Donation of Shorthand Materials

Andrew Owen forwarded me the following email from a charity organization requesting donations of beginner Gregg shorthand books. If you can donate for this cause, the contact information is below.

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Hello Andrew:

I am an ambassador for Gregg Shorthand, even though I am now retired from business and industry. I learned Gregg from 1965 to 1967 (high school), fell in love with the system, and attained an Associate Degree in executive secretarial sciences in January 1970. In 1971, the opportunity to teach high school seniors Gregg Notetaking presented itself, and since that first group of about 50 students, I have had the privilege to teach the skill to over 3,000 students (college, workplace, technical training programs). My Gregg shorthand skill positioned me to work with executives in diverse industries, and also positioned me to learn important lessons concerning leadership and management, and to advance my career and income potential.

I am excited about the opportunity to teach the Gregg Shorthand skill to “at risk” youth at a juvenile center in Butner, NC. I anticipate that there will be approximately 20 teenaged young men. I am writing to determine if you may have beginner books that you would like to donate to this very important initiative, or if you can direct me to someone who may be able to assist.

Thanks for your consideration. I may be reached at (919) 380-8607.

Ronald Lewis, President
People Care Outreach Ministries
(919) 380-8607
rlewis143@nc.rr.com


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4 comments Add yours
  1. I suppose it would be best to coordinate so that you don't have half the teenagers learning Anniversary and the other half Series 90?

    (Though if they wanted to teach Anniversary, they could get the learning materials for "free" – not more than the cost of printing out the out-of-copyright books that are available as PDFs.)

  2. "The basics" in anniversary differ quite considerably from those set forth in later versions. The "ways" of expressing R are covered in an early chapter of the manual, and a few of the brief forms for very common words that are introduced in the introductory chapters are not used in later versions of the system.

    To someone conversant with the system and aware of the ways in which it was changed through various revisions, these differences may seem inconsequential; but for a rank beginner they are likely to seem very significant.

    Copies of the Anniversary manual abound on Ebay and Amazon; but I believe that the Simplified manual is the only on currently in print. I think Mr. Lewis would be wise to teach Simplified, unless he himself learned Diamond Jubilee, which had already been published when he was studying shorthand in high school.

  3. Point well taken. I don't think the purpose of this charity is to make stenographers or reporters out of these kids, but to teach them a skill to keep them occupied, and in that regard, it really doesn't matter whether they learn to write a reversed vowel for an R or whether they write a certain word as a brief form or not. With that purpose in mind, I'm not being a purist in this regard: the basics between series (meaning the alphabet and the general strokes) are pretty much standard, and that's what I meant.The nuances of each series are a different story. I would be glad if they can at least write their name and simple sentences.

    Rather than discussing the merits and the pros and cons of each series, I think they will be better served by giving them something, and if in doubt, like I said, those willing to donate can contact Mr. Lewis directly asking what he needs, rather than us dispensing advice about what series is best for him to teach, especially given his vast experience in teaching Gregg.

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