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Breaking News Event: International Roots Conference Is Canceled, Would-be Attendees Lose Money



Thought I would pass this along so that the word may be passed on to
others who might not subscribe to the Eastmans' Online Genealogy
Newsletter.

The following a special edition of "Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy
Newsletter.  Permission is granted to reproduce.

Special Edition of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
June 26, 2002
Please feel free to forward copies of this newsletter to other
genealogists.

     ==========================================================

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:
     dmiller@ermanteicher.com

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

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