UNITED STATES COURT REPORTERS ASSOCIATION

 

Kathleen M. Wirt - President

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: I’ve been a court reporter since graduating from reporting school at the American Institute of Business in February of 1984. My first job was as a freelance reporter for a small agency in Lexington, Kentucky. I decided that freelancing wasn’t for me, so the following year I moved back to the Midwest to take a job as an official court reporter in Kansas state court at Fort Scott, Kansas. In 1989 I made yet another move to Columbia, Missouri, to further my career by taking a job in Missouri state court. Finally, in October of 1995 I seized an opportunity to come to Kansas City to work in federal court for the Honorable D. Brook Bartlett. I’ve been a federal official here in the Western District of Missouri at Kansas City ever since then, and I am presently assigned to the Honorable Nanette K. Laughrey.   While working in Missouri state court, I served as a Regional Vice-President for the Missouri Court Reporters Association. In that capacity, I planned the 1994 Annual Convention for MCRA. I first came onto the USCRA board in October of 1997 as Eighth Circuit Representative, and since that time I have moved up to the Executive Committee and have served at least one term in each officer position. I’ve also been involved in several USCRA committees, but I’m proudest of my work on the CM/ECF Committee and the Realtime Issues Committee. PERSONAL BACKGROUND: I grew up on a farm in southeast Iowa, and I’m a product of the Mediapolis High School in Mediapolis, Iowa. I enjoy hiking and have hiked into the Grand Canyon on three occasions. I also like to travel, and I have a vintage convertible that is fun to drive with the top down on a nice day. I also enjoy gardening and home improvement.   Back to Top

       
 

Patty Artrip Gels  - President-Elect

I grew up in Springfield, Ohio, graduating from Springfield North High School. After high school I attended and graduated from Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, with a Bachelor’s Degree, Major in English. Upon graduation, I found it difficult to obtain a job that I liked and decided to go to Court Reporting school. I obtained an Associate’s Degree in Business with a major in Court Reporting from Clark State University back in my hometown of Springfield. I received my RPR and RMR shortly thereafter. My first reporting job was in Columbus as a freelance reporter. I then married and moved to Boston where I was an Official with the Superior Court in Boston. Circumstances brought me back to Ohio where I owned my own reporting firm for twenty years in Cincinnati. In 2001, my daughters and I relocated to Washington, D.C. which has been one of the best things that has ever happened to us. I was offered the position of Official Reporter here in Washington three years ago serving as the Reporter for the Honorable Richard J. Leon. I have been involved with USCRA since that time. I attended the USCRA Convention in Key West where I took the realtime certification test and received the FCRR. I also met some of the nicest and professional people there and made the decision to become more involved in USCRA. I thereafter served as the Circuit Representative for the District of Columbia for one year. I also have been a continuous member of NCRA since graduation from reporting school and presently serve on their Officials Community of Interest Committee, I live in Old Town Fairfax, Virginia, which is a suburb of Washington, D.C. with my two daughters Ashley and Alexandra who attend college in Northern Virginia. My hobbies include gardening and antiques. I look forward to serving as your President-Elect.   Back to Top

    
 

Dominick M. Tursi  - Vice President

Dominick M. Tursi joined the federal court in 1997, following 15 years as a freelance reporter and principal (with offices in the US, Hong Kong, and London), having retired as a NY State official after 20 years. He serves the bench and the bar at Central Islip, New York. In June of 2007, at the historic joint conference of US and Chinese reporters in Beijing, Dom delivered the primary address in behalf of the American delegates. Founder, director, and instructor at the Verbatim School of Court Reporting for more than a decade, his monographs have appeared in reporting magazines published by NCRA, NYSCRA, and USCRA. Dom is a shorthand historian, with a prized collection of shorthand books and writing machines. His reporting credentials include NCRA’s Certificates of Proficiency and Merit, the NYS Award of Merit (240 medical Q&A), NYS Speed Typing Champion, three-time NYS Shorthand Speed Contest Champion (Perfect Paper 280 wpm Q&A), and World Shorthand Speed Champion (300 wpm, 5 minutes, 24 errors) in 1981, a record which still stands. Dom was one of the first East Coast reporters to use computer-assisted transcription, was the first US reporter to demonstrate the capabilities of LiveNote, and is the first known court reporter to transmit steno between Hong Kong and the US. Dom has been retained as a reporting expert several times during his career: By Stenograph during the creation of Case Catalyst and the Windows version of CaseView; by plaintiff court reporting test candidates who contended that pronunciation mistakes and erratic speeds led to unfair test conditions (favorable result); and by plaintiff Ernst & Young concerning unfair freelance reporting billing practices (favorable result). Dom is also active as a court reporting board member for the Long Island Business Institute, and serves as vice-president and past-president of his homeowners association. His wife, Anneliese, is a freelance court reporter, and his 10-year-old son Matthew is a favorite show-stopper at USCRA Annual Conventions. His three grandchildren (Spencer, Pierson, and Sophia Marie) reside in Michigan with Dom’s oldest son Duane and wonderful wife, Courtney.   Back to Top

 
 

Andrea E. Wabeke - Secretary/Treasurer

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Sharon B. Borden - Immediate Past President

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND:   I started court reporting upon graduation from the Virginia Stenotype Institute in October 1974. My freelance career consisted of 20 years with the same freelance firm in Norfolk, Virginia, with emphasis in medical malpractice and product liability, as well as the criminal court my last ten years. I came to U. S. District Court in July of 1992. While in the freelance sector, I served as Vice President and then on the board of directors for several years of the Virginia Court Reporters Association. I also served for many years as the Chief Examiner for the NCRA testing in Virginia Beach, VA. I hold the RPR, RMR, and FCRR certifications. I joined the USCRA board in April of 1999 as Fourth Circuit Representative, coming on board as Secretary-Treasurer in October of 2003. I’ve enjoyed working on several USCRA committees, as well as working registration for our conventions. I love the camaraderie and all of the personal contact with our members. PERSONAL BACKGROUND:   I have lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia, for most of my life, having lived here and there with my dad in the Navy. Upon graduation from high school in 1970, I attended airline school. Upon completion of that, while awaiting a security clearance to begin work with the CIA in McLean, VA. I discovered court reporting, and here I am to this day. I’ve been married to Glen Borden for 32 years. We have two wonderful children, a 30-year-old son, Jason, and a 23-year-old daughter, Jodi, who graduated from college, married, and moved to Montana last year. I have two precious grandchildren by my son and his wife, Gavin Edwin, 3, and Aniston Lyn, eight weeks. They are the love of my life! I am very active in my church choir and love traveling, snow skiing, rafting, boating, scrap booking and reading. I don’t know how I find the time to be in court everyday!     Back to Top

 

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