In the fall of 1977 Terry was in Atlantic City, co-hosting the Miss America pageant with Phyllis George. Phyllis's manager, Ed Hookstratton, approached Terry one evening, asking what she planned to do with her life.

"I really don't know," she said. "I've been trained as a singer but I don't want the night club circuit any more."

Ed suggested that she think about doing a talk show. "Here is my card," he said. "If you're interested, call me."

Back in Milwaukee, the talk show idea got buried in an avalanche of Christian appearances, public relations contracts, and former-Miss-America jobs.

But the idea resurfaced a year and a half later when Milwaukee's WTMJ-TV approached her concerning a five-hour-a-week live talk show to be called A New Day.

Terry accepted the offer. Eighteen months later, the show had shot up to the No. 1 spot in the ratings and Terry was named the "Outstanding Woman in Television, On-Air" by the Wisconsin chapter of American Women in Radio and Television.

Says Terry, "That honor really meant a lot to be because it came from my peers. I had plunged into an entirely new area, local television, and I really didn't know if I'd sink or swim. It was such a thrill for me to be accepted and even recognized by other women in the industry."