Conventions suitcase stint

A talent for singing led Reno resident Bill Stephens to a career. He and his wife, Cynthia, own and operate Bill Stephens Productions Inc. The company's focus is recording conventions and producing CDs and DVDs from those meetings.

"In 1969 I was stationed in Baltimore, Md., as a singer in the Army Field Band," he said. "Three of us were producing records for the American Forces Radio And Television Network and were asked to record a convention."

After finding the technology for producing cassettes at the convention itself, Stephens and his partners began to record meetings for trade organizations.

"That was actually the beginning of a whole industry, which has grown substantially ever since," he said. "In 1978 I left the business as I was burned out after doing about 30 conventions a year and living out of a suitcase."

His sabbatical was short-lived.

"I started a recording studio in Baltimore, then several clients asked me to record their conventions," he said. "I reluctantly agreed and got back in the business."

His father's death in 1980 convinced Stephens, a Montana native, to move west. He brought along Cynthia, then his girlfriend, and they were married in 1981.

"I chose Reno for its small, western town atmosphere and it's still here if you look for it," he said. "We have two boys; one just graduated from college and the other from high school. They work for us at times and ours is a real family business as one sister-in-law also works here."

Since his arrival, the firm has evolved into providing video services, including duplicating, CDs and DVDs as well as transferring VHS tapes to DVDs.

Its small headquarters is full of equipment including video and audio editing suites. There is also a tiny recording studio for producing radio spots.

"We have done a lot of video work for the Discovery Channel, CNN, ESPN, TNN Motorsports and Fox," he said.

One longtime customer is the Toastmasters organization and Stephens has 20 years of Toastmasters' speeches available.

He also videotapes depositions, and has been called as an expert witness in some court cases.

The business is equipment-intensive, especially with the switch to digital recordings. And Stephens expects his spending on technology will continue.

"The trend is toward computers that will have the ability to stream and download. And I hope to take advantage of that," he said.

Over the years, Stephens has been able to record almost any topic a person can imagine.

"I've been a fly on the wall and learned all kinds of things," he said.

Noting that paperwork is the worst part of his business, Stephens added the freedom coming from having his own business is the best part of his career.

"I'm happy and it's wonderful to work with my wife and boys," he said. "We have traveled to nice places and given my boys a broader education of this country.

"The bottom line is it's very satisfying to me as I'm a problem solver and able to help people learn more about their professions," he said.