Flight 93 National Memorial Announces Partnership with the Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association

Date: February 18, 2014
Contact: Barbara Black, [phone]

Stoystown, PA - The National Park Service is pleased to announce a partnership with the Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association. This partnership supports Flight 93 National Memorial's efforts to complete the transcriptions from the Oral History Project. The goal of this project is the long-term preservation of both the individual and collective story of United Airlines Flight 93 and the events surrounding September 11, 2001, for future generations.

Flight 93 National Memorial is the repository for the oral history collection which numbers more than 800 audio interviews, including the stories of family, friends, and colleagues of the passengers and crew of Flight 93, as well as accounts of eyewitnesses, first responders, crash site investigators and support agencies, landowners, airline and traffic control personnel, members of the media, government officials, and those involved in memorializing Flight 93. This collection is an invaluable resource for researchers, educators, and scholars, preserving remembrances of the passengers and crew recorded by those who knew them best, as well as the accounts of those who had a direct experience with Flight 93.   

The Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association (PCRA) comprises approximately 300 official reporters, freelance reporters, and captioners. Most commonly by stenographic and computer means, the reporters and captioners provide immediate translation of voice to text. The idea to collaborate with the Flight 93 National Memorial occurred when PCRA Past-President Donna Cascio made contact with the President of the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, Lladel Lichty.   

Barbara Black, Curator at the Memorial, and Susan Kiniry, President-elect of PCRA, and Donna Cascio, are working out the details of the partnership. The program will be offered to court reporters to volunteer by the 2014 annual convention of PCRA in Harrisburg on March 21-23.   

"Pennsylvania has some of the best-trained court reporters in the country. Our members are eager to use their talents for such a worthy cause. We had volunteers the instant the project was announced," Cascio said.  February 16-22 has been designated as National Court Reporting and Captioning Week to recognize the vital work done by court reporters and captioners.   

"Flight 93 National Memorial is excited to have the experience and professionalism of Pennsylvania's court reporters volunteer to assist with this project. It will be a tremendous help to make the information in these interviews more accessible for future researchers and in development of exhibits and programs at the Memorial," Black commented.   

For more information about this project visit Flight 93 National Memorial's website at www.nps.gov/flni.

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