All of us here at Wake Up, NCRA want to welcome OUR new Executive Director and CEO! The short blurb that was written about her vision to seize the vast opportunities with laser-focused intention makes us hopeful that NCRA can grow and flourish again.The new ED/CEO has been granted the sacred trust of membership. We’re hoping that her definition of “laser focus” is that NCRA will keep its focus centered on stenographic reporters, and not just on “the court reporting industry,” in general.

Here are some ideas that all of us here at WUNCRA have come up with to help make this new relationship with membership a very successful one:

1. Transparency, transparency, transparency.  *As members, we believe that we are entitled to know how every single board member votes on every single issue.  How else can membership determine the board members that we wish to lead us?  We’re a membership of high-tech stenographic reporters, so please consider using stenographic reporters to write the board meetings verbatim while also streaming the board meetings live, then posting those transcripts on the site very soon after board meetings.   That will go a long way to gaining the trust of membership, and may even be great PR for getting members back to NCRA.  It will also be a good marketing tool for members who are trying to sell those services to clients in their local markets.  Please publish the agendas and board books online before every meeting.   Please also publish complete minutes after board meetings, not the “skeleton” minutes that have been the norm since at least the golden years.  Please do not allow the Executive Committee to usurp the entire board by making major decisions in the dark of night between full board meetings.  We do understand that there are certain board situations that need to be guarded, but Robert’s Rules covers those rare situations.
2. In our opinions here at WUNCRA, many of the board members over the last many years have not been servant leaders.  Many have had their own personal reasons and agendas for getting on the NCRA board and then moving on to executive board positions, culminating in the presidency.   In our opinions, it’s best not to pay any mind to the Vs, the Ys, the Ns, the Ps, the Ws, the Ds.  Just follow the years of the decline in membership, and use caution and your gut.  We think that there are even a few on the current board to be wary of.

We’re sorry that you’ve inherited a tough situation. But we here at WUNCRA, and we’re sure steno reporters in general, are pulling for you, Madam ED/CEO.

Godspeed,
Frank N. Sense

* We also believe that a full accounting and background on the sale of NCRA’s building for $5 million will also go a long way to gaining trust.  The NCRA board has a history of sweeping things under the rug and hoping that they don’t rear their ugly heads, but they usually do.  An example, in our opinions, is not completely 86’ing SLM from NCRA’s history, but instead allowing her to simply resign.