Friday Night Welcome Dinner

By Lisa Kennelly
2006 AWSM Intern with The Star-Ledger

The 19th annual AWSM Convention kicked off with mingling, munchies—and an impromptu anatomy lesson.

In the snug confines of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, keynote speaker and figure skater Kimmie Meissner shared her experiences on and off the ice, including in her 11th grade science class.

“We had to dissect a cat,” said the 16-year-old Baltimore native who was the gold medalist at the 2006 World Championships. “It was cool.”

Cat dissection was one of several unexpected topics in Meissner’s casual question-and-answer session with AWSM members.

She chatted about the strangest question a reporter has ever asked her (to describe her junior prom date), how she had just received her driver’s permit, and how she got into figure skating at the age of six.

“I like skating because you can be soft and pretty and athletic at the same time,” she said.

Attendees said they were impressed with Meissner’s humor and poise.

“She gave good answers,” said The Roanoke Times’ Katrina Waugh. “She seemed confident for her age.”

“She was willing to bring up things not in the box,” said Jane McManus of The Journal News. McManus added, “She’ll learn when she sees ‘dead cat’ in my lead.”

Museum director Mike Gibbons also spoke about the history of the Babe Ruth Museum and the significance of Barry Bonds’ pursuit of Ruth’s record of 714 career home runs. Gibbons said that despite the steroid allegations clouding Bonds’ chase, the scrutiny was not detrimental to Babe Ruth’s legacy.

“It’s a controversial time, but this is a great time for Babe Ruth and baseball because it gets us to talk about him,” Gibbons said. He added, “It brings attention back.”

It was the second time that the museum had played host to an AWSM convention. In 1989, the Sunday brunch took place in the museum courtyard.

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