Summit County, Ohio: Summit County Common Pleas Administrative Judge Amy Corrigall Jones is pleased to announce that Terri Sims, Chief Court Reporter for Common Pleas Court, has been elected to serve as the 2018-2019 president of the Ohio Court Reporters Association (OCRA).

OCRA was established in 1920. The association is dedicated to providing leadership and direction for the court reporting profession – past, present, and future – by offering educational opportunities and promoting technological advancements, quality services, high ethical standards, and fellowship. OCRA provides a variety of services and benefits that enhance growth, development and professional expertise.

Sims has been a court reporter and member of OCRA for 25 years. She served as the vice president in 2016 and president elect in 2017. Through that time, Sims indicated that there has been a growing shortage in people entering the court reporting profession across the county.

“If people get through school and get certified, they are almost guaranteed a job right out of school,” Sims said.

As such, one of her goals as president is to “promote the profession,” which has been the ongoing focus of the association in recent years. The association offered a free eight-week intro to steno class across the state last year. Those interested in the field were able to take the class without committing unnecessary money and effort.

“Most really don’t know what they want to do. With this class, they can see if court reporting is something they would like for free,” Sims explained.

Sims said OCRA plans to offer the class again so people can explore the profession. She also noted that jobs requiring converting spoken word to text and preserving spoken language can also be found in news media and serving the hard of hearing population. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), and closed captioning are services court reporters can provide as well.

Other goals of her presidency are to continue building on OCRA’s strategic plan, keep current with tech advancements and expand the professions working relationships with judges, attorneys and the hard of hearing population.

Overall, Sims is excited about the association, the profession’s future and the role she intends to play in furthering the court reporting profession.

“The profession has been good to me. So I’m happy to give back,” Sims concluded.