President's Annual Message

Laura Ashbrook

I'm B-A-A-A-A-CK !!!

Greetings one and all. Apparently, one time being president of ACRA wasn’t enough for me, so I thought I’d give it another shot, this go-around with a little experience under my belt………….. and……. I probably should mention no one else was ready to step up into the role just yet……. so ……. you’re stuck with me!

I’m actually very excited to be the head of ACRA this year. Having recently returned from the multi-state convention in Snowbird, Utah, I have a renewed sense of camaraderie and collegiality with my fellow reporters. It was just an incredible, incredible experience. It was small enough to have the chance to really interact with reporters from other states, yet big enough to attain the resources necessary to have just an outstanding slate of speakers.

I’ll stop there gushing about the convention, because, hopefully, in this issue of ArizoNotes Marty Herder’ s article regarding the convention will publish, so I hesitate to step on the toes of his thoughts and memories of the amazing time we all had, but ……….suffice it to say it was, hands down, the BEST convention I’ve EVER attended…………….and I’ve been to A LOT of them. The committee was SO pleased with the effusive positive feedback they received, it’s been decided to throw another multi-state in 2024….. this time - fingers crossed - the venue will be our very own Sedona, and even more states are anxious to “jump in.” That having been said, I am fairly “jacked up” to try to bring our membership as close together as I possibly can this year. There aren’t NEAR as many battles to wage as our past president, Angela Miller, had to deal with. So I feel there will be more time to work on our organization, i.e., bringing our conventions back to in person, starting with a hybrid version in April 2023 and an “all-in” convention in September 2023.

Covid threw everyone’s lives into a tailspin, and this year is just - “baby steps” - starting to feel normal again for every person AND every organization. So……………I’m hoping you all will do your best to show up in person to the conventions and let’s try and renew friendships, networking, supporting one another, in the face of the ubiquitous challenges that seem to dog our career, digital reporting being the newest “kid on the block.”

There will OF COURSE be a Town Hall in April to address all of the current issues, threats, updates in our court reporting world, and I look forward to that, as we have a wealth of knowledge amongst our current board members to answer any questions, concerns, suggestions vis-à-vis these topics. 

Lastly, I’d like you all to know ACRA is in AMAZING hands this year with your board. They are dedicated, hard-working and enthusiastic, to say the LEAST, and I know I’ll have ALL the support I need to have a successful year. Look forward to seeing you all again “in the flesh”.

Oh………….in the meantime…………..check out our website. It’s got a bit of a “face lift” and is looking great!

Thanks and peace. Laura Ashbrook


NCRA Ethics First Supporter



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