Court reporter Tami Smith to serve as President of the National Court Reporters Association

VIENNA, Va., Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) is pleased to announce that Battle Creek, Mich., resident Tami Smith will serve as President of its Board of Directors. Smith was promoted to this position during the National Court Reporters Association's 2012 Annual Convention in Philadelphia, Pa., on August 9.

Smith has worked as an official reporter since 1990. She currently works with the Hon. James C. Kingsley for the 37th Circuit Court in Battle Creek, Mich. Smith has volunteered on many NCRA and Michigan Association of Professional Court Reporters (MAPCR) committees. She has previously served on the National Court Reporters Foundation's Board of Trustees. She also served on the advisory boards of two court reporting programs and, in 2002, received the Michigan Association of Professional Court Reporters' Alton Cobb Award in recognition for her outstanding efforts and time devoted as a volunteer and chief examiner. In 2007, Smith received MAPCR's Distinguished Service Award.

While some court reporters work in the court, most court reporters work in the legal field as court reporters for depositions and other preliminary matters. Other reporters have taken up the captioning of live broadcasts, such as news and sports programming, or provide immediate realtime access to Deaf or hard-of-hearing customers who seek access to education, public meetings, or other services, in a system called CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation). In each case, the goal of the court reporter or captioner is to get each and every word a person utters down on paper or in digital form.

About The National Court Reporters Association
The National Court Reporters Association is internationally recognized as the premier educational and informational resource for its 18,000 members and the public. The association promotes excellence among those who capture and convert the spoken word to text and is committed to supporting every member in achieving the highest level of professional expertise. NCRA's certification programs provide members opportunities for success and recognition.

SOURCE National Court Reporters Association