Dust off your Boots and Hat, Ya'll. 

Jody Keelin

Line dancing offers a full-body workout, enhancing cardiovascular health, flexibility, and coordination, while boosting cognitive function, mood, and social interaction.  Line dancing improves balance, posture, and bone density, providing a creative and communal outlet.  This activity counters the sedentary nature of the job, reduces stress, enhances focus, and promotes better posture and flexibility. Join us on Friday night to see how line dancing can complement your professional life and overall well-being.

Jody Keelin began her court reporting journey in the winter of 2005.  After spending 10 years as a freelance reporter, in 2017 she began a new journey at Spokane County Superior Court as an official.  Jody grew up competing in tap dancing and playing the piano.  She and her husband, Matthew, started dating the day before the world shut down for COVID.  Talk about timing!  They had to come up with a creative way to get to know each other, so they started dancing at home. They learned as much as they could about country swing dancing, and each time they practiced, they learned more about dancing and each other.  They still love to dance at home–they are building a dance studio in their basement! -- and still laugh as much as they did when they started.  

From High-Profile Cases to Prime Time:  A Stenographic Journey to Hollywood

 By Whitney Kumar, CSR, court stenographer for Judy Justice

Whitney Kumar is the Court Stenographer for Judy Justice, the landmark courtroom program featuring Judge Judy Sheindlin from Amazon FreeVee, Amazon’s free streaming service.   Everyone’s favorite daytime judge, Judge Judy, made sure to have a certified stenographer at her side for her new show Judy Justice. The perfect reporter for the job was Whitney Kumar. She is a California CSR, who owns KW Court Reporting with her twin sister, Kamryn.  Whitney also has recently won her second Emmy for Judy Justice.   Come learn about her unique experience and tips on evolving your court reporting career.     

 Whitney is a graduate of South Coast College and has been a deposition and official reporter in California since 2006. Whitney boasts a highly diverse skill set as a certified shorthand reporter due to her tenure as an official reporter within the Los Angeles Superior Court where she reported many high-profile cases. With extensive experience reporting cases from deposition through the courtroom, Whitney has garnered a deep knowledge of the entire life cycle of civil cases in California.  While at the Los Angeles Superior Court, she led the official record for high-profiles cases such as Britney Spears v. Kevin Federline, Mel Gibson v. Oksana Grigorieva, and the Los Angeles Dodger owners Frank McCourt v. Jamie McCourt.   Drawing on her love of reporting and her expertise within the courtroom, Whitney founded KW Court Reporting with her twin sister Kamryn in 2013.   

DAR, AI & ASR:  A Swing and a Miss in the Record-Making Industry

Presented by Kristin Anderson, M.A., RPR, CRI, FCRR, NCRA Immediate Past President

The Internet and national security concerns have brought about the capability of personal information becoming a commodity to be gathered, packaged, marketed, or used for investigative purposes unknowingly or without active participation of the information subject. New technology for gathering and disseminating individual personal information has surpassed both government regulation and new technologies to effectively regulate these activities. We will discuss the concerns in this gathering and use of personal information, how it relates to privacy and public records, and what this means for the court reporter regarding data storage, chain of custody, and record retention.  We will review the proactive and reactive measures taken so far, and what is next for us in protecting the official record.   

Kristin Anderson is the official court reporter for the 481^st Judicial District Court, Denton County, Texas. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management and Human Relations in 2012 and earned her Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership with distinction in 2022. Anderson is a Certified Shorthand Reporter in Illinois and Texas and holds the nationally recognized professional certification of Registered Professional Reporter (RPR).

From 2013-2017, Anderson worked for the U.S. District Court in San Antonio, Texas. During her tenure in that position, she obtained her Federal Certified Realtime Reporter (FCRR) designation from the U.S. Court Reporters Association (USCRA).

Anderson has been a stenographer for 25 years. Previously, she worked as a freelance court reporter in Kansas and Missouri and as an official court reporter for the states of Illinois and Kansas, as well as for Bexar County in San Antonio, Texas.   She is a past Chair and Vice Chair of the National Congress of State Associations (NCSA) and served on that committee in various capacities from 2006-2014. She has also served on several other committees and task forces during her 20 years of volunteer service for the profession both in state leadership in Kansas, including two terms as president, and national leadership.

During her NCRA Board service as an officer, Anderson has chaired the Board Policy & Procedures Committee as its Vice President and the Finance and Audit committees during her two years as the Secretary-Treasurer. Her service also includes as Vice President and President-Elect. From 2015-2016, she also served on the convention and ethics committees for the Texas Court Reporters Association (TCRA). In addition to TCRA and USCRA, Anderson also has a lifetime membership with Texas Deposition Reporters Association. 

Look Who’s Talking:  Peremptory Solutions to Writing Realtime

Richard S. Scire, RPR, FPR-C, and Michael A. Scire, RPR, CMRS, FPR-C

Long Island natives Richard S. Sciré, RPR, FPR-C, and Michael A. Sciré, RPR, CMRS, FPR-C are twin brothers and court reporters.  Each have been reporting more than 20 years, 18 of which as official court reporters in Florida’s 12th Judicial Circuit Court where they reported the felony court hearings and trial proceedings in Sarasota County, FL.  Michael served as Lead Reporter, overseeing the four reporters in Sarasota.  They both rejoined the freelance world launching Diamond Court Reporting.  Richard is a past president of the Florida Court Reporters Association, and Michael is the current president.  They are both realtime writers and also provide CART services.

The Twins attended the Court Reporting program at the Sarasota County Technical Institute, where Richard graduated in 1998 and Michael in 1999.  In 2007 they were inducted into the school’s “Wall of Fame,” an award honoring distinguished alumnus.   After they each graduated, they worked as freelance reporters for Metzger Reporting Services in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in Punta Gorda, FL.  Richard left Metzger Reporting in 2000 to work in Sarasota for Vincent Lucente & Associates.  Michael left Metzger in 2002 to pursue the Sarasota official position.  After six months, when official positions became available, Michael recruited Richard where they have been “partners in crime” until January of 2021 when Richard jumped first into the freelance arena.  They would be reunited again in October of 2021.

In addition to reporting, they each authored articles in the Journal of Court Reporting and The Florida Reporter and are also NCRF Angels.  They have served on and chaired several committees for their state association and were guest speakers for other state court reporting associations including Mississippi, Alabama, Hawaii, New Jersey, Illinois, and for NCRA including as keynote speakers at the annual convention in 2015 in New York.  They have presented to the 12th Circuit State Attorney’s Office and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department on several occasions educating attorneys and law enforcement how to make a record.  Michael and Richard were featured on two Florida news programs for being twin court reporters and also provided testimonials for For The Record - A Court Reporting Documentary. 

In their free time, the twins enjoy being men about the town, attending as many social events as possible.  They emcee events and created MartiniAndaMovie.com.  They had their own radio show too.  They can almost always be seen together creating laughter and entertainment wherever they go, from parties and film festivals, to ziplining and skydiving.  If life is the party to whom everyone was invited, they are most assuredly going to have a great time.

Capturing the Beat:  Hot Days and Hotter Nights at Coachella

 Presented by Isaiah Roberts

Does putting your realtime feed up on a client’s laptop freak you out?  What if you had to do it in front of 50,000 people who were screaming and cheering for their favorite band?  Ever wondered how to provide realtime captioning in multiple languages?  This seminar will walk through how to get over the jitters and the tech needed to take your skills to the next level. Don’t miss out on learning about how to adapt your skills to multiple different applications and venues!

Isaiah Roberts is a freelance reporter and CART captioner working in the Chicago, Illinois, area.  Before attending Mark Kislingbury Academy, Isaiah obtained his bachelor's degree in marketing from Illinois State University.  Upon receiving his CSR in April 2016, Isaiah worked three years as an Official Reporter for the State of Illinois before making the switch to freelance reporting and CART captioning.  Isaiah currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Court Reporters Association, is the chair of the NCRA's Political Action Committee, on the Advisory Board for Lakeland Community College and MacCormac College of Court Reporting, and serves on multiple NCRA committees.