Two Green Bay Players and One Sportscaster Celebrated at Boswell Events in October and November.

Wow, that sounds like an advertisement, doesn't it? Maybe that's because I just finished writing and laying out our Sunday Journal Sentinel ad for the sports section. This has all come together very quickly. I said we had no more room for any authors this fall, but how can you say no to LeRoy Butler and Donald Driver?

Amazing event #1, Wednesday, October 9, 7 pm, at Boswell (ticketed):
A talk and signing by LeRoy Butler and Journal Sentinel contributor Rob Reischel, authors of Packers Pride: Green Bay Greats Share Their Favorite Memories.

Andrea of Triumph Books clued me into an upcoming book with LeRoy Butler after the great time we had with All Star Break Baseball Night. We jumped at the chance to add Butler to our schedule, and shockingly enough, this date was free. Butler and Reischel will talk and take questions and then sign books. Mr. Butler will not sign memorabilia, but he will personalize. Tickets for this event are available at Brown Paper Tickets and are $25.95 plus tax. The ticket includes a copy of Packers Pride and for this event, admission for up to two people.

In addition to Packers Pride, Reischel has also penned 100 Things Packers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. That makes this event a bookend to Tom Haudricourt's appearance for 100 Things Brewers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die.

Amazing event #2, Thursday, October 24, 2 pm, at Boswell (ticketed):
A signing with Donald Driver, author of Driven: From Homeless to Hero, My Journeys On and Off Lambeau Field.

Donald Driver previewed his new memoir at a recent Sharp Literacy fundraiser luncheon. Sharp is a great organization that energizes urban school children to become confident, capable readers, writers and researchers, using the visual arts to engage young minds and reinforce learning. Every year they publish a curriculum-based reader. This year's release is A Great Lake Adventure: Salmon’s Journey Home, and we'll be celebrating it's spawning on Monday, November 4, 7 pm. That's just an aside, but it's hard for me to not talk about events.

So Driver spoke about his memoir and signed copies of his kids' books, which benefiit the Donald Driver Foundation, and we took presales for the new book, which releases October 22. From this, we were lucky enough to be one of the two Milwaukee-area stores who will be hosting a signing with Driver.

Here's what you need to know. It's a ticketed signing with tickets available at Brown Paper Tickets. There will be no personalization for this event, and Mr. Driver will not sign memorabilia. Please leave this at home. I would suggest buying a ticket for each book you want signed, and if you want books mailed out, there's an option for that as well. We will be calling our customers who bought books pre-signed to see if they would like to convert this to be part of the ticketed signing.

A seventh round draft pick in 1999, Donald Driver was considerred to have little chance of making the team roster, much less of amassing over 10,000 yars in his career, or of becoming a beloved icon for one of football's  most storied franchises, and a title champion as well. He followed that up by becoming a much-loved champion on the dance floor, winning his season on the popular television show, "Dancing with the Stars."

When they say Donald Driver grew up on the mean streets of Houston, it is no exaggeration. He is a player, who, when he got to the big time, remembered all the folks that got him to where he is today--his family, his teammates, and especially his fans.

And now a tale from the other side of the game.
Wednesday, November 6, 7 pm, at the Shorewood Public Library Community Room, 3920 N. Murray Ave.: Jessie Garcia, author of My Life with the Green and Gold: Tales from 20 Years of Sportscasting. This one is free--no tickets necessary!

Jessie Garcia takes  fans behind the scenes in her new memoir, providing personal, and sometimes hilarious insights on her career reporting on the Green Bay.  As a woman, she's certainly had a unique perspective on sports reporting, juggling the demands of family life while still trying to maneuver into the locker room for the coveted post-game interviews.

Mike Holmgren says "As I read her book, I was reminded of her extraordinary ability to balance work and family. Her tales brought back memories and was a great read."

It's quite the celebration. We've got a lot of work to do. Now to get started on a football display. (Note: the original blog post was edited to remove certain trademarked phrases).