Virtual Program

The Life of Ulysses S. Grant: Life and Myth

 ***The decisions we make in our youth shape who we become in life***

It’s not so important how you fall, but what matters is how you get back up.  It’s also not so important to watch those around you, but more to run your own race, and let them watch you. Those thoughts are at the heart of why our presenter has admired Ulysses S. Grant since his elementary school days.  When you sit down with Grant, you will be encouraged to openly discuss the life lessons that formed the most successful general in our history, and a man who was admired in his own time even more than Abraham Lincoln.

In this encounter, Ulysses S. Grant will tell you how his reactions and decisions as a boy and young officer shaped the man he became, and how those same incidents that led to those decisions were all part of a greater destiny than any of us could decide for ourselves to lead a “safe and good” life.  Grant was a reluctant leader in many situations, but time and again proved up to the task. This discussion will focus on much of that experience.  Popular myth in our age has distorted the truth about Grant in many instances, and this program is meant to give the guests a better understanding of who Grant really was, by bringing him to life, so they can interact with him as friends to learn more about who he really is.

About the presenter:  Since 1984, Gunnery Sgt. Kenneth J. Serfass was a US Marine retiring in July of 2004 to become a music teacher.  He WAS a civil war reenactor, but now is a first-person impressionist with 47 years studying his childhood hero, Ulysses S. Grant.  His repertoire includes focused programs on Grant’s battle campaigns, his relationships with Lincoln, Sherman, and Lee, and most important, the Grant family, and also the two terms as the 18th U.S. President. This has led to the most recent booking to play President Grant for a documentary featured on the Fox News Channel and Fox Nation, debuting October 10, 2021. 

Entertaining and educational, Ken’s work enjoys many referrals across many venues so attendees can talk TO history and share in our rich national heritage for those seeking leadership training and inspiration. It is with a profound honor that he tells the story of one of America’s greatest military leaders and he takes it very seriously to reaffirm Grant’s place of honor among the most respected people of our nation’s history. His passion for the subject is evident in his presentation, and it is hard not to be affected by his enthusiasm for his subject and believe that you’ve met Ulysses S. Grant in living history.

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This presentation will be held online via Zoom.  Register and receive program link by entering your information below.  Any questions? Contact DeAnne O'Brien at dobrien@ivpl.org.