PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:
BRENDA D. BLACKBURN, CCR, RPR

I am a veteran court reporter, having served in chancery and circuit court for 32 years. I was appointed to a federal court position in 2019 following my retirement in 2015 from state court. Before my federal court appointment, I began a little business, Lakeside Reporting. As a beginning reporter, I freelanced with a firm in Memphis. I have freelanced enough throughout my career to understand the complexities of this category of reporting. Today’s freelancers have a plethora of overwhelming issues.

Official reporters, while they have a regular salary and benefits they can depend on, are not getting what they deserve in terms of incremental salary increases, reasonable page rates, and many travel large, multi-county districts and work long hours with no time afforded them to complete appeal records.

What both types of reporters do is an art, not just a job. Not everyone can master what we do to learn to become a court reporter and be successful at it. The dropout rate is very high for court reporting students.

I cannot promise I will be able to effect any change with regard to the many challenges our profession is facing or that may loom on the horizon during this year. I am just a nobody when it comes to prominence in our field. Perhaps the biggest nobody that has ever been placed in this position. I would, however, say that I am motivated and inspired to do everything that I do. I am motivated by my faith, my past, and the fact that I have seen the impossible done; and more particularly by the knowledge that I won’t take credit for any accomplishment that may be achieved but rather give the glory to God.

Although I am truly a nobody, I am not weak, nor am I afraid. I am a person of strength and character; driven every day to work hard and inspire others to expect that more can be accomplished by this association and its members, and that is what I would encourage all of you to do.

You might be inspired out of thankfulness and the fact that you haven’t had much to overcome in life and have pretty much always been blessed with what you need, or you may remember what it is like to need a chance to become what you only dreamed about and felt impossible. Whatever your motivation, MCRA needs you to step up. Be motivated by the possibility of the end result, which could be salary. But also, be motivated by what someone has told you can’t be done. Be motivated by your future and your past. If you didn’t pass that test or get that job the first time, when you finally do, do you think your salary will be less because it took longer? Just keep working and going forward. Be that nobody, that ordinary person moving forward, working hard every day, and doing a task to completion.

I started in a pretty mundane position, and I have worked hard all my life. It wasn’t that long ago I ran into someone who happened to be the husband of a victim from a case I heard years ago. He recognized me right away, although I had no clue who he was. He said, “I know you. You were my wife’s court reporter.” Well, I wasn’t for a particular side. Court reporters are impartial. But in his mind, I made a difference in his wife’s life. This particular woman was stabbed thirty times. And I knew in that moment, by his words, that this was God reminding me that what I do is not about me but about the lives that are put in front of me each day. And that is true for all of us in this profession. Regardless of prominence of position, we make a difference in someone’s life every day.

I am very thankful, and I hope each of you are also, that we don’t have an ordinary job. To whom much has been given, much will be required. Let’s be responsible with the talents, wealth, and knowledge that we have been given in order to benefit not only our association, but also fellow reporters who may need our help, and those students coming up for years to come. You do currently, and you can continue to make a difference in our profession and the world!