with us now is estelle parsons, florence henderson and lee meriweather., ladies. >> i was there long before the first day. i was one of eight that put it together before we hireded dave. >> tell us the atmosphere then. >> it was pioneer days. the only reason i got hired is nobody in night television wanted to switch to mornings because it wouldn't work. nobody would watch in the morning. we battled that for a long time. >> you had a lot of duties including the weather. >> weather, fashion shows, women's features primarily. actually, when i started i was supposedly the official women's editor on air. i was never a "today" girl. >> wasn't your title "today" girl? >> no, honest to goodness. >> before she came on all we thought about was, should there be a woman on the show? >> you covered politics, too. >> i was the first woman who managed to get into that field. >> lee, during your reign of miss america you were asked to join the show. >> halfway through my tour of duty i was asked by the producers and i said, o h, i can't, i have work to do. they said, yes

i am a manager research san francisco residents with low to middle income -- my name is nsl -- estelle. i am a labor partner and i strongly support their plans to build earthquakes and hospitals. we hope all the legal issues are mitigated in regards to this project and strongly support our job-seekers and employers moving forward. and under this project, one company invested time and personnel to help us revamp an update our training program. and they helped us with the lessons covering the big picture and the sequence of work for 13 weeks of instruction, and they did this simply because we asked for their help. however, we also provided 13 industry experts to facilitate the lessons throughout the semester. with their help, they a provided much care and thought, and they really a put their hearts and souls into the lesson and strengthened the opportunity for clients to become more competitive in the field. and some were recruited and hired before time ended. every aspect of building the project. most importantly, it would put our residents to work. that is the main thing. we need jobs,

. >> estelle has been at isp for 20 years. >> i got two life sentences, my charges are first-degree murder, attempted murder, going armed with attempt, assault, escape and using a firearm while perpetrating a felony and kidnapping. >> dunsmore's long rap sheet includes attempted assault. he assaulted an isp officer with a weight bar in the prison. he blames his behavior on the domestic violence he witnessed as a child. >> i grew up in poverty, malnutrition. my father beat on my mother a lot, almost daily. he'd get drunk and beat her up. when i was 6 years old, he had her on the bed, choking her. me and my little brother were begging him -- excuse me -- me and my little brother was begging him -- i can't go on with that part. >> just give me the rough sketch of what you want and i'll put it down on paper. >> although the majority of prisoners at isp are older inmates, youth offenders are rapidly becoming the fastest growing population. >> how old are you? >> 23. i've got a five-year term, a violent felony. >> i came in when i was 16. i'm 23. i'll be out of here 25, 26 years old. >> i got ar

the today girls, florence henderson, lee meriweather and estelle parsons.you all in one place. we love to do toasts and eat on "today." we have a little cake. >> we might have a fire actually. >> we have a special guest bringing the cake in. >> who's that? >> ladies and gentlemen, a big surprise. meredith vieira is going to pop out of the cake. oh, there she s. >> tom, it's great to have you here. tom has been on the broadcast 22 times. we went back and counted. >> you will get it right sooner or later. >> the only reason i pushed out the cake is the trainer didn't have enough time with j. fred muggs. >> nice of you to do it. >> when you look around the group you must see people you have had moments with. >> when i had the measles, i stayed home and watched you all. >> let us do this. >> when you were a baby. >> let us say this. here on this show every morning of course we wake up and put a show on for our viewers. we try to uphold their standards. but i want you to know all of us here each morning who now occupy the seats we think of you all every morning

our parents, dewey and estelle, would have been el callly proud of their -- equally proud of their childrenighthouse and the light that would bring us home when we lost our way. they were simply the best part of our lives, and we loved them with all our hearts. so my mother-in-law, doris hayes, i extend a heartfelt l thanks for your acceptance and your willingness to allow your daughter to marry a deputy sheriff so many years ago. [laughter] i know you all both hayes and applewhites must be equally surprised today. [laughter] but you are my family. my world would have been empty without your love and support. to former speaker billy mccoy, i am honored that you are here, mr. speaker, and thankful for our years of service together. i ask god's blessings upon you and yours. speaker ford, thank you fur your leadership -- for your leadership when i was such a young house member. god bless you. to newly-elected speaker phillip gunn, i extend a hearty congratulations, and i look forward to our time together as you serve the great citizens of our beloved mississippi. and i want to give a very spec

estelle gavin, you guys were amazing throughout, an netwoexct nerc.an't stand it and a wonderful editor, thank you, lauren. [applause] >> steel towns and the plight of steel towns is something that has meant a great deal to me since i was born, i grew up in one. i don't know if braddock is doing things the right way but i think it's cool they're trying. thank you very much. [applause] >> the nominees for outstanding editing quick turn-around. >> any guesses? 60 minutes, haiti, cbs. [applause] >> accepting the enemy, richard buttenhagan, editor. [applause] >> forgive me, but this looks like civil war. >> it is. there's no electricity. we have flashlights that we're operating with. there's rusty instruments? . >> rusty? >> yes. >> when they arrived friday night there were no haitian doctors or nurses, just them to treat hundreds of seriously injured people. 60 minutes joined the soldiers of the 82nd airborne in one of their first missions distributing food to thousands. >> we've done this over and over again for the next several weeks. as long as it tak

our parents, and duly and estelle, would have been equally proud of their children today. our mother was the lighthouse in our lives that would bring us home when we lost our way. they were simply the best part of our lives, and we love to them with all our heart. to my mother-in-law, doris hayes, i extend a heartfelt thanks for your acceptance and your willingness to allow your daughter to marry a young deputy sheriff so many years ago. i know you all must be equally surprised today. [laughter] you are my family and my world would have been empty without your love and support. two former speaker really mccoy, i am honored you are here mr. speaker and thankful for our years of service together. i ask god's blessings upon you and yours. thank you for your leadership when i was such a young house member. god bless you. to newly-elected speaker philip going to i extend a hearty congratulations and i look over to our time together as you serve the great citizens of our beloved mississippi. and i want to give a very special thank you to governor barbour for -- and first lady fo