By Chris Willette
It is with excitement and pride that I announce that the NCRA’s Board of Directors has adopted a new Strategic Plan. We will unveil our new plan on Aug. 2 during NCRA’s Annual Business Meeting. The months-long process included collaboration, debate, and envisioning exercises by the Board and NCRA staff as they relate to the changing industry, the need for growth, and the health and direction of the Association. Throughout our conversations, Executive Director and CEO Marcia Ferranto encouraged us to find and focus on our “true north.”
Although the entire Strategic Plan will remain under wraps for a few more weeks, I want to provide a brief overview of the highlights. The Plan will be supported by three pillars: financial sustainability, branding, and certification. The financial goal will seek to balance the budget over the next three years, and a big piece of that will include NCRA’s Corporate Partnership Program. Branding will consist of updating the image of stenography and creating greater awareness of the court reporting and captioning professions. Certification – and here I pause for emphasis – is our true north. NCRA’s certification program is truly how we showcase steno as the standard for capturing and converting the spoken word to text. Centering our future on certification means both encouraging members to seek and maintain their certifications and informing our consumers that a certified stenographer is the best method for their needs.
The new Strategic Plan will establish the direction for the Association for the next three years, and we are looking forward to all the success that this plan will bring to our members. Please join us at the Annual Business Meeting on Aug. 2 during the 2018 NCRA Convention & Expo to learn more details.