Press Releases

For Immediate Release: April 9, 2015

Contact: Eowyn Langholf, gfrcousincoordinator@gmail.com or A.J. Jacobs, aj@ajjacobs.com

Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could To Perform at the Global Family Reunion

The Global Family Reunion is delighted to announce that Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could will be performing at the main event in New York City on June 6th.

Two-time GRAMMY nominee Brady Rymer and his band make joyful rock ‘n’ roll for kids and families.

Enjoyed by youngsters, oldsters and everyone in the middle, his trademark smile lights up the band’s live performances, and it shines just as brightly in his recordings, expressing the warmth, fun and positive spirit he finds in the family experience.  That infectious, happy grin gets top billing in his latest CD, “Just Say Hi!”

After a decade recording and touring with childhood buddies in RCA jam band From Good Homes, Brady’s career in children’s music grew along with his family.  Over time, he assembled a kickin’ band of friends, outstanding players all, with backgrounds from Americana to Zydeco. Two kids, seven CD’s and two GRAMMY nominations later, his music has been called a “joyous, genius, melodic gift for anyone with a rock and roll soul,” and his band “might just be the best-sounding band in children’s music,” according to NPR’s All Things Considered.

About the Global Family Reunion

The Global Family Reunion will take place June 6, 2015, and aims to be the biggest, most inclusive and most entertaining family reunion in history. Everyone is invited. It will include presentations by celebrities, genealogists, and famous scientists, music, comedy, games, interactive exhibits and food. The main event will be held on the grounds of the world’s fair in New York, but there will be simultaneous parties around the world. All proceeds from the New York event will go toward Alzheimer’s Disease research and care. Tickets are available now.

The Global Family Reunion was founded by author A.J. Jacobs, who became fascinated with the idea that every person on Earth is related to every other after entering his name in several genealogy websites and finding he was connected to people all over the globe. “My hope — and I know it’s a bit idealistic — is that once we see how closely we’re all related, we’ll be able to work together better and solve the world’s really big problems, including Alzheimer’s,” he says.

The Global Family Reunion will be the topic of Jacobs’s next book and the subject of a documentary by Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me). Among those participating are actor Daniel Radcliffe, President George H.W. Bush and comedian Nick Kroll. The event has already been featured in the New York Times, People Magazine, NPR and Good Morning America. If you are interested in attending, please see the event website at globalfamilyreunion.com for more information. Plus, take a few minutes and watch Jacobs’ TED talk The world’s largest family reunion…we’re all invited .

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Contact: Eowyn Langholf, gfrcousincoordinator@gmail.com or A.J. Jacobs, aj@ajjacobs.com

TED ALLEN TO SPEAK AT THE GLOBAL FAMILY REUNION

The Global Family Reunion is thrilled to announce that Ted Allen will be a speaker at the main event in New York City on June 6, 2015.

Ted is a writer, cookbook author, and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on Queer Eye and has been the host of the TV cooking competition series Chopped since its launch in 2009. As of April 13, 2014, he is also the host of another Food Network show, All-Star Academy, which debuted on March 1, 2015^.

In early 2015, he also hosted a four-part special, Best. Ever., which scoured the country for its best burgers, pizza, breakfast, and barbecue. He is a longtime contributing writer to Esquire magazine, the author of two cookbooks, and regularly appears on the Food Network show The Best Thing I Ever Ate and other television cooking shows.

For Immediate Release: Thursday, March 6, 2015
Contact: Eowyn Langholf, gfrcousincoordinator@gmail.com or A.J. Jacobs, aj@ajjacobs.com

GLOBAL FAMILY REUNION LAUNCHES CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN TO UNITE WORLD AND FIGHT ALZHEIMER’S

The Global Family Reunion has just launched a crowdfunding campaign with two not-so-minor goals: Unite the world and battle Alzheimer’s.

The Global Family Reunion will take place June 6, 2015, and aims to be the biggest, most inclusive and most entertaining family reunion in history. Everyone is invited. It will include presentations by celebrities, genealogists, and famous scientists, music, comedy, games, interactive exhibits and food. The main event will be held on the grounds of the world’s fair in New York, but there will be simultaneous parties around the world.

It’s also a benefit to raise money for Alzheimer’s disease. When you purchase any of the Global Family Reunion campaign perks on IndieGoGo, you can feel good knowing that all proceeds — after covering the costs of the event — go toward battling Alzheimer’s. The Alzheimer’s Association New York City and the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund are the official beneficiaries. The event’s founder, author A.J. Jacobs, watched his grandfather succumb to dementia, and this inspired A.J. to make the reunion about keeping family memories alive.

Visit the campaign page to find out how you can contribute and get involved.

Among the perks available in the Global Family Reunion crowdfunding campaign

–Tickets to the reunion

–A gorgeous computer visualization of how you’re linked to your 20,000 closest relatives by an Israeli data specialist

–Signed copies of A.J.’s upcoming book about the quest to unite the world with DNA and family trees.

–A.J. will even dedicate the book to the first person who donates $10,000 to the Alzheimer’s benefit. (His wife will understand).

The Global Family Reunion believes that massive multi-national family trees serve their own great purpose. Scientists are studying the online mega-family trees to see how diseases and traits are passed from generation to generation. Genealogy has the potential to help us find many cures. The mega-trees – which now number in the millions – also spur students to become interested in history. If you’re related to Abe Lincoln, even if distantly, you’re more likely to want to learn about him.

And the big hope is, once we see that all humans are, in fact, part of the same family, we’ll treat each other with a little more kindness. As cousin John Lennon said, you may call us dreamers, but we’re not the only ones.

About the Global Family Reunion

The Global Family Reunion was founded by author A.J. Jacobs, who became fascinated with the idea that every person on Earth is related to every other after entering his name in several genealogy websites and finding he was connected to people all over the globe. “My hope — and I know it’s a bit idealistic — is that once we see how closely we’re all related, we’ll be able to work together better and solve the world’s really big problems, including Alzheimer’s,” he says.

The Global Family Reunion will be the topic of Jacobs’s next book. Among those participating are speakers Henry Louis Gates and Dr. Mehmet Oz, actor Daniel Radcliffe (live or via video), President George H.W. Bush (via video) and comedian Nick Kroll. The event has already been featured in the New York Times, People Magazine, NPR and “Good Morning America.”

The Global Family Reunion’s partners include MyHeritage, Geni, FamilySearch, Findmypast, WikiTree, 23andMe, FamilyTree DNA and the Federation of Genealogical Societies.

If you are interested in attending, please see the event website at globalfamilyreunion.com for more information. Plus, take a few minutes and watch Jacobs’ TED talk The world’s largest family reunion…we’re all invited .

For Immediate Release: Thursday, January 8, 2015
Contact: Eowyn Langholf, gfrcousincoordinator@gmail.com or aj@ajjacobs.com

BENNETT GREENSPAN TO SPEAK AT THE GLOBAL FAMILY REUNION

The Global Family Reunion is thrilled to announce that Bennett Greenspan will be a speaker at the main event in New York City on June 6, 2015.

Mr. Greenspan is a remarkable entrepreneur, best known for his pioneering work in genetic genealogy, and as the founder of Family Tree DNA, the first American company to offer genealogical DNA testing directly to the general public.

Currently the president, CEO and managing partner of Family Tree DNA’s parent company Gene by Gene, Mr. Greenspan is also the project administrator of several surname DNA projects,  and regularly lectures on the use of genetics in genealogy.

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Contact: Eowyn Langholf, gfrcousincoordinator@gmail.com or aj@ajjacobs.com

DR. HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. TO SPEAK AT THE GLOBAL FAMILY REUNION

The Global Family Reunion is delighted to announce that Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. will be a speaker at the main event in New York City on June 6, 2015.

Dr. Gates has created 13 documentaries, authored 16 books, written innumerable articles and is a literary scholar, filmmaker, journalist and cultural critic. He is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University.

He serves as editor-in-chief of TheRoot.com while also overseeing the Oxford African American Studies Center, the first comprehensive scholarly online resource in the field. He’s hosted several PBS mini-series and his six-part PBS documentary series, “The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross”, that traces 500 years of African-American history, earned multiple awards. Season two of his genealogical series “Finding Your Roots” is currently airing on PBS.

Dr. Gates has been the recipient of 53 honorary degrees and numerous academic and social action awards.

He is (distantly) related to Global Family Reunion founder A.J. Jacobs. (To be specific, he is A.J.’s aunt’s husband’s fourth great aunt’s husband’s first cousin thrice removed’s husband’s step-daughter’s second great granddaughter’s husband’s second great nephew).

About the Global Family Reunion

The Global Family Reunion will take place June 6, 2015, and aims to be the biggest, most inclusive and most entertaining family reunion in history. Everyone is invited. It will include presentations by celebrities, genealogists, and famous scientists, music, comedy, games, interactive exhibits and food. The main event will be held on the grounds of the world’s fair in New York, but there will be simultaneous parties around the world. All proceeds from the New York event will go toward Alzheimer’s Disease research and care.

The Global Family Reunion was founded by author A.J. Jacobs, who became fascinated with the idea that every person on Earth is related to every other after entering his name in several genealogy websites and finding he was connected to people all over the globe. “My hope — and I know it’s a bit idealistic — is that once we see how closely we’re all related, we’ll be able to work together better and solve the world’s really big problems, including Alzheimer’s,” he says.

The Global Family Reunion will be the topic of Jacobs’s next book and the subject of a documentary by Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me). Among those participating are actor Daniel Radcliffe, President George H.W. Bush and comedian Nick Kroll. The event has already been featured in the New York Times, People Magazine, NPR and Good Morning America. If you are interested in attending, please see the event website at globalfamilyreunion.com for more information. Plus, take a few minutes and watch Jacobs’ TED talk The world’s largest family reunion…we’re all invited .

*Image courtesy of Wikipedia

For Immediate Release: Thursday, November 13, 2014
Contact: Eowyn Langholf, gfrcousincoordinator@gmail.com

DR. MEHMET OZ TO SPEAK AT THE GLOBAL FAMILY REUNION

The Global Family Reunion is thrilled to announce that Dr. Mehmet Oz will be a key speaker at our event in New York City in June 2015.

About Global Family Reunion

The Global Family Reunion will take place June 6, 2015, and aims to be the biggest, most inclusive and most entertaining family reunion in history. Everyone is invited. It will include presentations by celebrities, genealogists, and famous scientists, music, comedy, games, interactive exhibits and food. The main event will be held on the grounds of the world’s fair in New York, but there will be simultaneous parties around the world. The Global Family Reunion was founded by author A.J. Jacobs, who became fascinated with the idea that every person on Earth is related to every other after entering his name in several genealogy websites and finding he was connected to people all over the globe. “Once we realize we’re all related,” he says, “we can solve the big problems, like Alzheimer’s”.

He is using the event to collect donations, which will be distributed to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund and the Alzheimer’s Association NYC Chapter. The Global Family Reunion will be the topic of Jacobs’ next book and the subject of a documentary by Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me). Among those participating are actor Daniel Radcliffe, President George H.W. Bush and comedian Nick Kroll. The event has already been featured in the New York Times, People Magazine, NPR and Good Morning America. If you are interested in attending, please see our event website for more information. Plus, take a few minutes and watch Jacobs’TED talk The world’s largest family reunion…we’re all invited!

FGS Marshals Its Hundreds of Member Societies to Help Global Family Reunion Fight Alzheimer’s

October 17, 2014 – Austin, TX. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and the Global Family Reunion announced today their partnership for the largest family reunion in history to be held June 6, 2015 on the site of the legendary 1964 New York’s World Fair to benefit Alzheimer’s research, education, and training.

FGS will facilitate the organization of Global Family Reunion branch parties at many of its member societies across the United States and around the world.

“As a leader in the family history community, FGS is delighted to be working with the Global Family Reunion,” said FGS President D. Joshua Taylor. “As genealogy increases in popularity, events like the Global Family Reunion give our member societies the chance to show the world the best of the best. We couldn’t be happier to join Mr. Jacobs and his search for cousins across the world to benefit such a worthy cause.”

Brainchild of best-selling author and three-time TED talk speaker, A.J. Jacobs, the Global Family Reunion will host the event in New York. It will include talks, family history exhibits, the world’s largest family photo, other family reunion activities as well as live-streaming to branch parties located all over the world.

“I’m thrilled the Global Family Reunion and the Federation of Genealogical Societies have formed a partnership. I can’t wait to work with FGS and its wonderful member societies on this project to spread the word to all members of the human family about how fun and fascinating genealogy is,” said Global Family Reunion Founder A.J. Jacobs. “Plus, I’m very, very distant cousins with everyone on the FGS team, so it’s all in the family.”

The talks and presentations will feature a wide range of fascinating experts and entertainers including Academy Award-nominated director of Supersize Me Morgan Spurlock, the 41^st President of the United States George H.W. Bush (via video), Peabody Award-winning correspondent Scott Simon, leading population geneticist and director of National Geographic’s Genographic Project Spencer Wells, and Federation of Genealogical Societies President D. Joshua Taylor.

About the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS)

The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) was founded in 1976 and represents the members of hundreds of genealogical societies. FGS links the genealogical community by helping genealogical societies and family history enthusiasts strengthen and grow through online resources, FGS FORUM magazine, and through its annual national conference which provides four days of excellent learning opportunities for both societies and family history enthusiasts. To learn more about FGS visit fgs.org. To learn more about the next annual conference to be held in Salt Lake City, UT, visit fgsconference.org. Also, find FGS on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FGSgenealogy, on Twitter @FGSgenealogy and on the FGS Voice blog at https://voice.fgs.org.

About Global Family Reunion

The Global Family Reunion is an event conceived by bestselling author A.J. Jacobs. It will include presentations by celebrities, genealogists, and famous scientists, music, comedy, games, interactive exhibits and food. Jacobs became fascinated with the idea that every person on Earth is related to every other after entering his name in several genealogy websites and finding he was connected to people all over the globe. “Once we realize we’re all related,” he says, “we can solve the big problems, like Alzheimer’s”. He is using the event to collect donations, which will be distributed to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund and the Alzheimer’s Association NYC Chapter. The Global Family Reunion will be the topic of Jacobs’ next book and the subject of a documentary by Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me). Among those participating are actor Daniel Radcliffe, President George H.W. Bush and comedian Nick Kroll. The event has already been featured in the New York Times, People Magazine, NPR and Good Morning America. If you are interested in attending, please see the event website at globalfamilyreunion.com for more information. Plus, take a few minutes and watch Jacobs’ TED talk The world’s largest family reunion…we’re all invited!

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Contact: Federation of Genealogical Societies
Caroline Pointer, Marketing & Publicity Chair
phone: +1 (888) 347-1500
marketing@fgs.org

Global Family Reunion

A.J. Jacobs

aj@ajjacobs.com

info@worldfamily.us

Contact:Eowyn Langholf, gfrcousincoordinator@gmail.com

GLOBAL FAMILY REUNION SEEKS GENEALOGISTS TO “CONNECT FOR THE CURE”

The Global Family Reunionin June 2015 is expected to be the biggest, most inclusive celebration of family connections in history. It’s also more than that: It’s about fighting Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s about connecting to find a cure!

In honor of World Alzheimer’s Month, September, the Global Family Reunion is “going purple” by announcing a special Connect for the Cureinitiative for genealogists.

Thanks to press exposure in the New York Times, NPRand Good Morning America, thousands of people have contacted A.J. saying that they plan to attend to the Global Family Reunion. Many of them have not yet been able to find a connection to A.J. through the global family trees on WikiTreeand Geni. It’s these people who need your help!

• 5 points: Global Family Reunion bumper sticker.
• 10 points: “I Am A Cousin” feature on Global Family Reunion blog.
• 25 points: Skype/Google+ Chat with A.J. and the GFR team and formal thank-you at the Reunion
• 50 points: Autographed copy of one of A.J.’s books.
• 100 points: Personal acknowledgement in A.J.’s next book.
• 150 points: Global Family Reunion t-shirt.
  

Finally, there will be one very special surprise for the genealogist who earns the most points.

All connections must be made by May 1. To participate, contact our Chief Cousin Coordinator, Eowyn Langholf, at gfrcousincoordinator@gmail.com.