Book Launch Event!

My book launch at the Global Family Reunion on June 6, 2015 was a resounding success! My wife, Bobbi, and I had the chance to meet hundreds of “cousins” from around the country who had come to the New York Hall of Science to be part of the largest family reunion in history. We were proud to represent the “Hatfields and McCoys” among the many surnames that were on hand.

The Global Family Reunion featured a number of celebrities including Dr. Oz, Dr. Louis Gates, Paul Williams, Marilu Henner and Sister Sledge. Noted visitors to our booth included writer AJ Jacobs, founder of the Global Family Reunion and bestselling fiction author, Sandra Brown, who was kind enough to buy one of my books. Bennett Greenspan, a pioneer in the use of genetics in genealogy research and currently the president of Family Tree DNA, stopped by to ask me about a Hatfield-McCoy joke he intended to use as part of his speech for the event. Afterwards, he stopped by again, excited to report that the joke had been well-received and that he had directed folks to stop by and see us.

There was great interest in the “Feud” as well as the story of my reunion with my family’s history. Visitors to our booth from Riverside, CA to Brooklyn, NY were fascinated by the “Hatfields and McCoys.” Some stopped by the booth to tell us about their recent discoveries of genealogical links to the Hatfield and McCoy families. Others came by to talk about history and became newfound friends! Visitors to the REUNION booth included Jimmy and Tressa, Michael and Erica, Allynn, Gina and Raquel. One visitor to the booth was especially notable. Bradley, a history and a student of “feud history,” was a sound engineer for the main event stage outside. On a quick five-minute break between acts, he ran inside to meet us and pick a copy of the book then ran back outside to go to work!

I wanted to say “thank you” to everyone who came by our booth and special thanks to those who bought books. Thanks especially to our dear friends Derek and Linda Eubanks who worked the crowd and staffed the booth. They worked so hard to make our event a success. Thanks also to Nina Hoffer, coordinator of the exhibitors for the Global Family Reunion event, who was especially kind to us and ensured that we were well taken care of.

A year ago when Bobbi found out about AJ Jacobs and the Global Family Reunion event, she said, “THIS is where we launch the book!” She was right! It was the perfect venue and we found great synergy with the genealogist, historians and “cousins.” So my REUNION book launch was a great success!

Thank you all!

Ron