July did not end so well for me, and it had nothing to do with getting another year older. On the evening of the 30th, a Monday nonetheless, I was leaving my deposition, got into the elevator on the 14th Floor, pressed L, moved down two floors, and there I stayed for about two hours. That was a first for me, and one I care not to repeat! Then, the next day, after a 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. deposition in Columbus, I began the two-hour drive south toward home, only to have my car stall alongside I-71 in between exits. After waiting about half an hour, the tow truck driver rescued me, I got back home, and sent out the rough drafts of that day’s deposition. Being stranded on the roadside was another first I care not to repeat.
After these consecutive escapades, I wasn’t too sure about boarding a plane and flying down to New Orleans for the 2018 NCRA Annual Convention, but my husband and I bravely went forth as planned. Thankfully, August began so much better than July ended, no travel problems, no illnesses, no trouble of any kind in the Big Easy.
I have attended some extraordinarily memorable NCRA conventions: 1999 in Boston with NCRA’s 100th anniversary, and 2003 in Reno when I, as OCRA President, introduced fellow Ohioan Lisa Nagy-Baker as NCRA President. However, in my eyes, this year topped both of those, and not because of the seminars, the location, the debated issues, or any of the technical aspects, but because of the great accomplishments of some of my friends that I was able to help celebrate.
Although, I didn’t arrive in time to attend the Business Meeting on Thursday, it was very exciting to have one of my closest reporting friends, Yolanda Walton, run from the floor and win election to become an NCRA Director!
Friday morning, another friend, Donna Karoscik, was a part of an interview on New Orleans station WWLTV Channel 4 to promote court reporting and captioning and talk about competing in the National Realtime Contest.
Friday morning, the SUEper Sue Terry, from Springfield, Ohio, was installed as President of NCRA! Friday night, OCRA hosted one of the best parties ever in her honor. It was beautiful to see so many of her family members who had traveled to be there with her.
At the Awards Luncheon on Saturday, many more of my friends were honored. Donna Karoscik, Allison Kimmel, Jen Krueger, and Yolanda Walton all were made a part of the elite group of the Fellows of the Academy of Professional Reporters! Fellow classmate from Clark State, Robyn Hennigan, deservedly received the CASE Award of Excellence! Then, to top off the luncheon, our own OCRA Secretary, Lance Boardman, won 3rd place in the National Realtime Contest!
Those were the achievements formally celebrated. The other aspect of the convention that was so special was the number of Ohio reporters, and those who have Ohio as their home state, who were present for the weekend. Every national convention is a great time to catch up with friends, but this year seemed extra special. I greatly enjoyed visiting with so many Buckeyes as well as reporters from other states. Touring New Orleans, and on a Segway, nonetheless, for the first time wasn’t bad either!
If you have never attended a national convention or it’s been several years since attending, I encourage you to do so whenever you are able. The overall experience of learning, celebrating, exploring, rejuvenating, and catching up with friends is unforgettable every time, but it’s going to be pretty hard to top 2018! Congratulations to each of the awesome reporting professionals in our great state of Ohio! I am very proud to be a part of such a fun-loving and dedicated community of reporters.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lisa Conley Yungblut is a Mike Mobley Reporting court reporter based in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has been a reporter since 1989. Lisa is active in the Ohio Court Reporters’ Association (is a Past President), on the Advisory Board for the judicial reporting program at a local college, actively engaged in improving her skills and has mentored many court reporting students and interns.