Voices Behind the Record is our ongoing series spotlighting the professionals who make up our court reporting community. Each installment takes you inside the career, craft, and mindset of a court reporter who has not only mastered the technical demands of the job, but has also stayed curious, kept growing, and pushed the profession forward.
Cindy Holway, RPR, CM, CRR, CRC, CSR, retired from her officialship just last month, and she brings nearly four decades of courtroom experience to the table. We asked her to discuss her personal reporting journey in her own words.
Cindy writes:
I began my court reporting career at 19! I started court reporting school right out of high school. I finished school in 12 months and had to wait to take the CSR, which was only given twice a year. So what did I do? I went to Nevada and took their state test just to get my nerves out of the way. Then I took the RPR, and I passed! Now I was ready for the real thing I wanted: my CSR license in California.
I was fortunate enough to have been taught by the best court reporter I've ever known, Bob Molezzo. He was not only an official, but he also owned a deposition firm AND opened a court reporting school. He was missing a finger on one hand, but he was a speed champion on top of all that! Back in the late '70s and early '80s, when computers for court reporters were almost nonexistent, he had taken the theory he learned and made it totally computer compatible.
I learned from day one to punctuate as you go, to write everything you possibly can in one stroke (whew!), brief-brief-brief everything! No conflicts—ever! I can thank him for making me the court reporter I am today. I think it's important to note that Bob always said, "Get every accolade you can get. You are the best. You can do it." I went on to get all the certifications I could get, and I am so glad I did.
My career started out in depositions and continued on as an official for nearly 40 years. I reported everything from civil to juvenile to ending my career in a felony trial department. Throughout the years, I reported four death penalty cases, producing dailies all by myself. One of those trials lasted a whole year, as it ended up in two mistrials and finally a conviction on the third trial. Needless to say, that was the biggest transcript I've ever done!
They used to call me "the transcript queen." They said I was "a hard nut to crack" at my retirement ceremony, but, nonetheless, that was a very hard day to get through—many, many memories. They finally "cracked" me, haha! I am so very excited to be working with Steno!
I told myself I wasn't going to retire until I found "that thing I wanted to do," and I found it. I absolutely love working with Steno, and I feel truly blessed to have this opportunity to continue doing what I love doing and having the flexibility to do it. I don't know of any other profession like it. I love it so much I can't quit.
Spare time? Well, I love to read and golf, visit the grandkids in Wyoming, go to basketball games, and watch my grandsons play. I'm a homebody, so we don't do a lot of traveling, but we enjoy our time that we have to ourselves. That's the best part of Steno: you can make it whatever you want it to be!
Do you know a reporter who deserves a spotlight? Email lisa.thomas@steno.com and let us know!