Looking for that special vintage writer? The National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF) might just have it. Due to NCRA downsizing its headquarters in Reston, Va., the NCRF Library will be relocated, and all but a few of the vintage writers are being offered for sale through a Buy it Now NCRF fundraiser.
Members of a special Writer Adoption Task Force created by the NCRF Trustees worked to create prices for the vintage pieces that they determined were saleworthy, and that are now offered through the fundraiser. The writers offered range in date from 1879 through the 1970s, and the Foundation’s fundraising platform is hosting this online-only event, which is now open. Anyone interested in purchasing a writer can visit the NCRF Buy it Now page to view them and buy one or more writers with just a few clicks. Since this is a Buy It Now fundraiser, all prices are fixed and there is no bidding. A separate shipping cost of $35 applies per writer at checkout. While all funds raised from purchases of the writers will go to support the Foundation’s outreach programs, buyers are not permitted to use the donation as a tax deduction because they are receiving merchandise. Before the Task Force was appointed to deal with the writers, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., declined an offer to accept them as donations.
“As NCRA downsizes its footprint, we are all sad that there will no longer be room to showcase the amazing history of the stenographic machine from its beginning to today in the headquarters office,” said Doug Friend, FAPR, RDR, CRR (Ret.), from Vancouver, Wash., and an NCRF Trustee who chaired the Writer Adoption Task Force. “But the good news is that each of you can own a piece or pieces of our profession’s heritage! And even better news is that all funds collected will go to strengthen NCRF’s ongoing programs, such as scholarships, promoting Career Launcher, help for our members who experience natural disasters, and more.”
The NCRA members who also served on the Writers Adoption Task Force included Dom Tursi, Central Islip, N.Y. (Ret.), who served as a consultant to provide insights on writer values; and NCRF Trustees Pat Graves, FAPR, RDR, CRR, CRC, from Monument, Colo.; NCRA Secretary-Treasurer Cindy Isaacsen, RPR, from Shawnee, Kan.; and Meredith Bonn, RPR, CRR, from Webster, N.Y.
Friend noted that NCRF Chair-Elect Marjorie Peters, FAPR, RMR, CRR, from Alexandria, Va., and Jill Parker Landsman, NCRF Development Relations Manager, spent an afternoon at NCRA’s headquarters to identify the working condition of this collection. In addition, the Texas Deposition Court Reporters Association paid for the cost of shipping some writers the Task Force did not want sold, while 10 other vintage writers have been set aside and will be displayed in the lobby area of NCRA’s new headquarters.
Writers not sold in the fundraiser will be donated to a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
View and purchase writers here.
For more information about the writers or the fundraiser, contact Jill Parker Landsman, at jlandsman@ncra.org.
