"I was fearful for my life." admits heroine.

When Lynndah Duke, secretary to Roger Grant, CEO of N9Net, went to the SIlicon CEOs! party in Menlo Park last week, little did she know her life would be in danger!
"I was helping Roger meet and greet, pass out company business cards, that sort of thing, when I was approached by a man who was, well, to put it kindly, NOT white. He was dressed well, so I asked him for a martini, but he kindly informed me he wasn't a waiter."

Terrifying Encounter!

"When I asked him if my car was ok, thinking he was a valet, he informed me that he wasn't that, either. He asked me my name, introduced himself as a "Steve H. Hammond." and asked if my boss, Mr. Grant was around. When I said that Mr. Grant was, he said that he was the CEO of ICarForce, a company that designed GPS systems for automobiles, and that he was looking for a partner for distribution channels."

Sheer, Blindly Paniced Woman Keeps Her Cool!

"A non-white high-tech CEO? I knew right away he was a terrorist, a madman, or perhaps a murderer. Trying to keep my cool, I distracted him by asking him for a business card." recalled a shaking Lynndah. In a clear example of just how far the desperate impersonator had gone, a business card bearing the name "Steve H. Hammond" with a ICarForce logo on it was already preprinted. "I knew then that this was no ordinary run-of-the-mill madman. He was quite cunning and dangerous!"

Quick witted secretary snaps
photo of menacing perpetrator!

"I had no idea my life was in danger!" recalled Roger Grant. "All I know is that Lynndah was beckoning me to get my picture taken with the busboy. The next thing I know, Lynndah excused herself to "powder her nose" and came back with 3 security guards. The gentleman I was photographed with freaked out as they were hauling him away, insisting that he was the "CEO of a big high-tech company in Boulder", or some crazy story."

"There's no doubt that Miss Duke's quick thinking saved the day." said one police officer on the scene. "Obviously, that guy was hoping to infiltrate the party filled with important CEO's, trying to pass himself off as one. What he was thinking, who knows, but he was up to no good, that's for sure."

Said "Mr. Hammond." was later escorted out of the building and given the traditional "trouble-making tourist" tour of the Bay Area Backroads, (strapped to the hood of a Land Rover) which included the "San Francisco Treat" (to get dangled by one's heels over the side of the Golden Gate Bridge). The shaken imposter was then dumped ruffled, but unharmed near the California/Nevada border.