STAR MID-YEAR CONFERENCE
Submitted by Mary Ring
Registered Professional Reporter
I attended the Society for the Technological Advancement of Reporting conference at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, which was held from March 15 through 17. I was accompanied by my firm’s co-owner, Jane Jones, who is a member of the STAR Board of Directors, and Louann Hammes, our client services representative.
STAR is the driving force in the development of state-of-the-art court reporting technology. They provide a forum for interaction with key technology vendors in addition to sponsoring education through publications and seminars. Continuing education credits, CEUs, are earned when attending the various seminars that are offered. This week there were many sessions on Case Catalyst software for court reporters and Catalyst 13 enhancements, taught by Vicki Main, Stenograph’s Product Manager.
The evening before the conference began, Jane, Louann, and I had a great dinner and enjoyed a show full of classic Motown hits performed by the popular Australian vocal quartet Human Nature. They were awesome. The floor was literally shaking with the audience not able to contain themselves in their seats.
Thursday’s seminars were very interesting. I learned a lot about Case Catalyst Version 13 and the enhancements. Vicki Main is a very thorough, articulate and patient instructor, never moving on to a new subject until every question is answered.
That evening I attended the Newcomer/First-Timers Reception and the Welcome Dinner, where I met so many wonderful people. I spoke with many firm owners, court reporters and vendors, and I learned about them on both a personal and professional level. They were all so kind and sincere, and I felt like I had known them for a long time. They made me feel so welcome, as if I was part of a “family,” exactly the same feeling I think we foster at our company, Brown & Jones Reporting. It was evident that we all have the love of our profession in common.
On Friday morning I ate a “Breakfast Worth Getting Up For.” Then I attended a Stenograph Forum featuring speakers from Stenograph covering a whole host of topics, from software/writer development, to student/mentor issues, to marketing concerns and the future of court reporting. Afterwards, there was a business meeting, where the highlight was the “surprise” special recognition presentation bestowed upon Irving L. Starkman, owner of Starkman Reporting and Videoconferencing in Philadelphia. Irv was honored for his tireless efforts in raising funds for STAR.
In his acceptance speech, Irv talked about his great disappointment at not being able to attain his personal goal of raising $20,000 for this conference, indicating that he had “only” raised a little over $18,000. There weren’t many dry eyes in the room after a member stood up and suggested we help Irv reach his goal. One by one, throughout the room, shouts were heard of $100, $200, $500, $250, $100……Needless to say, Irv exceeded his goal. What a great bunch of people!
I am so happy that I joined STAR. I met a group of remarkable people – vendors, owners and reporters alike — all of whom really care about the great profession of court reporting and who make me proud to be a part of that group. I also learned about many of the enhancements to our latest Case Catalyst software from the person who actually manages the product development team, which was invaluable to me. I encourage everyone to join STAR. It was such a rewarding experience for me, not only for the knowledge and CEUs I attained, but also for the sense of comradery I experienced.
Wait! My blog does not end here. After the afternoon sessions were finished, my husband and his sister and brother-in-law joined me for dinner. We had planned to walk around afterwards a bit and enjoy the beautiful weather, but it was so busy on “The Strip” because of March Madness. It was wall-to-wall, shoulder-to-shoulder people. It’s hard to believe this many people would travel to Vegas just to gamble on basketball. 
Ah, gambling……that leads me to the end of my story. Because we really couldn’t walk around comfortably outside due to the crowds, we decided to go inside the casino and play the “one-armed bandits.” I had played a few penny slots with no luck, so I decided to up my bet to a nickel, playing five lines times five, or $1.25 total. I was much more successful. I moved from machine to machine, each time changing the denomination from pennies to nickels, cashing out after every win. I had started out with $40, and after 45 minutes my winnings totaled $250. At that point I told myself to cash in, but a little voice urged me to play just a few dollars more. After all, I was inLas Vegas!
I again moved on and found a type of video machine that I had not played before. I again changed the denomination from pennies to nickels. I again chose five lines times five, $1.25. I hit the spin button, and the reels spun……and spun and spun and spun! The lights went off, and the music came on. My credits kept going higher and higher and stopped at 450. Wow, I had won $200…or so I thought.
Unbeknownst to me, I had chosen a $5 machine, not a nickel machine. I had changed the denomination from $1 to $5, not from 1 cent to 5 cents……and I had bet $125!!!! The center of the screen flashed, “Call Attendant, Hand Pay $2,250.” This is what you would call “DUMB LUCK.”
Yes, I was a big winner in Las Vegas. I hit the jackpot twice…..once at the STAR conference and once in the casino!