Court Reporting and Captioning Week

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

WHEREAS, since the rise of civilization, society has relied on scribes to translate spoken word into text to keep historical records; and

WHEREAS, in Ancient Egypt, scribes were elite guardians of history and culture, recording laws and other important documents, and scribes have continued to serve as impartial historical record keepers ever since; and

WHEREAS, scribes were present with our nation's founding fathers as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights were drafted, and President Lincoln entrusted scribes to record the Emancipation Proclamation; and

WHEREAS, since the advent of shorthand machines, scribes have been known as court reporters or captioners and have played an invaluable role in courtrooms across the nation; and

WHEREAS, court reporters work with the United States Congress, diligently preserving members' words and actions; and

WHEREAS, court reporters and captioners are responsible for the closed captioning seen scrolling across television screens, at sporting stadiums, and in other community and educational settings, bringing information to millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans every day; and

WHEREAS, court reporters and captioners dedicate themselves to impartially preserving our history, and the Commonwealth of Virginia appreciates the tremendous work they perform;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize February 4-11, 2023, as COURT REPORTING AND CAPTIONING WEEK in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of our citizens.

Governor of Virginia

Proclamations