Debbie Fleckinger lives in Newport, Kentucky, located in the great Midwest area of the United States.  Her career began when her sister introduced her to a court reporter.  At age 20, she was fascinated and enrolled in reporting school right away.  After graduation, she jumped in with both feet!

Let’s find out a little more about Debbie.

What have you been doing since you retired from court reporting?

Since I’ve retired, I’ve done a couple of freelance, non-court reporting projects.  In addition, I’ve moved into and set up another house.  And I volunteer at a couple of different schools, which is most enjoyable.

So while I keep myself very busy, I have actually missed my job. I haven’t so much missed the part of going out on jobs.  But the scoping, I have missed a lot.

What kind of work do you want to do?

Well, I’ve worked my whole life.  As much as I thought I’d love not working, I really don’t.  Scoping was always my favorite part of reporting.  I did try transcription just to see if I would like it or not.  It wasn’t for me, so I have definitely settled on scoping.

RELATED:  Transcribing or Scoping?

To help you get back up to speed, what did you do?

Actually, I did a few different things.

• Took some courses from Learn to Transcribe™ Academy:  Working With Files and Digital Transcribers.
• A Stenograph trainer walked me through what’s new with the software since I last used it.  By doing this, I am now much more comfortable working with Case CATalyst.
• And just to brush up on my skills, I’ve been checking out Stenograph’s Integrated Video Training.  I am finding that I really do remember how this is done!

What about your confidence since you have retired?

Yes, that was holding me back a bit.  I just wasn’t sure if I was ready to put myself out there, working for other reporters.

So what happened?

• I spoke with a court reporter friend for a boost of self-assurance.
• Additionally, I received some hand-holding support and coaching from Linda Wilson.  She was amazing in helping me to build my confidence that I can do this.  She also introduced me to RealTeam, which is the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time.

How did you like the Learn to Transcribe™ courses? Learn anything new?

Absolutely.  The Working with Files course helped me to hone my Dropbox skills.  Also, I now better understand several other things taught in that course.

RELATED:  Working With Files

I took the Digital Transcribers course when I was considering going into transcription work.  I simply wasn’t at all familiar with how Express Scribe and other digital transcription software worked. That course got me very comfortable with the different products out there.

RELATED:  Digital Transcribers

So did you peek out of retirement and do some transcribing?

Yes.  I chose Express Scribe and did a couple of files for a transcription company.

I was in for a surprise, though.  As a former court reporter, I found that transcription is just not for me.  Scoping is where my heart lies and what I want to do, moving forward.

So you really ARE tired of being retired?

Yes!  I want to scope part time to get back into the groove. Since I want to continue my volunteer work, a flexible schedule is ideal.  So I’d like to start with regular turnaround assignments.  However, I definitely want to scope expedites and maybe dailies in the future.

Two or three reporters.  Good working relationships.  A lot of collaboration and trust.  That’s what I want.

What is the best way for people to contact you?

My email address is Debbie.fleckinger@gmail.com.

Thanks, Debbie!

We appreciate your kind words about a couple of our utility-type courses.  So happy they helped you!  Lots of people just need a little “refresher” training.  And we think you were smart to do your homework before advertising your services!

To see our full array of training, click the menu item “Our Courses.”  Until next time, keep up the good work, everyone!