Court reporter describes his journey into the profession
For some court reporters, the profession has always been an obvious choice. For others, like the former chair of the Court Reporters Advisory Committee for the Washington State Department of Licensing Roger Flygare, it was an army injury that led him to his now 30-year career.
Flygare wrote a blog post for the Prince Institute detailing his journey. In the post, he explained that he joined the Army to serve in Vietnam in the 52nd Combat Aviation Battalion. There, he was trained to be a helicopter mechanic and also worked in the Personnel Office. Eventually, Flygare volunteered for guard duty and was promoted to be Sergeant of the Guard when he injured his arm while on duty.
After returning home, Flygare found his arm needed to heal. A vocational counselor suggested court reporting, and he began training in Washington state. Once he had a degree, he said he "never looked back" and has worked as a court reporter since.
"I learn something new every day," he wrote in his post. "Cases I have covered ranged from the Exxon Valdez Disaster to local fender benders, nuclear power plant contamination, family law matters, and on and on and on. I actively practice court reporting daily and still find it a fun challenge mentally to continuously improve my writing skills."
In addition to being a licensed court reporter, Flygare is a licensed videographer and a manager of Court Reporting Services, and is the current president of the Washington Freelance Shorthand Reporters Association and has served as the president of the Washington Court Reporters Association.
