Idaho Court Reporters Association

By: Keith M. Evans, RPR, CSR

Recently Kristi Evans, RPR, CSR, and I traveled to the NCRA Midyear Seminar in Vancouver, British Columbia. What a wonderful experience it was to be in the close proximity of around 2,000 court reporters all at the same time. You can imagine how the seminar rooms were buzzing with conversation, since none of us get to really “talk” on the job. I’m sure I was especially gabby considering the rural part of Idaho in which I work. For those of you that don’t know me I have been an official reporter in Idaho, Clearwater and Lewis Counties for 15 years. I have been reporting for a total of 20 years. I also own K & K Court Reporting with my wife Kristi. Well, enough about us, back to the seminars.

The seminars started on Thursday with a bus tour of Vancouver, BC. It is great to get continuing education points while sitting on a luxurious bus touring the city. Vancouver is a very beautiful city. The population of Vancouver is around 2 million. If you include the outlying areas the population grows to around 4 million. The tour took us through the downtown area, Chinatown, Stanley Park and Granville Island. Granville Island is a must see when in Vancouver. There is a large market next to the water that has fresh fish, vegetables, fruits, breads, candies, flowers and many vendors. Vancouver is a very culturally diverse city, which makes the city even more fun! You can buy just about any kind of food at any hour of the day or night in Vancouver. There is even a Tiffany’s where you can buy a diamond necklace for $119,500.00. No, you won’t see Kristi wearing that necklace anytime soon.

Friday was filled with seminars all day and was capped off with a trip to the Vancouver Giants hockey game with an old friend who works for a television station in Vancouver.

Saturday we were off to more seminars on various different topics. I feel the two most interesting seminars were held on this day. The first was the three reporters that reported the Zacarias Moussaoui trial. Moussaoui is the only person to have been tried for the September 11 attacks in a civilian court. The reporters for this trial talked about dealing with the many facets of such a high profile case. The biggest challenge for these reporters was understanding what Moussaoui was saying once he decided to proceed pro se. He spoke with a very strong accent. He would start out speaking in broken English and then switch to Arabic quoting from the Koran and then switch back to broken English. The reporters played several of the 911 calls from people on the floors above where the planes flew into the World Trade Center Buildings. The reporters spoke about how hard it was to remain unemotional and professional during such emotional testimony from family members during the sentencing phase of the trial. Karen Brynteson, FAPR, RMR, CRR; Norman Linnell, RPR, RMR; and Anneliese Thomson, RDR, CRR were the reporters for the Moussaoui trial. They should be very proud of themselves for the wonderful job that they did on this trial. We, as reporters, should also be proud of them for them helping to promote the reporting profession and shining bright in the national and international spotlight.

During the lunch on Saturday Linda Edgecombe used humor and life experiences to get people motivated and to not take themselves or life so seriously.

Sunday was the last day of the seminars. I would love to tell you that the seminars on Sunday were the most fun, informative and best of the entire seminar, but I have a confession. I PLAYED HOOKY! Kristi and I were drawn back to Granville Island for more shopping and fun before we had to leave town.

Overall Vancouver is a wonderfully beautiful and clean city. I would recommend Vancouver as a vacation spot for anyone. Vancouver is hosting the 2010 winter Olympics so get your tickets soon. I do have one suggestion if you do drive to Vancouver, however. The automakers in Canada must make their cars with no blinkers and only a horn. The way you change lanes in Vancouver is start honking and squeeze your way into the merging lane. Don’t worry about not using a blinker because the Canucks won’t use a blinker either. The Canadians will just think you are one of the locals until they see those Idaho license plates.

The main concept that you learn when being around this many reporters all at once is that as reporters we all make mistakes, and that, yes, we ALL d-d-d-drop every now and then. Oh, no, I said the “D” word. No matter how perfect we would like the lawyers, judges and other reporters to believe we are, we are not, so get over it and relax. We should all enjoy this profession we call court reporting.

Here are a few questions that were asked at one of the seminars regarding Canadian terms and to also test your knowledge of our friends to the north.

Q. What is a toque?

A. A hat worn on your head in the wintertime.

Q. What is a loony?

A. A $1 coin.

Q. What is a toony?

A. A $2 coin.

Q. How many provinces does Canada have?

A. 10.

Q. What does the word “Canada” mean?

A. Village.

Q. What’s the name of the best Irish Pub in Vancouver?

A. (My personal opinion) Smiley O’Neal’s. Ask for Deirdre, and tell her we said, hi.

Q. And for all the shoppers in the crowd, what is Canada’s largest shopping complex?

A. The Edmonton Mall.

See you all in June, eh!

Keith M. Evans, RPR, CSR