2019 RFA Annual Reunion

The Reynolds Family Association 2019 Reunion took place this past September in Arlington, Virginia and was considered a success. Many thanks to all the ~25 family historians who took the time to attend, present, and participate! As with previous years, attendees really had a great time meeting one another, catching up, and sharing our Reynolds family history pursuits.

Presentations delivered: Randy Reynolds shared very interesting stories from his Reynolds line (James of N Kingstown, RI) over the centuries. Bradley Jansen discussed options for using new technology to collaborate, including with autosomal DNA (more info about this will be added to the RFA website soon). Joe Reynolds gave a tour of the many great resources available on the member's only portion of the RFA website. I discussed recent findings from the Reynolds YDNA Project and specifically presented genetic evidence to answer the question of whether all Reynoldses are related.

Elections: We elected some new officers. Joe was ready to retire and pass baton after serving as President for many years. I'm honored to have been elected RFA President.

New Officers:
     President Larry “Joe” Reynolds was replaced by Tommy Joe Reynolds
     VP/Publications Carolyn Reynolds Burnside was replaced by Berta Reynolds
     Director-at-large Bill King was replaced by Larry Joe Reynolds
     Randy Reynolds will be a new Director-at-large
     Newsletter Editor Margaret Reynolds Cannon was replaced by Paula Reynolds
     Rev. John Allen Reynolds has retired as Chaplain

Congratulations to new officers!!

We thank departing officers for their services over the years and we look forward to continuing to work with you as RFA members.

RFA Officers retaining their positions are:
     VP Registrar & Registered Agent - Debbie Reynolds Jones
     VP Surname YDNA Project - Nancy Wallander
     VP Public Relations - Fran Langley Ellsworth
     Corporate Secretary - Ern Reynolds
     Treasurer - Phyllis Reynolds Goelz
     Director-at-Large - Cynthia Nason
     Director-at-Large - Connie Reynolds Davis
     Director-at-Large - Joyce Thompson
     Corresponding Secretary - Peggy Reynolds Oliver

Many, many sincere thanks are due to Joe Reynolds for rekindling RFA several years ago, bringing it into the internet age and shepherding and expanding it for all these years!! Thank you, Joe, for your dedication!!!

As new President, my key priorities in the coming months will be:
     1) expanding the RFA lineage list by bringing members out of stonewall group and listing their most distant known Reynolds ancestors as new RFA line ancestors
     2) working with the Reynolds Surname YDNA Project to reveal the YDNA “signature” of each RFA lineage,
     3) expanding use of emerging genealogical tools (traditional and DNA-related) for Reynolds researchers, and
     4) aiding our new officers in taking up their roles and identifying and streamlining our routine business processes.

Further, I look forward to working with each of you and to hearing your thoughts on the matters RFA should pursue.

As an intro for myself: I’ve been a RFA member for about 5 years and an Administrator of the Reynolds Surname YDNA Project for the past 2 years. My line is RFA #46, which traces back to southern Kentucky and, almost certainly, Virginia prior to that. I was born in Texas, where my Reynoldses have lived since the 1870s. I now live in Fairfax County, Virginia, with my wife Iryna and two girls Sophia (9) and Maya (6).