is our greatest challenge. What do we do to increase membership? That’s the million dollar question. I don’t think a president before me has left that topic out of their acceptance speech. This year, I have strategically placed a Membership Committee member in every part of the state. Yes, we ARE going to have membership exchanges again. Yes, we ARE going to have membership drives. Yes, we ARE going to increase membership in FCRA during 2007/2008. Imagine the membership that we could gain if we all tried to be as contagious to a prospective new member as Gayl was to me that evening 27 years ago. That’s how you get new members. The theme for the September 2007 Annual Convention was “The secret to having the reporting career you choose.” I am declaring the theme for the next year for all of us is “BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE.” FCRA and the court reporting profession have come a long way since those days of my first NCRA convention. Court reporters today have to be computer gurus, technological wizards, well-versed in all aspects of reporting in this day of high-tech litigation. Each and every one of our members is the best, but we have work to do with some others in the profession. I would like to congratulate each of you who have attained a certification this year. If you’ve passed your RPR, next time sit for your RMR. If you have passed your RMR, and you are feeling particularly sadistic, sit for the RDR. Strive for your CRR, CBC or CCP. I once read, “Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion; you must set yourself on fire.” As we all know, there are different methods of reporting. ER (Electronic Reporting) has taken over some of our court systems. Voicewriters are perfecting their realtime capabilities. Don’t be afraid of different reporting technologies. In Ocala, FCRA passed a motion to accept voicewriters into our association. In Marco Island, I sat in total amazement during the voicewriting seminar. I don’t know if any of you had an opportunity to see it, but I had no idea how much they are like us. I walked away from that seminar knowing that FCRA is a true leader and pioneer in state reporting associations, but in order for stenographic reporters to be the preferred method of reporting in whatever venue, we must offer our clients and end users a superior technological product. I know some reporters just won’t do realtime. Maybe they feel their writing is maybe not quite up to par or they think it’s too much pressure. But I want to encourage you, if you’re not already doing it, provide realtime to your clients, and be able to give them a dirty ASCII at the end of the day. We as stenographic reporters have to make our clients feel that we are the best method of “Capturing the Spoken Word.” Remember the cream will always rise to the top. One of FCRA’s biggest accomplishments to date, I feel, is the implementation of the FPR, Florida Professional Reporter. We have 400 plus FPRs in the State of Florida. I also envision one day hopefully soon, and it’s something that I am going to work on during the next year, is having a voluntary SKILLS portion to the FPR. With a voluntary written knowledge test and a voluntary skills test in place, we will have already established our state certification test when and if we achieve mandatory state certification. It will already be in place; it will be self-funding, as well as we will already have our CEU criteria established. Another important goal for me in the upcoming year is to educate the media and general public at large on how invaluable court reporters and CART providers are. We have received some rather bad press, to say the least, right here in Fort Lauderdale recently. I want to see articles published about professional reporters, not the few bad apples that fell from the tree. During my term as President, I want to have a very interactive and proactive relationship with the FCRA Board of Directors and the general membership. All of you out there have wonderful ideas; for example, maybe a particular seminar topic you would like to see presented. I want to encourage you to communicate with me personally or, better yet, attend Board meetings to present anything that you would like to bring to the Board’s attention. After all, this is YOUR organization. The FCRA Board wants your input. Don’t be afraid to volunteer to serve on a committee or work for your association. I cannot predict what the year will bring, but what I can tell you is that whatever I’m called on to do, I will do my very best to represent the FCRA Board and the general membership, and I am very excited to be your President. I want to thank you for being a member of our association, for being the true professionals that you are, and for making FCRA the best state reporting association in the country. FCRA is looked upon by all court reporting associations in the country as a leader and trend-setter in our industry. But remember our theme for the upcoming year: “BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE.” FLORIDA COURT REPORTERS ASSOCIATION |
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Wesley Thomas Hughes, RDR, CRR, FPR 2007-2008 President Plantation, Florida |
