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by Katherine L. Beal
EDITOR'S NOTE:
As a research assistant on the National M. S. Staff, Kathy
Beal works primarily on engagements and projects. To have
her write about a "usual day at the office" seemed some­what
difficult, since she does a variety of things. But to
have her write a human-interest, behind the scenes account
of one aspect of her job—that of helping prepare and
making arrangements for conference presentations—did
seem appropriate.
We witnessed, one day, a great deal of activity involving
Bob Stevens, National Director of Banking Services, two
managers and Kathy. Speeches were being written, scripts
were being cut and edited, slides were being re-arranged
from the full-day Bank President's Conference into a
two-hour Seminar for executives of a New York Bank.
While talking with her a few days later, we asked if she
would write an account of how a presentation evolves;
better still, of some of the amusing situations that are en­countered
in the preparation and set-up for these meet­ings.
This article and the accompanying pictures tell
that story.
I find it increasingly difficult lately to describe "my
job" to someone at a party. It just isn't a clear-cut, 9 to
5 situation. But I wouldn't want it any other way.
Each day is so unpredictable; a variety of situations
and circumstances pop up all the time. Yet, it is this
very lack of routine that makes my job what it is.
Take presentations for instance. One Monday evening
last December, I was coming into my apartment about
6:30 with groceries in one arm and an umbrella on the
other.
The phone was ringing as I put the key into the door.
In my hurry, of course, the key stuck. I reached the
phone on the sixth ring to hear a familiar, but long­distance,
voice say: "Hullo there, (pause), it's me."
"Oh! Mr. Sprague. Just a minute while I put some
things down."
He asked what my schedule was, and could I come
to Detroit tomorrow? I explained that I was in the midst
of preparing scripts and slides for a two-hour banking
seminar, and that I was meeting Bob Stevens in Phila­delphia
on Wednesday.
As if I had said nothing, he continued that he had
been requested to show the S.A.V.E. speech to the M.S.
Partners and Managers' meeting. "We don't have a
script for the new version, so you'll have to come."
I didn't know how I would produce a new script . . .
our duplicate set of SAVE slides was in Los Angeles,
and Bill Johnson had taken most of our main presenta­tion
to Puerto Rico just last Friday. Mr. Sprague calmly
said that that shouldn't be a problem; "He's back and
here at the meeting."
Without going into details, I asked to talk with Bill
Johnson. Yes, he was in Detroit but he'd left the slides
at home in New Jersey. I asked if there was any way to
get them into New York, somewhere I could send a
messenger? He said he thought his neighbor, who
38 THE QUARTERLY