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| River Falls Journal Article |
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Two local people report a success worth sharing out of their Hudson-based business: Riverside Captioning Company, a division of Northwestern Court Reporters, competed for and won an exclusive contract to work at each Minnesota Twins home game inside the new Target Field. Pat Nelson has lived in River Falls for 38 years with husband Jerry who works at UW-River Falls. She owns the businesses with partner Cheri Benson. Adam Ruschmeyer graduated from River Falls High School in 2000. His parents still live in River Falls. He lives in Hudson and works at Northwestern as its sales and marketing director. Benson who lives in Stillwater, Minn., began work at the firm in 1980, and joined Nelson as a partner in 1996. Partners Nelson and Benson credit Ruschmeyer’s hard work as a major part of earning the contract. The Twins ranked their firm ahead of 29 others, including a couple from the Twin Cities and many from nationwide locations. “The contract we have is for live in-stadium Twins captioning,” Ruschmeyer explained. Nelson said, “Captioning the Twins game is a great honor, and we are grateful to the Twins for making it possible for all their deaf and hard-of-hearing fans to fully appreciate the game.” Benson said, “The Twins added two captioning boards to the stadium, a sure sign of the team’s commitment to making sure all their fans catch every minute of the action.” Ruschmeyer said he started the proposal process by trying to contact the Twins’ president. He reached an assistant, who named another decision maker. Ruschmeyer persistently kept in touch with that person, providing a little information at different times and waiting a lot. Finally, the team asked for a written proposal containing specific information then invited for an interview. They emphasized their qualifications -- mainly 98.5% on-site accuracy, experience and local presence. Next came the great news that they’d start captioning for the Twins in March. Since then, Nelson and Benson take turns carrying their laptop, steno machine, headset and other equipment to the stadium games. Before baseball season ends, they will have collectively worked a total of 83 games; Ruschmeyer says it will be 90-something since he is certain the Twins will make the playoffs. The partners say they typically arrive about two hours before game time and sit in a long booth with others who have a role in running the electronic signage. Nelson said, “It takes 24 people to do that.” They have learned a lot about baseball and how much work it takes to host and televise a game. There are other entire booths devoted to video, audio and various stadium functions. Benson confirms, “It is a big production.” The partners get a copy of the rosters and lineup before the game and say their fingers spring into action anytime the on-site broadcaster says something -- announcements before the game, when a new player comes up. They say the experience has been fun. Though they will compete for the contract annually, they’ll aim to continue winning and fulfilling it. Nelson, Benson and Ruschmeyer agree that the experience could also help them win more on-site stadium work. Ruschmeyer says he is working on winning a similar contract at Lambeau Field. “It is a personal mission,” he smiles. Nelson and Benson explain that Northwestern began as, and still is, a freelance court-reporting firm. Northwestern’s mainstay is recording depositions, either at its own office or the workplace of its attorney clients. Riverside Captioning grew from it as the demand for captioning increased. The partners use a steno machine for the captioning, the same kind court reporters use to record depositions and court proceedings. Their work usually benefits deaf and hearing-impaired people. They describe captioning as the words that appear on a screen, usually beneath the picture. She and Benson can also work remotely doing captioning -- from their office, from home, from the cabin. They’ve done the job for TV broadcasts of Brewers and Twins games, the Promise Keepers, church services and schools. Riverside has also done on-site captioning for evangelist Billy Graham and religious broadcasters, as well as school boards. “One of our clients is Wisconsin Public Television,” Nelson explains about the firm’s diverse captioning clientele. “Anything live (with captioning), there is somebody on the other end -- typing.” Learn more about Northwestern/Riverside at the firm's web site, www.nwcourtreporters.com, or by calling 715-386-0799. |