Greetings All. The following reprint from Eastman's Genealogy Newsletter may be of interest to some listers. Happy Hunting Gordon A. Watts [email protected] Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm =========================================== The following is a "special edition" of my weekly newsletter. A breaking news event has major financial impact to hundreds of genealogists. I elected to not wait until next week's newsletter to distribute the following article. - Dick Eastman ============================================================== - International Roots Conference Is Canceled, Would-be Attendees Lose Money The International Roots Conference has been canceled. If you registered in advance, you need to read the following information. In the June 5 edition of this newsletter, I wrote about the International Roots Conference to be held in Dearborn, Michigan on July 14 through 18, 2002. I wrote that conference organizers Marilyn R. Natchez and Steve Rosman, operating under the business name of "My Conference Planners, LLC," were planning a big conference. While I didn't mention any expected numbers of attendees in that article, the conference Web site advised that 2,000 people were expected to attend this conference. All of that came crashing down in the past few days. Last Friday, only three weeks before the scheduled start of the conference, My Conference Planners, LLC ceased operations and declared bankruptcy. The company's Web site was shut down on Tuesday, June 25. Would-be conference attendees who paid in advance for tickets are now receiving letters from a law firm advising that the conference has been canceled. Reportedly, all the money paid in advance is gone; so, creditors are advised to not contact anyone for refunds. In other words, those who paid money in advance are ***** (insert your own expletive here). Most would-be attendees paid $200 to $300 each, depending upon the luncheons, dinners and workshops selected. The owners of My Conference Planners, LLC have not released any numbers. However, if only 500 people paid in advance, the amount in question would be $100,000 to $150,000. What happened? I have no idea. Marilyn R. Natchez and Steve Rosman have not yet returned my phone call and e-mails. The lawyer handling this bankruptcy case is David Miller of the law firm Erman, Teicher, Miller, Zucker & Freedman, PC, located at: 100 Galleria Officentre Ste 333 Southfield, MI 48034-8429 Phone: (248) 827-4100 Fax: (248) 827-4106 Attorney David Miller can be reached at: [email protected] Those who feel that they have been "ripped off" might want to contact the office of Jennifer M. Granholm, the Attorney General for the State of Michigan. The Attorney General's office has an online Web site for those who wish to file consumer complaints, at: http://www.ag.state.mi.us/cp/complaint/cp_complaint_page.htm If you do file a complaint, you will be asked for the company's name and address. It is: MY CONFERENCE PLANNERS, LLC 24901 Northwestern Highway, Suite 313-B Southfield, Michigan 48075-2207 (248) 415-0159 I suspect you will be reading more about this story in future weeks.