Professional Women's Forum gets in a night of fancy footwork

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

By Leigh Somerville McMillan
Published: January 27, 2009

Picture a handful of men in a room filled with 60 women eager to dance. To some, it might look like a nightmare, but if one of those men teaches dance lessons, it's a dream come true.

Michael Krawiec, an instructor at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Clemmons, was the dance instructor Thursday night as the Professional Women's Forum held its 14th annual Ladies Night Out at the Piedmont Club.

The night started off with a champagne reception and dinner in the Cardinal Room, providing the members of the group, the club and their guests with plenty of networking opportunities.

Catherine Itterman, the owner of Chi's, a women's clothing boutique on Robinhood Road, was a walking advertisement in an elegant silver metallic coiled choker that accessorized her starched white shirt and black pants. She and her guest Kim Wagner, a seamstress who does alterations for Chi's, hit it off with another professional in the style industry, Janine Shuman.
Mrs. Shuman and her husband, Adam, are in town from Florida for a prolonged consulting stint at SilkRoad Salon. On Thursday night, they offered free consultations along with stylists Erin Blakley, Sarah Sneed, Kelsie Gentle, Megan LaFever, Christopher Surratt, Kimberly Durhan, Amanda Banks and Donna Moore. Paul Weddle, the salon manager, also attended the party.

Pat Schreiber, the owner of Custom Professional Training Services in Kernersville, said she has been a member of the Piedmont Club for about eight years and has enjoyed Ladies Night Out for at least five of those years. "It's lots of fun," she said. "You meet wonderful women and businesspeople you wouldn't otherwise meet."

When I sat down next to Glenda Walters, I overheard her talking to her friend Becky Brown about PWF member Judy McAllister, a consultant for Doncaster.

Sharing the table with Walters and Brown was Melanie Gilliam, who shared a dream she had the night after the inauguration. "I dreamed it was me instead of Michelle dancing with Obama at the ball," she laughed. Later in the night, Gilliam got some free dance lessons so she will be ready if the opportunity ever arises.

Ladies Night Out also featured some serious conversation. I overheard Becky Jenkins, a BB&T employee who lives in Mocksville, sharing the good news that the bank had posted a profit. She was joined at the club by her guests Diane Lackey, Sheryl McDonald and Tina Underwood.

Jenkins said she belongs to several professional banking organizations but that PWF "provides a wider perspective" of other businesses and their concerns.

Mary McClure, Sharon Johe and Martha Claire Henzler looked like they were having a wonderful time as they enjoyed a spectacular view of the city lights from their table.

After dinner, Judy Sutherin, the membership director at the club, welcomed the crowd and introduced the dancers from Fred Astaire and the Shumans. Mrs. Shuman said that Winston-Salem has been "very warm and welcoming" since they arrived.

"We deliberately tried not to stuff you," Sutherin joked about the meal, but it's a wonder anybody could dance at all after the feast of basil chicken with wild rice and mixed vegetables, hot rolls and Key-lime pie.

As door prizes, five pairs of tickets to tonight's Dancing with the Stars at the Greensboro Coliseum were won by Priscilla Green, Becky Brown, Joylyn Budkey, Dee Sprinkle and Joyce Kearse. Johe won a $100 gift certificate from Chi's. Melanie Gilliam won dinner for two at the club.

Finally, the moment everybody had been waiting for. C.J. Joseph, the president of PWF, enticed everyone up on the dance floor with her own personal testimony.

"I always wanted to dance as a young woman but never thought I was any good," she said. "Then in late August, a friend invited me to take lessons at Fred Astaire. I went, and I've been hooked ever since."

Joseph said that as a result of her dancing, she has lost an entire dress size, her blood pressure dropped, and she has reduced her stress level. She had one piece of advice. "The only way to be good is not to think," she said. "You've got to learn to follow."

Now, for businesswomen who have built their success on their leadership skills, that may not have been welcome news.

But they were willing to try and Joseph's mother, Betty Lou Joseph, said she thought that everybody did a good job. And she should know. She said she taught dance lessons right after high school and eventually managed the studio. In fact, C.J. got a surprise when her mother mentioned that she met her husband in a dance class.

The dance that Krawiec and studio manager Jennifer Clark demonstrated to get the crowd in the mood was a dramatic tango. And then it was time for the group lesson, and instructors Vikki Haynes and Kimberly Angell shared the male part with Krawiec.

Clark's first tip of the night did a little to help balance out the "follow, don't lead" routine.

"Ladies, always start on the right foot," she said. "And how do you remember that?"

It didn't take long for the room to erupt with the answer: "Ladies are always right!"