Jeb IV is a terrific guy, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to call him a friend. He's long been one of the strongest and most reliable supporters of battlefield preservation--he served on board of the ABT for a number of years--and always has lent his name to preservation efforts. He was a full colonel in the army before becoming a stockbroker, so he understands the military side of things too.
I have been speaking to crowds for more than 40 years, beginning in high school. It's something I am extremely comfortable with--I do it without even really thinking about it at this point, having done so hundreds of times of these years. Consequently, I rarely ever get nervous or flustered about it--it's just something that I do routinely. However, one year at the Middleburg Conference on the Art of Command in the Civil War, I did my talk based on Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg with Jeb IV sitting in the front row, directly in front of me, right in my line of vision. Talk about pressure and talk about nervous...my stomach did flip-flops. Fortunately, Jeb had read the book and I already knew that he agreed with our interpretation. But still....that was one of the longer hours of my life...
I will have to see if I can find it...somewhere I have a photo of me speaking on Buford's Knoll at Brandy Station at the 150th anniversary event with Jeb IV and his son John and one of his grandsons sitting in the front row.