By Jonathan Berlin

Special to The Sentinel

It all started with an ad in Ebony Magazine for a family reunion sweepstakes.

But Yolawnda Rogers of Cincinnati, had her doubts.

"She didn't think people actually won these things," said Matthew Neitzey, executive director of the Conference and Visitors Bureau, the county organization that sponsors the program.

Now Rogers counts herself blessed. As the first grand prize winner of the sweepstakes, she and 40 members of her extended family came to Prince George's County last weekend to celebrate.

The highlight of the weekend, at least according to the kids, was the Saturday afternoon trip to Six Flags amusement park in Largo.

"I want to see if I can get a heart attack and come back to life," said Tony Myrick, 13, on Friday. His older brother Jermaine wanted "to ride the biggest ride there."

Adult family members enjoyed the genealogy session with Nathania Branch Miles, the co-author of a book that chronicles the history of Oxon Hill. Many left the workshop "with a determination to do some research" into their family roots, said James Muhammad, Rogers' brother-in-law.

The Rogers family is no stranger to celebration, if not quite on last weekend's scale. Get-togethers of the immediate family are common, said Rogers.

"We do 99 percent of holiday occasions together," added Diane Slaughter, Rogers' sister-in-law.

"We just like to let our hair down and have clean fun," said Slaughter's oldest daughter, Gloria Lynn.

County Executive Jack B. Johnson and his wife Leslie joined in that fun Friday night, showing up for a dinner-dance at the Marriott hotel in Greenbelt. After spending time with Rogers that afternoon for a reception, she called them "a truly wonderful family."

The bureau, a nonprofit organization that promotes the county as a tourist destination, selected Rogers randomly from a pool of about 5,000, said Neitzey.

"You couldn't have found a more enthusiastic, surprised, elated and thrilled candidate than Yolawnda," he added.

Rogers is engaged to Jamey Ballard, also of Ohio. The two have yet to set a wedding date, he said. They met at Humana, a health care company where Rogers has worked for almost 15 years.

The Ohio contingent was by far the largest at the family reunion, but Rogers said she intended to meet up with a cousin who has lived in Prince George's County for about 25 years.

The primary sponsors of the reunion weekend – the Greenbelt Marriott, Six Flags America and First Priority Trailways – contributed about $20,000 in total services, said Neitzey.

"They all felt like VIPs this weekend," he said.

Photo by Jonathan Berlin