Grand Prix of Long Beach: Legge, Monk carry women in motorsports flag well

• April 13, 2023

Katherine Legge and Sheena Monk are a couple of determined, resilient race car drivers. That they are women might be neither here nor there, but they are part of the growing population of women in motorsports.

Legge, of England, has been around for quite a while, having made her first big splash as a driver in the U.S. by winning the Champ Car Atlantic race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2005.

Monk, of Newton, Pa., has been driving competitively since 2017 and she made a name for herself by not only surviving a wicked high-speed crash into the tires at Laguna Seca in 2018 that left her with nine broken bones after her car went airborne but by coming back to continue her incredible passion for racing.

Legge got through her own crash two years later while testing in France, suffering two broken legs – one was badly broken – that had her in a wheelchair for some time.

Tough, indeed.

Along the way, they have become a shining example to other women aspiring to join the motorsports world in some capacity.

Just last year this newspaper did a story on three women working as either engineers or mechanics for Chip Ganassi Racing, one of the premier IndyCar teams.

Legge and Monk will be driving partners for Gradient Racing on Saturday in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar series race at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. They make up the only full-time all-female team in the series, which is the main support race for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar main event.

Legge, 42, and Monk, 34, on Wednesday shared their journey and their happiness about the rising number of women in motorsports.

“I think you can say across the board that it’s growing because it’s becoming more normal and less gimmicky and more acceptable,” Legge said. “You see it, you can be it. I think even fans, right? You couldn’t really market to female fans 20 years ago, but now the demographic is significantly more equal and so I think it’s just across the board.”

She thinks it’s in line with what is happening globally.

“If you look at the way population in society is developing, there are more women running companies, there are more women running countries, there are more women doing all the things that were taboo a hundred years ago,” Legge said. “And motorsports are a reflection of that in some way, shape or form.”

Legge is on the board of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, which began in 2009 as a way to support women in motorsports in every aspect. Jim Michaelian, CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, supports it wholeheartedly.

“It’s a fabulous initiative,” he said. “We certainly need and welcome more female drivers in all of the various series, including the opportunity to compete in the NTT IndyCar series on a full-time basis. … And the byproduct of that is the public – if you remember back when Danica Patrick was running – the public is very engaged in their exploits and to see how they’re doing.

“So I think the more the better as far as that whole initiative is concerned.”

Monk said her father was a professional motorcycle racer, which drew her to racing. But she was a lover of cars, thus the path she chose. She recalls the early days when there were no true peers with whom to share her passion.

“I could talk to other boys about cars, but very few girls in my life understood,” Monk said. “I used to read the car magazines cover to cover. At the school library, I would take out books about cars and it was really unrelatable, right?”

That is changing, and she loves it.

“In general, to see women that are more involved in any capacity at the race track, it’s just neat to have that kind of camaraderie and just understand that there are people like you because again, growing up, I never really had that,” Monk said.

When Monk had her accident in September 2018, she saw the ugly side of what some think about women driving race cars. She broke her pelvis in four places, broke her sacrum and also sustained four broken ribs.

“At the time of the accident, I remember a lot of the comments were directed toward me like, this is why they shouldn’t let women race, and she shouldn’t have been texting, and she doesn’t know what she’s doing, or she’s not strong enough to drive the car,” she said.

Monk admits it hurt, especially with her family seeing the same comments, but it did not deter her.

She said when her brother asked her if she was going to race again while she was in the hospital, her initial reaction was to tell him she was done. A second later, she knew that was not the right answer.

“As soon as the words came out of my mouth, it was like, ‘No, that’s so wrong,’” she said.

Of course, it was.

“I think what brought me back was just, you know, it’s hard to be that passionate and that interested for your entire life, like literally obsessed, with one thing and then you finally get an opportunity and just because there is strife and struggle, to just give it away?” she said.

She said she has since had former Formula 1 drivers tell her they did not know if they would have come back after suffering all those injuries.

“I think people knew that I was serious about wanting to do this after that point,” Monk said.

As for Legge, she jokingly said if doctors knew what she did to figure out if it was right to come back after her accident, they “would kill me.” She had to know if she was going to be both physically and mentally capable of continuing her driving career.

Legge was still in her wheelchair at the time and coaching a friend for a race. She got out of her wheelchair and entered the car.

“I drove it on track just to see if I still got it, I can still do it,” Legge said. “Obviously, I didn’t drive very fast, I didn’t take any risks. But I felt fine being in the car again and got rid of those worries and that actually helped me be able to get through the rehab and the physical therapy and everything that I needed to get through to get back to racing.”

Tough as they can be.

Related links

Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America 2018. Race 1 Laguna Seca Raceway. Sheena Monk Huge Crash – YouTube
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: Trio embraces Women In Motorsports campaign
Grand Prix of Long Beach: Oh, baby, what a time it was for Josef Newgarden

​ Orange County Register 

Ducks coach Dallas Eakins hoping to return to finish the job

• April 13, 2023

IRVINE — In the end, Ducks coach Dallas Eakins simply wants to finish the job that has been started in Anaheim.

Eakins will coach his 291st game with the organization against the visiting Kings on Thursday in the regular-season finale for both teams.

With the final chapter of this season about to close for the Ducks (23-46-12), there are questions looming about the future of players and coaches on expiring contracts, including Eakins himself. Just when they will be answered is a decision for general manager Pat Verbeek, who is wrapping up his first full season with the Ducks.

“It’s as simple as that for me,” the fourth-year Ducks coach said. “I’ve got my fingers crossed, I hope there’s a process to it. We’ll see where it goes. That’s just pro sports.”

Equally unclear is Verbeek’s timeline. He’s under no obligation to instantly make his call.

“That’s Pat’s decision,” Eakins said. “Respect the hell out of him. I think he’ll make the decision that he thinks is right for our organization at this time. I’m certainly going to respect that one way or the other because I only want the best for here.”

Eakins was talking about a tumultuous 2022-23 season for the Ducks, which has them in contention for last place overall heading into the finale. In an interview in the dressing room at Great Park Ice after the Ducks’ final practice of the season Wednesday, Eakins touched on the future.

“For me, personally, I have zero interest in going to somewhere where it’s rainbows and butterflies. That kind of ‘walk in and win right away’ mentality,” Eakins said. “There’s a part of me that enjoys going through the mud part of it, because the payoff down the road will be an incredible experience, to watch these young men develop and watch a team develop and do something far different that it has been this year.”

After three losing seasons under Eakins, the Ducks are sitting in second-to-last place in the NHL, one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. They started the season slowly – failing to win in regulation until Game 20 – and are finishing in roughly the same manner, having not won in their last 12 games.

There is a potential pot of gold at the end of the rainbow this year, in the person of Regina Pats center Connor Bedard, the consensus No. 1 draft pick who is widely considered to be a franchise-changing talent.  By virtue of their poor season, the Ducks are one of a handful of teams to have a legitimate chance at getting Bedard.

“I’ve said it before. I’m inspired by the ownership,” Eakins said. “I understand Pat’s plan and the patience and the work ethic that it’s going to take to get it there. When my coaching days are over here – and I hope they are not – I want to be a Duck forever.”

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If coaching isn’t in his immediate future, Eakins would welcome a chance to stay in the organization in a different capacity,

“I want to go do something else here,” he said. “I just think this is an incredible organization that is well led. When you find a place that is inspiring to work, I don’t think you should be trying to go look somewhere else to do whatever you’re going to do.”

KINGS AT DUCKS

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Honda Center

TV: Bally Sports West, Bally Sports SoCal

​ Orange County Register 

Providence St. Joseph Hospital Orange celebrates 1,200 transplants

• April 13, 2023

In honor of National Donate Life Month, more than 1,200 butterflies were displayed across Providence St. Joseph Hospital’s lawn to commemorate the 1,200 organ transplants the hospital has performed in the last 50 years.

And as the hospital celebrates the 50th anniversary of its transplant program, it announced it has been approved to do even more soon: Providence St. Joseph is getting ready to begin performing pancreas transplants. The hospital is already scheduling candidates with physicians and plans to begin procedures within six months, said James Chisum, a spokesperson.

Some diabetic patients who become dependent on insulin are prone to kidney failure, said Yasir Qazi, a transplant nephrologist with Providence St. Joseph. In those cases, Qazi said, the best option for both quality of life and years of life is for those patients to undergo a kidney and pancreas transplant simultaneously.

“The kidney transplant takes them off dialysis, and the pancreas basically cures the diabetes,” Qazi said. “So you walk in being a diabetic and come out not being a diabetic and not having to be on any insulin or medications. We’re excited to now be approved for kidney and pancreas transplants.”

During the ceremony in Orange, a green and blue “Donate a Life” flag was raised in honor of the celebratory month.

“We fly the flag 365 days a year,” said Richard Rodriguez, a manager at the kidney transplant center at Providence St. Joseph Hospital. “It’s a constant reminder of those who have paid the ultimate price and were able to donate … but it’s also a constant reminder of the fact that there are so many people that need transplantation of tissue organs.”

Rodriguez hopes this ceremony will inspire more folks to register to become a donor.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

States eye solutions as medical debt bankrupts millions

• April 13, 2023

By Jesse Bedayn | Associated Press/Report for America

DENVER — Cindy Powers was driven into bankruptcy by 19 life-saving abdominal operations. Medical debt started stacking up for Lindsey Vance after she crashed her skateboard and had to get nine stitches in her chin. And for Misty Castaneda, open heart surgery for a disease she’d had since birth saddled her with $200,000 in bills.

These are three of an estimated 100 million Americans who have amassed nearly $200 billion in collective medical debt — almost the size of Greece’s economy — according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Now lawmakers in at least a dozen states and the U.S. Congress have pushed legislation to curtail the financial burden that’s pushed many into untenable situations: forgoing needed care for fear of added debt, taking a second mortgage to pay for cancer treatment or slashing grocery budgets to keep up with payments.

Some of the bills would create medical debt relief programs or protect personal property from collections, while others would lower interest rates, keep medical debt from tanking credit scores or require greater transparency in the costs of care.

In Colorado, House lawmakers approved a measure Wednesday that would lower the maximum interest rate for medical debt to 3%, require greater transparency in costs of treatment and prohibit debt collection during an appeals process.

If it became law, Colorado would join Arizona in having one of the lowest medical debt interest rates in the country. North Carolina lawmakers have also started mulling a 5% interest ceiling.But there are opponents. Colorado Republican state Sen. Janice Rich said she worried that the proposal could “constrain hospitals’ debt collecting ability and hurt their cash flow.”

For patients, medical debt has become a leading cause of personal bankruptcy, with an estimated $88 billion of that debt in collections nationwide, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Roughly 530,000 people reported falling into bankruptcy annually due partly to medical bills and time away from work, according to a 2019 study from the American Journal of Public Health.

Powers’ family ended up owing $250,000 for the 19 life-saving abdominal surgeries. They declared bankruptcy in 2009, then the bank foreclosed on their home.

“Only recently have we begun to pick up the pieces,” said James Powers, Cindy’s husband, during his February testimony in favor of Colorado’s bill.

In Pennsylvania and Arizona, lawmakers are considering medical debt relief programs that would use state funds to help eradicate debt for residents. A New Jersey proposal would use federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to achieve the same end.

Bills in Florida and Massachusetts would protect some personal property — such as a car that is needed for work — from medical debt collections and force providers to be more transparent about costs. Florida’s legislation received unanimous approval in House and Senate committees on its way to votes in both chambers.

In Colorado, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts and the U.S. Congress lawmakers are contemplating bills that would bar medical debt from being included on consumer reports, thereby protecting debtors’ credit scores.

Castaneda, who was born with a congenital heart defect, found herself $200,000 in debt when she was 23 and had to have surgery. The debt tanked her credit score and, she said, forced her to rely on her emotionally abusive husband’s credit.

For over a decade Castaneda wanted out of the relationship, but everything they owned was in her husband’s name, making it nearly impossible to break away. She finally divorced her husband in 2017.

“I’m trying to play catch-up for the last 20 years,” said Castaneda, 45, a hairstylist from Grand Junction on Colorado’s Western Slope.

Medical debt isn’t a strong indicator of people’s credit-worthiness, said Isabel Cruz, policy director at the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.

While buying a car beyond your means or overspending on vacation can partly be chalked up to poor decision making, medical debt often comes from short, acute-care treatments that are unexpected — leaving patients with hefty bills that exceed their budgets.

For both Colorado bills — to limit interest rates and remove medical debt from consumer reports — a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said the governor will “review these policies with a lens towards saving people money on health care.”

While neither bill garnered stiff political opposition, a spokesperson for the Colorado Hospital Association said the organization is working with sponsors to amend the interest rate bill “to align the legislation with the multitude of existing protections.”

The association did not provide further details.

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To Vance, protecting her credit score early could have had a major impact. Vance’s medical debt began at age 19 from the skateboard crash, and then was compounded when she broke her arm soon after. Now 39, she has never been able to qualify for a credit card or car loan. Her in-laws cosigned for her Colorado apartment.

“My credit identity was medical debt,” she said, “and that set the tone for my life.”

Jesse Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

​ Orange County Register 

Evidence mounting that OC sheriff’s detective illegally listened to attorney-client phone calls

• April 13, 2023

Evidence is mounting in court documents that an Orange County sheriff’s detective illegally listened to at least five recorded calls between a jail inmate and an attorney — including calls in which the officer was warned by the lawyer not to listen.

Recordings of the calls were included in a motion filed Wednesday, April 12, by Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders in an unrelated drug case. Sanders is seeking the personnel records of newly promoted Sgt. Matthew LeFlore in that case.

Sheriff’s spokesperson Carrie Braun said the department is examining Sanders’ motion to determine how to proceed.

“The department takes any allegation of misconduct seriously,” Braun said. “We are reviewing the motion and are committed to investigating, if discovered, any instances of misconduct.”

The conversations were among the nearly 34,000 attorney-client calls that were inadvertently recorded by the sheriff’s telephone vendor, GTL, now known as ViaPath Technologies. The breach was reported in 2018.

LeFlore is accused by Sanders of listening to recordings made in 2017 of calls from Theo Lacy jail inmate Taylor Camu-Ferguson to attorney Jon Andersen. Sanders is using LeFlore’s conduct regarding the calls to persuade a judge to give him LeFlore’s personnel files for use in an unrelated case involving gun charges.

On the jail recordings, Andersen repeatedly warns that he is an attorney and that anyone eavesdropping is violating the law. In at least two of the recordings, Andersen and Camu-Ferguson mention LeFlore by name in invectives laced with expletives.

In the last call, Andersen warns, “Anyone attempts to listen to this, especially that 5 foot tall, deceitful, lying Orange County sheriff named LeFlore, we’ll seek prosecution, guaranteed. So don’t listen in.”

In court testimony, LeFlore said he did not remember the content of the calls, according to the motion.

“Andersen probably delivered one of the most pointed and unforgettable warnings ever heard by a law enforcement member accessing attorney-client calls,” Sanders wrote in his motion. “If … LeFlore suffers from memory loss at the level required for his testimony to have been truthful, he would be mentally unfit to serve as an officer.”

LeFlore, in log notes kept on the recordings, indicated he stopped listening when he discovered the calls were between an inmate and an attorney. But those notes include information that LeFlore would only have known by listening to the recordings, Sanders said in an interview.

While it is clear in all five recordings that an attorney is on the line, LeFlore mentions in his log that only one of the calls is confidential and should not be listened to, the motion says. In the other calls, he writes a summary of what was discussed — which does not match the recordings, Sanders writes.

Sanders also notes the way LeFlore picked the recordings that he listened to. Sanders said LeFlore could not have targeted Camu-Ferguson because the inmate used PIN numbers and accounts belonging to other inmates. It appears LeFlore targeted the publicly listed phone number of attorney Andersen — whose conversations with clients are legally protected, Sanders said.

Sanders said LeFlore apparently targeted Andersen because the lawyer had earlier filed a complaint with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office alleging the detective lied and fabricated facts to support a search warrant. Prosecutors took no action against LeFlore.

“There’s not a chance of any of it being a coincidence,” Andersen said in an interview Wednesday. “He knew what he was doing. … He tracked me. He took my number and searched all the records for the calls.”

While testifying in a separate drug case last year, LeFlore said he was never questioned by the Sheriff’s Department on the accessed phone calls. Sanders said LeFlore’s testimony is evidence that sheriff’s officials never fully investigated allegations that deputies illegally listened to attorney-client conversations.

Sanders also alleges that LeFlore retaliated against Camu-Ferguson for insulting him in the phone recordings by resurrecting an old burglary case against him. Camu-Ferguson ended up pleading guilty in that case.

Andersen said he may ask that felony convictions be overturned against Camu-Ferguson and other clients he represents in which LeFlore was the investigator.

Related links

Attorney accuses Orange County sheriff of intentionally eavesdropping on attorney-inmate phone calls
DA asked to investigate Orange County’s illegally recorded attorney-client phone calls
Nearly 34,000 Orange County inmates’ calls to attorneys recorded, not the 1,079 originally reported
Conflicting information on breached jail phone calls sends Orange County defense attorneys to court
Orange County grand jury finds no damage from improper recordings of phone calls between jail inmates, lawyers

LeFlore also was caught up in a 2018 scandal over the inability by deputies to book evidence in a timely manner — if at all.

In one case, LeFlore had taken custody of two full boxes of bullets, 11 grams of methamphetamine and a pipe stuffed inside a pair of boots. He never booked the property and, two weeks later, placed the boots on a shelf in a sheriff’s substation, with a sign saying “Free.”

Court documents previously show LeFlore on five occasions wrote in his official reports that he had placed evidence — typically documents and photos — in a sheriff’s locker when, in fact, he had not. The evidence was booked more than 20 days late on three occasions.

One case was referred by the Sheriff’s Department to the District Attorney’s Office, but no charge was filed.

Meanwhile, LeFlore was assigned to investigate other deputies who failed to book evidence and ultimately was promoted to sergeant and placed at Theo Lacy jail, where the recording breaches occurred.

Staff writer Scott Schwebke contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Wednesday, April 12

• April 13, 2023

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Scores and stats from Orange County games on Wednesday, April 12

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

WEDNESDAY’S SCORES

BASEBALL

ORANGE LEAGUE

Savanna 5, Century 1

Sav: Morales (W, 5IP, 2K, H), Machado SV, 2IP, Carrillo 2-3, Gomez 2-3

SOFTBALL

GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE

Katella 5, Godinez 1

Segerstrom 17, Garden Grove 5

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

San Juan Hills 2, Mission Viejo 0

BOYS LACROSSE

NONLEAGUE

Sacred Heart Prep/Atherton 11, St. Margaret’s 9

GIRLS LACROSSE

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Portola 12, Woodbridge 6

Por: Zdanavage 7 goals, Fawzi 3 assists

​ Orange County Register 

Albano’s Diamond Club: Orange County softball standouts last week, April 12

• April 13, 2023

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Dan Albano’s Diamond Club outstanding softball players last week, April 3-8:

Lauren Mendez, Foothill, Jr., P

Mendez allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out three in tossing a complete game in a 3-2 victory against Top 10-ranked Villa Park. She earned her 10th victory with the performance.

Alexis Perez, Sunny Hills, So., P

Perez fired a complete game in a 10-3 victory against Troy in the Freeway League and a two-hit shutout in a 12-0 win against Buena Park in another league game.

Zoe Prystajko, Huntington Beach, Jr., P

The Stanford commit allowed one earned run on seven hits and struck out 12 in a complete game to lead the Oilers to a 9-4 win against Marina in the Sunset League. She also went 4 for 4 at the plate with a home run and three RBIs. Prystajko has seven home runs.

Breana Townsend, Cypress, Jr., 3B

Townsend went 2 for 4 with a double, home run, four RBIs and scored three runs in a 9-4 victory at Kennedy in the Empire League.

Mckenzie Wanner, Kennedy, Sr., P

The Northern State (South Dakota)-bound pitcher fired four scoreless innings of relief to combine with starter Corie Cheng in a 2-1 victory against Top 10-ranked Pacifica in the Empire League.

PAST SELECTIONS

March 22

Kaylee Layfield, JSerra, Jr., SS

Loula McNamara, Tesoro, So., P

Audrey Robles, El Modena, Sr., 2B

Jillian Torres, Santa Margarita, So., CF

Bianne Weiss, Orange Lutheran, Jr., P

March 15

Giselle Alvarez, Los Alamitos, Sr., 3B

Makenzie Butt, Fountain Valley, Jr., INF

Alysa Del Val, Pacifica, Sr., 2B

Kai Minor, Orange Lutheran, So., CF

Sara Pinedo, El Modena, So., P

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March 8

Auddrey Lira, Villa Park, So., P

Malaya Majam-Finch, Fullerton, Fr., P

Peyton May, Orange Lutheran, Fr., P

Zoe Prystajko, Huntington Beach, Jr., P

Natalie Romero, Rosary, Sr., P

Please send nominees for Diamond Club softball players of the week to Dan Albano at [email protected] or @ocvarsityguy on Twitter

​ Orange County Register 

NAMM Show 2023: A Duran Duran bass and Ukrainian guitar among instruments on display

• April 13, 2023

The NAMM Show, running from Thursday, April 13 through Saturday, April 15, returned to the Anaheim Convention Center with its annual preview day on Thursday. A limited group of vendors gathered outside the main exhibit hall to demonstrate their latest products, including several tech and gear innovations this weekend.

The NAMM (originally National Association of Music Merchants) convention has been held in Anaheim since 1978 and draws more than 115,000 registrants from over 130 countries each year. Much like other in-person events disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, the  convention opted for a virtual event in 2021. 

Last year it returned with a scaled-down hybrid show, allowing a limited number of guests to attend in person while offering live stream and on-demand options. The convention plans to come back with its usual mid-January dates and at full capacity in 2024. Still, this year continues to bring big brand names such as Yamaha, which had a booth that displayed its new releases of acoustic guitar models, the FG9 R and FG 9 M.

“Since the 1960s, FG has been in the market in the United States,” said Michael Garant, marketing manager for guitars at Yamaha. “This takes all our 50 years of learning and building and then talking to players about how they feel about its sound, playability and how it accompanies their voice.”

Yamaha experimented with the designs, which resulted in two FG9 models, the FG9 R with a rosewood back and the FG9 M with a mahogany back. The FG9 R retails for $6,780, and the FG9 M at $6,620.

Another booth by Dingwall Guitars showcased Duran Duran‘s bass player John Taylor’s signature bass inspired by the band’s “Rio” album. The sleek bass design incorporates the colors of the album and a symbol that resembles an eye found on the album’s cover on the bottom right. The symbol is embedded into the bass guitar’s neck.

“The story behind it, unofficially, was, this is an icon that someone found in the catacombs below Jerusalem,” said Sheldon Dingwall, founder of Dingwall Guitars. “Somehow, it ended up on their album, so John wanted it on the guitar.”

Duran Duran fans and bass players alike will have to wait to get their hands on the model. Dingwall said that only 82 models of the signature bass retailing at $2,830 were made, and they sold out today after their release, but more production versions are slated to be released this summer.

Other interesting finds at the media preview included a 3D-printed violin by 3Dvarius, which specialize in designing electric violins and cellos. Another eye-catching design was a guitar inspired by Ukraine and its fight against Russia.

The guitar, named Voila, was created by the Ukrainian guitar company Universum Guitars and the Swedish company True Temperament. It incorporates colors of the Ukrainian flag and other cultural symbols, such as the style of Ukrainian embroidery and a blooming periwinkle, which is believed to be a symbol of love in the country. The guitar will be sold in an upcoming auction which will benefit Ukrainian efforts in the war.

“It’s more important than a guitar, said Ruslan Radtchenko, a presenter of the Voila guitar. “It’s a symbol of national unity, which is so important in these days when (Ukraine) fights for freedom.”

The convention is usually a weeklong industry engagement exclusive to badge-holders, often including classes, live performances, seminars and workshops. Some of the more prominent talking points for this weekend’s programming include diversity and inclusion, social media skills, branding, and sustainability.

The NAMM Show will also feature a massive marketplace, which serves as a hub where some of the top brands and buyers come together to shop and look at the latest in musical products, recording technology, sound and lighting and more.

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Musicians will be performing live throughout the convention. This weekend’s lineup features 150 artists, including Mariachi Divas De Cindy Shea, Khalil Nash and the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West’s The Commanders Jazz Ensemble.

A series of awards shows and celebrations, including She Rocks, an award ceremony that honors women in the music and audio industry, are slated for this weekend. In addition, this year, the NAMM Show is hosting the Hip-Hop 50 celebration, which will host a curated slate of sessions and events throughout the conference that pays tribute to the genre and its impact on culture, music, and music-making products. Chuck D, the leader and founder of the rap group Public Enemy, will be honored with NAMM’s Impact Music & Culture Award on Thursday, April 13.

​ Orange County Register