The Show

At 7:44 Shoener faded up the music cassette, and he and Lang pulled on headsets. Shoener said, "Lang and Shoener here, all present and accounted for. Walk-in music up." The backstage stage manager replied with ready cues.

At 7:45 the ballroom doors were opened and the summit audience began filling the room as upbeat music played from the big speakers. Edwards and Graham took seats on the edge in the back row ”leaving the first seat empty. Edwards held Howell's light leatherette speech box and Graham uselessly opened her show binder. At 8:07 the houselights and music faded ”and W. R. Howell slid into the empty seat. The LPGA logo came up on the screen and then dissolved to the summit logo as light rose on Charlie Mechem at one of the podiums. The audience heard his rich, full voice over the big speakers .

"Good morning and welcome. I'm Charlie Mechem, commissioner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association and your host for the 1993 Women In Golf Summit "

He sounded so much better than the staffer had seven hours earlier that the two women almost managed to relax a bit.

The LPGA show went well, principally because Mechem was such a good speaker and master of ceremonies. There was only one anxious moment for Lang and Shoener. One of the other speakers, presenting details of the 1994 LPGA Tour, inadvertently turned two script pages at once, swallowing several of Lang's slide cues. In a twinkling, Shoener managed to kill the screen as Lang frantically located where the speaker now was in the script. She advanced the electronic slides, and the screen faded back up as the presenter, after a panicked glance back at the screen, said with relief, "So much for July," and continued on.

Mechem wrapped with his overall theme. "The LPGA doesn't seek to be noisy , only to be heard. We don't expect center stage, only to share the same stage " He said the Women's Professional Golf Association ship of state was under full sail on good seas ”as Shoener sneaked the house and music up to signal a break.

The two hours had gone quickly enough, the overall show impressive enough, so that when Mechem added, "And now let's take a 20-minute break," Graham could stand with great relief. Howell just looked at Edwards (who still held his speech box) and said, "I need some coffee." As Graham headed backstage, Edwards followed the chairman to the ballroom lobby. Back in the booth Lang and Shoener rose and stretched without comment. Then both again headed for the rest rooms.