A modest number of people, including an excited first-timer, gathered yesterday for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, marking CBA's 61st convention.

Author Jackie M. Johnson was thrilled to attend her first ICRS and meet best-selling author and speaker Josh McDowell, who presented a brief devotion during the gathering outside the exhibit hall.

"It's so good to be here," said Johnson, whose latest book, When Love Ends and the Ice Cream Carton is Empty, was released by Moody Publishers in May. "I got saved in high school in 1978 during a Josh McDowell conference in Urbana, Ill., and now I write Christian books. I was able to shake his hands (with McDowell).

"It was so cool," added Johnson, whose first book in 2007, Power Prayers for Women (Barbour Publishing), sold 200,000 copies. "I've always wanted to thank him."

Besides McDowell, the ceremony featured music from seven-time Dove Award winner Steve Green. Before cutting the ribbon with oversized scissors, CBA Chair-elect George Thomsen told the crowd, which featured former CBA President Bill Anderson, that there were "318 exhibitors behind these doors," adding: "They are waiting to bless you-and they are waiting to be blessed by you."

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