WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Global Alliance of Speech-to-Text Captioning, a new 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization, has announced the kickoff of its Founding Members Campaign in preparation for its formal launch.
“Captioning has become an integral part of today’s society,” said Steve Clark, stenographer and Manager of Home Team Captions, who is serving as the organization’s Board Chair, “and we are excited to announce that we will represent every aspect of the captioning profession.”
The Global Alliance, while in its infancy, is building a strong and influential Board of Directors, which reflects the composition of the membership, including the following industry leaders:
- Steve Clark, Chair – Home Team Captions
- Karyn Menck, Vice Chair – Tennessee Captioning
- Jennifer Schuck, Secretary – Caption Pros
- Caryn Broome, Treasurer – CMB Reporting Services
- Will Lewis, Director – Microsoft
- Gael Hannan, Director – Consumer/Advocate
The Board seeks to add four more Directors, representing the consumer, voice writing, and/or industry.
When asked about the composition of membership, Karyn Menck, Vice Chair, said, “Our membership will be comprised of consumers of captioning, stenographic captioners, voice writing captioners, creators of automatic speech recognition, and post-production companies from around the world. Our consumer and advocate members will play an integral role in guiding us now and in the future to raise the bar of the captioning industry.”
The Global Alliance intends to lead the way in making captioning standards universal and to become the leading certifying body for all captioning methodologies.
“As a person with profound hearing loss, I depend on captions in all forms and in many areas of my life. As an advocate, I’m thrilled to be on the inaugural board of Global Alliance and help it pursue its vision of universal accessibility to the spoken word through captioning.”
–Gael Hannan, Board Member
With the advent of technology, there are various methods to produce captions. Whether professional stenographic services for settings in which the human component is critical, or alternative solutions for mass media, the Global Alliance seeks to create a better experience for anyone who relies on captioning, in any setting.
Jennifer Schuck, Board Secretary, explained, “We will raise the bar and set expectations for consumers so they will be equipped to make informed choices when selecting captioning services.”
Founding Members Campaign
The organization’s Founding Members Campaign is designed to attract providers and consumers who are dedicated to the highest standards of quality for the captioning industry. Founding Members will be recognized in perpetuity for their contributions to the captioning profession.
“The Founding Members Campaign is an essential step in preparing for the launch of our general membership in November. It will provide us with the much-needed resources to achieve our vision of universal accessibility to the spoken word via all forms of captioning. The Campaign, happening now through October 31, is seeking both individuals as well as corporations who are committed to our vision for the future of captioning.”
–Caryn Broome, Treasurer
There are three levels of support in the Individual Founding Members category as well as three levels of support in the Corporate Founding Members category. Founding Members will play a key role on the Global Alliance’s Advisory Board during the “visionary years” – the first three years following the official launch.
For more information, visit the Global Alliance of Speech-to-text Captioning website here or inquire by email to: [email protected].
Source: Global Alliance of Speech-to-Text Captioning
