Ferrum College graduate and former motivational speaker Donnie Brown, will return to campus April 18th for a book signing and reading of his very first book, Jessie is Her Name: A Virginia Family’s Oral History 1912-1949.

    Brown, a native of Staunton, Virginia graduated from Ferrum College in 1966. He was the 2005 recipient of the Beckham Medallion, Ferrum College’s highest alumni honor. Brown says he wanted to come to Ferrum to tell his story because he says, “Ferrum gave me so much, and I want to give back in some way.”

    Brown began a family history search in 1979, when his mother got sick. It led to his writing of Jessie is Her Name. “I figured if I could tell her story, then she really never died. She taught me so much about life, and I want to share that.” Brown said.

    The book is the history of three generations of an Irish Shenandoah Valley of Virginia family. It tracks the life of Jessie Brown, Donnie’s mother, from her early childhood on an Estaline Valley farm to her becoming the beloved foster child of a wealthy Staunton, Virginia couple.

    The book is told from Donnie’s viewpoint, the youngest of her six boys. He heard many of her stories growing up and filed away the oral family history until she passed away in 1997. Although written as a work of fiction, it incorporates many real events in the Brown family history. “We didn’t have television, so we sat around and talked together on our porch and would tell stories.”

    Prior to his retirement in 2002, Brown was President of Industrial Training Systems, Inc., an Industrial Training Consulting Firm. He traveled around the world conducting seminars for Fortune Five Hundred type Companies. “When I would speak to groups, all I talked about was my family, my mother, father ... and their values they instilled in me. People loved the stories, because they realized what really mattered in their lives.”

    Brown’s book signing is sponsored by the Alumni Department and will be held from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the Ferrum College bookstore. A book reading will be held at Garber Hall, Room 106 at 7:00p.m.

For more information about Brown’s upcoming visit, contact Tracy Holley at 365-4216.

    Ferrum College is a four-year, private, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor’s degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private colleges. For more information on Ferrum, visit www.ferrum.edu.