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| 2026 VERNON C. STEELE NEW REPORTER SCHOLARSHIP
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| AWARD GUIDELINES
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| The awards committee shall utilize the following guidelines to judge applications:
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| 1. Personal growth in the profession
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| 2. Achievements received during school and upon entering the profession
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| 3. Personal/telephone interview, at the discretion of the committee
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| 4. Financial need, as a tiebreaker
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| 5. Awards committee has the final decision regarding scholarship award
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| AWARD
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| 1. Winning new reporter will receive up to $1,000 to be utilized as they see fit.
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| 2. Winner shall be notified at least two weeks prior to the Annual Conference.
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| 3. The announcement of the winner and the presentation of the scholarship check will occur at the Annual Conference in 2026. It is preferred that the winner is present to receive his/her award. Winner will receive free luncheon ticket for him/herself, along with one guest.
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| 4. Winner shall receive a one-year complimentary membership to OCRA.
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| ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS: Applicants must be a resident of the State of Ohio and meet the following criteria in order to be considered for the award of the Vernon C. Steele New Reporter Scholarship.
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| 1. The applicant must be a current OCRA member and cannot have previously won this scholarship.
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| 2. The applicant must have graduated from an NCRA-certified program, or request special consideration for such other graduation/program completion.
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| 3. The applicant must be in his/her first three years as a working reporter, as verified by an official transcript or verification statement from the court reporting program submitted along with this application.
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| 4. The applicant must submit a letter of recommendation from his/her employer or contracting agency attesting to the applicant's professional demeanor, attitude, and motivation.
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| 5. The applicant must be striving to achieve certification, as verified by receipt of registration for a past/upcoming certification test.
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| 6. The applicant must be working in any of the profession's career paths: judicial (official/freelance), CART captioning, or broadcast captioning.
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| APPLICATION: To submit your application for the Vernon C. Steele New Reporter Scholarship, please complete the following steps. All steps must be completed and received by the deadline to be eligible.
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| STEP ONE: Personal application (Form A) YOU ARE ABOUT TO COMPLETE FORM A
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| STEP TWO: Letter of recommendation completed by employer or contracting agency (Form B). Applicants must return this completed form with their application materials or have the employer send to OCRA separately. If the employer recommendation form is being sent separately from application, it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that it is received by OCRA prior to the deadline.
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| STEP THREE: Guarantee submission to OCRA prior to the deadline of all required documentation (court reporting program/graduation verification and certification test registration), as well as any additional information that you would like to include, such as a resume or letters of support. These items may be emailed to ocraonline@gmail.com or mailed to the OCRA office.
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| DEADLINE: DEADLINE EXTENDED: All complete applications must be submitted and received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 6, 2026.
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| Personal Information
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| Are you a current OCRA member? | |
| First Name | |
| Last Name | |
| Gender | |
| Court Reporting Program Attended | |
| Graduation Date | ?
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| Professional Certifications | |
| Attempted or Obtained Certifications? | |
| Employer | |
| Position Held | |
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| Contact Information
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| Home Address | |
| City | State Zip |
| Phone | |
| Primary Email | |
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| Please list your achievements in the following areas (you may email additional documentation, such as a resume, if desired, to ocraonline@gmail.com):
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| Schooling/Education | |
| Since Entering the Profession | |
| Additional Comments | |
