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It was time to give a presentation to people in my own community with the Tourette Syndrome Association of Georgia. I gave a presentation on “Overcoming Obstacles and Winning the Game of Life.” It was my goal to give strategies to children, parents, and educators about how to make life easier for kids with TS. It all begins with a POSITIVE ATTITUDE!

Barnes and Noble in Kennesaw, GA hosted an Educator’s Night at their store. This was an opportunity for teachers to come out and buy books for their classroom with a nice discount. When they arrived, they got a chance to meet me and learn about my book.

As you see in the pictures, I had some fans come visit too. First, Alan was in town from St. Louis and the other picture is Heather’s Family. I speak about Heather in my book. She was in my class my first year of teaching.

I was honored when I heard that Cobb County School Nurses wanted to learn more about Tourette Syndrome and how to help children with disabilities.

My goal during this presentation was to first, educate them about what Tourette Syndrome is.
Awareness must be the first step.

Second, I focused on my story, showing them that it is possible for someone with a disability to overcome the challenges that are placed in front of them.

Third, I wanted them to realize that all it take is for ONE person to believe in that child. So many times in the classroom, the teachers focus on the weaknesses of that child. It is my hope that nurses will help play a vital role in the life of a child with TS or any other disability because they can give them those positive experiences and words of encouragement that they may need.
I remember my middle school nurse allowing me to eat lunch in her room rather than eating in the cafeteria with the bullies of the school. She made a difference in my life, now I hope that nurses today can make a difference in some of their students lives.

This was by far the highlight of all my travels so far! Dreams do come true! And that is exactly what happened when I got to Cooperstown! I finally got a chance to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame! I now see why so many people have not been to this small town. It is in the middle of nowhere!

I was invited up by the Baseball Hall of Fame for their Special Abilities Weekend. I gave 2 presentations, had 1 book signing, and I led a “Mascot School” for the Sandlot Club, a kids club that does different activities throughout the year for the kids. Since I was the mascot for the Atlanta Braves Baseball Team, they thought it would be fun if I taught the kids how to be a mascot. It was great! I taught them the rules, told them some of my secret tricks and then we tried on a few mascot uniforms that the Hall of Fame provided so the kids could get some real hands on experiences. They loved it!

Overall, the entire experience was amazing!

Charleston was a great trip as a did a presentation for the Tourette Syndrome Association of South Carolina at the Medical University of South Carolina(MUSC). Then we headed over to Barnes and Noble in Mt. Pleasant for a 7 p.m. book signing. There was a lot of traffic with some familiar faces who showed up. It was a mini reunion for Nancy as she saw many people from Charleston that she knew. A big thank you to Richard Todd from WTMA 1250-AM “News Talk” radio. We had a 15-minute interview to promote the book and the events.

Thanks to my friend Wendy, we woke up bright and early on Sunday morning, September 25th and I had a live TV interview on the set of the NBC affiliate in St. Louis. At first I thought it didn’t go well, but then when I watched it, the results were very good! Randy Jackson did the 5-minute interview where we talked about my experiences of living with TS in the St. Louis community and then we talked about what life is like now as a 2nd grade teacher. At the end of the interview, we discussed “Front of the Class.” On the way out of the studio, the producer told us he had already gotten calls about how good the interview was. Thank you Wendy for setting this up and thanks to KSDK Channel 5 in St. Louis!

After the book signing on September 24th at Barnes and Noble in Clayton, I was told it was the largest book signing of the year. I could not believe the amount of people that were there. The amount of support they showed was great. Once again, I saw a lot of faces from my past, but there were also people who have heard about “Front of the Class” and wanted a signed copy.

The Community Relations Manager, Carrie, was GREAT! She made our experience so special. It was nice to see all the support from my home town! As you can see by the pictures above, we weren’t clowning around….This was serious business!

My book signing at my mom’s house turned out great! Friends and family got together to celebrate the success of “Front of the Class.” I had a chance to speak to the 50 people about the book and then we all headed over to Barnes and Noble for a public book signing.

On September 23rd, I had a chance to speak to the Tourette Syndrome Association of St. Louis. In attendance were over 70 people with TS, parents, doctors, teachers and more. I gave my speech about overcoming the odds that were placed in front of me and how I kept that positive attitude and won the game of life! Afterwards, I signed books for everyone. This was a great event! Thanks for inviting me!

Chapter 11 Bookstore in Sandy Springs welcomed “Front of the Class” on September 20th. We had a very nice turn out as a lot of my friends and people I haven’t seen in a long time came out for the night. We also had some great press in the Atlanta Journal Constitution so there were also some people who were just interested in the book.