It was a time to shine for seven trailblazing women in the local high-tech industry who were honored at the Women in Technology Second Annual Leadership Awards banquet last Thursday at the Ritz Carlton in McLean.

It was inspiring to see local women who surmounted the odds to attain roles of power and influence within the tech world. It is a common refrain that there are still not enough women in high-tech jobs, but these awards recipients are living proof that women can make it in a field that is largely dominated by men.

That said, it is ironic that the actual awards the women were supposed to receive never quite made it to the banquet.

The master of ceremonies for the event, Heather Moeder, a reporter for News Channel 8, was a little flustered.

"Someone signed for the awards when the package arrived at the hotel but no one knows who that person is." said Moeder, explaining the situation to the 250 attendees. "We're waiting for them to show up in a trash bin."

But the women of WIT showed their resourcefulness. They borrowed a large crystal bowl from the hotel to use as an award substitute and the show went on without a hitch. The women proved to be good sports about it too. After each recipient was "rewarded," she graciously returned the bowl to Moeder so it could be presented to the next awardee.

Qorvis Communications partner Esther Thomas Smith accepted her bowl jovially.

"I'm thrilled to be accepting this generic symbol, I hope this doesn't mean that I'm a has-been." said Smith, who was recognized for her role as a business publishing pioneer whose list of accomplishments includes founding both Washington Technology magazine and the Washington Business Journal.

Indeed, it seemed that the bowl set the tone for the evening. The following award recipient, Paula Jagemann, president and CEO of e-Commerce Industries, Inc., brought her own prop to the podium.

"Some people were born with a silver spoon in their mouth." said Jagemann, brandishing a spoon from her dinner table. "Hell, some people were born with platinum spoons. I, on the other hand, was born with a fork in my mouth - stolen by my parents from Kentucky Fried Chicken!"

Perhaps, because of Jagemann's own humble beginnings, she was recently appointed to the National Commission on Entrepreneurship where she is focused on expanding entrepreneurial opportunities for women and minorities.

Other award recipients included:

• Ginger Ehn Lew, CEO and managing director of TDF-Telecommunications Development Fund, a Washington, D.C. venture capital fund;
• TiTi McNeill, president and CEO of TranTech, Inc., an IT consulting firm in Alexandria;
• Ana Maria Boitel, director of business development at OP.X, a global consulting and architecture design firm in Washington D.C.;
• Eva Neumann, president of ENC Marketing, Inc., a Vienna-based marketing and communications firm for high-tech companies; and
• Deirdre Murray, group manager for Sprint Government Systems.

Unlike the award recipients that preceded her, Murray kept her acceptance speech shod and sweet.

"I was told as the last speaker, to be bright, be brief and be seated." said Murray, who sat down immediately afterward.

Not that award speeches aren't thrilling, but most would agree this is pretty good advice.