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KERI FISHER RECEIVES CMRS CERTIFICATION

Left to right: Haley Fisher; Keri A. Fisher, CMRS; and Kristine Palushock

Keri A. Fisher received her Certified Manager of Reporting Services certification at the NCRA Annual Convention in New York City. Keri was one of fourteen recipients of this prestigious award at this year's convention, only three of whom were from Pennsylvania. She received her certificate at the NCRA Awards Luncheon held on Saturday, August 5, 2006. Accompanying her on her trip to "The Big Apple" were her sister, Kristine Palushock, and her niece, Haley Fisher (pictured above). Keri is the office manager for AccuScript, Inc. Court Reporting & Video.

Lisa V. Feissner, RDR, CRR, CRI addressed the attendees
at the NCSA Annual Meeting on Thursday, August 3, 2006.

AccuScript, Inc. president Lisa V. Feissner, RDR, CRR, CRI spoke to the delegates attending the National Comittee of State Associations (NCSA) at their annual meeting held on Thursday, August 3, 2006. She first addressed them in her capacity as the chair of NCRA's Political Action Comittee (NCRA-PAC) regarding NCRA-PAC's efforts over the past year to lobby Congress on behalf of official court reporters, freelance court reporters, captioners, and CART providers nationwide.

Lisa also addressed the delegates in her capacity as president of the Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association (PCRA) informing them as to Pennsylvania's accomplishments over the past year, including its partnership with Drexel University to establish a court reporting program there.

KERI FISHER COMPLETES SECOND HALF OF CMRS COURSE

The National Court Reporters Association 2006 Midyear Convention was held in Nashville, Tennessee at Gaylord Opryland on March 31st through April 2nd. This year's theme was "Walk the Line to Professional Success," which focused on acquainting court reporters and firm owners alike on the latest developments in court reporting technology. The convention featured seminars on topics such as teaching clients how to use litigation support software; the discovery process as it pertains to documents such as e-mail, computer files and other "electronic documents"; troubleshooting realtime hardware when you're at a deposition; and overcoming constraints to business innovation.

Keri Fisher, Distribution Manager of AccuScript, Inc. Court Reporting & Video, was among this year's Certified Manager of Reporting Services candidates attending Module I of the CMRS course entitled, "People, Leadership, Organization," a powerful curriculum emphasizing the management of court reporters, problem solving, the law of human resources and, most importantly, leadership. Keri completed Module II of the CMRS course at the NCRA 2005 Annual Convention in Phoenix.

CMRS candidates, left to right: Beverly A. Cornetet, Keri A. Fisher,
Sharon Cahill, Joyce Y. Wise, Rhonda Adams, Lisa A. Bauer, Kim Linarte

On Friday, March 31st, AccuScript President Lisa V. Feissner hosted the "Steno Swap for Judicial Reporters" seminar, where participants were given an opportunity to share their brief forms for difficult or commonly used terminology. Lisa also compiled and handed out to the attendees a list of many of her brief forms. She also gave the members advice on when and how to use brief forms, creative ideas for briefing on the fly, and avoiding brief form conflicts when doing realtime.

Attendees at the NCRA Midyear Convention spent a night
at Nashville's world-famous Wildhorse Saloon.

On Saturday, April 1st, Lisa and Keri attended a fundraiser for the National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF) at the Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville, where they enjoyed a hearty buffet dinner, live entertainment and free line-dance and country-western dance instruction.

Seated, from left, Pamela Pratt, Lisa Feissner, Marilynn Puhak & Trisha Sims.
Standing, from left, Deena Schlimm, Melissa Snerr, Evilys Braithwaite,
Marilou Kohut, Grete DeAngelo, Keri Fisher, Judi Olsen and Marcella Russell.

AccuScript, Inc. is proud of the hard work, professionalism and dedication of its reporters and staff. Each December, therefore, we throw a yearly holiday party in appreciation of their efforts. This year's holiday party was held at The Woodlands Inn & Resort on Saturday, December 3, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. in Parlor A of the Thyme Resturant located within the Woodlands Inn & Resort complex. The party featured a festive atmosphere with butler-style hors d'oeuvres, an all-evening open bar and and a traditional sit-down holiday dinner.

After dinner the members of the firm were able to party the night away at the several lounges and dance club offered by The Woodlands for after-dinner entertainment. A good time was had by all, and to all a good night! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of the people who make AccuScript the best court reporting firm in Northeastern Pennsylvania!

     AccuScript, Inc. has recently been granted a trademark by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its logo.

    The AccuScript, Inc. trademark has been registered under International Class 035, which pertains to stenographic transcription services, namely the production and distribution of verbatim transcripts of all types of oral communications or judicial proceedings.

    The trademark has also been registered under International Class 042, which pertains to court reporting and litigation support services, namely, the production, organization and display of demonstrative evidence for courtroom presentation.

     Because trademark rights are acquired through use, AcuScript, Inc. has been claiming trademark rights in the logo by placing the initials "TM" next to it since it was first designed over five years ago. A trademark must be in use for at least five years before it qualifies for registration on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Principal Register.

     The trademark was originally designed by Tom & Lisa Feissner working in conjunction with Kiwi Graphics of Scranton. The registration became official August 16, 2005, when it was granted trademark registration number 2,985,148.

Back row, left to right: Colin Yorke, Lora Zachek, Malinda Leahy, Joyce Wise, Keri Fisher, Angela Tropin, Michael Gay, Lynn Fischer-Mizanin, David Watson, Tamra Keen. Front row, left to right: Gregg Poss, Rhonda Adams, Donna Tuten, Melodie Ajello, Sharon Cahill.

     Keri Fisher, Distribution Manager of AccuScript, Inc. Court Reporting & Video, was among this year's Certified Manager of Reporting Services candidates attending the 2005 NCRA Annual Convention in Phoenix, Arizona July 20th-23rd.

     The CMRS certification was designed by the National Court Reporters Association to augment the knowledge of people who manage court reporting firms in such areas as marketing of reporter services, supervising reporters and other staff, scheduling and assigning work, conflict resolution, financial and budget analysis, billing and collections, public relations, ethics and court reporting technology.

     As a representative of AccuScript, Inc., Keri was also provided with access to NCRA-PAC's exclusive Capital Club, where she was able to relax, network with other court reporting professionals, enjoy complimentary refreshments and a variety of other amenities during the course of the convention.

     AccuScript, Inc. President Lisa V. Feissner, RDR, CRR, CRI also attended the convention on behalf of the Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association (PCRA). As the president of the organization, it is Lisa's obligation to represent PCRA at national events such as the NCRA Annual Convention.

     Lisa is also a member of the Governing Committee of the National Committee of State Associations (NCSA), which held its annual meeting at the NCRA Annual Convention on Thursday, July 21st. The NCSA Delegates voted on resolutions for consideration by the NCRA Board of Directors, shared information about activities in their respective states and learned about what NCRA has planned for the coming year. This completed Lisa's third and final term of service as an NCSA Governing Committee member.

Members of the 2005 NCSA Governing Committee, left to right:
Mario Rodriguez, Lisa V. Feissner, Matthew Dreger, Diana Taylor,
Jan White, Annette Forbes and Karen Yates.

    The NCRA Political Action Committee (PAC) Task Force, of which Lisa is also an active member, held what turned out to be a very popular fundraiser at this year's annual convention. The "Men of NCRA Calendar 2006" took a humorous approach to the traditional pin-up calendar, with appearances by such well-known NCRA members as former NCRA Presidents E. Duane Smith, William E. Weber, Carl Sauceda, and Mike Brentano; PCRA's own Irv Starkman; NCSA Chairman Matthew Dreger; NCRA Board Member Doug Friend; and legendary speed champion Mark Kislingbury.

    A reception was held on Thursday, July 21st to kick off the calendar promotion, which was sponsored in part by AccuScript, Inc. Those who attended the reception not only received complimentary refreshments, but were also given the opportunity to have their calendars personally autographed by all 12 "Men of NCRA." To date the calendar promotion has raised over $10,000 for NCRA-PAC.

    For more news from the 2005 NCRA Annual Convention, click here.

     Lisa V. Feissner was installed as President of the Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association (PCRA) at its annual meeting April 2, 2005 in Philadelphia. She wil serve as president until April 2007. Prior to serving as president, she held the offices of president-elect, treasurer and district director.
     She has also chaired or co-chaird several PCRA committees, created and coordinated the PCRA Mentoring Program and was a PCRA delegate to the National Committee of State Associations.
     Feissner is also active in the National Court Reporters Association, where she has been a member of several committees. She is serving her third year as a member of the Governing Committee of the National Committee of State Associations and is a member of the Major Gifts Campaign Committee of the National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF).
     Lisa has attended the NCRA State Leadership Conference every year since 1999, and has participated in NCRA Legislative and Media Training and the NCRA Teachers' Workshop.
    She is a frequent speaker at seminars for both the national and state associations, and she is actively involved in administering and grading national certification exams administered through NCRA. Lisa also worked as an instructor for the court reporting program at Luzerne County Community College from 2002 through 2004.
     Lisa is certified as a Registered Diplomate Reporter, Certified Realtime Reporter, and Certified Reporting Instructor.
     Lisa and her husband, Attorney Thomas K. Feissner, co-own AccuScript, Inc. Court Reporting & Video in Hazleton, which has been providing stenographic court reporting and litigation support services to the legal community throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1992.

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski of Pennsylvania recently held a press conference at Luzerne County Community College (LCCC) in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania to present the college with a $367,040 federal grant that will help students at LCCC study for careers as court reporters and captioners. Congressman Kanjorski was joined by LCCC President Dr. Patricia Donohue and PCRA President Lisa V. Feissner, RDR, CRR, CRI for the announcement.

"This program will create a marketable set of skills that are in high demand and pay a substantial salary. I commend Luzerne County Community College for having the foresight to offer this program and Ms. Feissner for approaching me with the information about this market. I am pleased that the federal government realized the value of such a program for Northeastern Pennsylvania. It will create a highly skilled workforce which will in turn foster economic development. It will also provide accommodation for the 9.6 percent of Pennsylvanians who are deaf or hard of hearing." Kanjorski said.

"This grant money will allow LCCC to provide state-of-the-art training facilities for students looking to enter the judicial reporting and captioning professions. Graduates of the court reporting/captioning program can look forward to an expanding job market and an exceptional earning capacity right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania." Feissner said.

Dr. Donohue stated that "The court reporting/captioning program is a newer program at the college which is important to our region. This grant money will help to provide the equipment our students need to learn in the court reporting program. It will also help us to introduce the captioning program, develop a pre-screening process to assist with retention and graduation rates, and to further develop both programs within our curriculum."

As part of its new campaign to promote reporter certification, the National Court Reporters Association is running a series of advertisements in the Journal for the Reporting and Captioning Professions (JCR) featuring court reporters who have obtained their Registered Professional Reporter (RPR), Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR) or Certified Reporting Instructor (CRI) certifications. AccuScript's own Lisa V. Feissner, RDR, CRR, CRI was chosen to represent the CRI certification and appeared in the June 2005 edition. To view the advertisement as it appeared in the JCR, click here.

Front: Brenda Hamilton & Cheryl Hansberry
Rear: Bernadette Black Berardinelli & Lisa V. Feissner

     The National Court Reporters Association held its annual State Leadership Conference in Tysons Corner, Virginia on November 12-14, 2004. In attendance on behalf of the Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association were Bernadette Black Berardinelli, RDR, CRR, CRI; Cheryl Hansberry, RDR, CRR; Brenda Hamilton, RMR and Lisa V. Feissner, RDR, CRR, CRI. In addition to representing PCRA, Lisa also attended the conference as a representative of both the National Committee of State Associations (NCSA) and the NCRA PAC Task Force.

     As part of her NCSA duties, Lisa participated in a panel discussion during a seminar presented to leaders from 40 affiliated associations.

     As the coordinator of the NCRA PAC Poker Challenge, Lisa oversaw a poker tournament which netted over $7,500 for NCRA PAC.

     This year marks the sixth consecutive year Lisa has attended the NCRA State Leadership Conference, and her second season as the NCRA PAC fundraiser coordinator. In addition to her official duties, Lisa had time to meet state leaders from across the nation and discuss shared issues, concerns, solutions, and successes.