He works in more than 30 countries in supporting foreign government customs and border guards with state-of-the-art detection equipment, training, and service as well as providing training to foreign government officials on export controls, arms brokering, dual use technology, and legal and regulatory reform. In this position, Ray has traveled extensively overseas and has visited more than 40 countries.
Ray has actively been involved with genealogy since 2003 and is a past president of SGGEE, serving from 2009 to 2011 and again in 2013. He has been the SGGEE Journal Editor since December 2009. Ray resides in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife Susan and their miniature dachshund, Harper.
Presentation: Ray is a first generation American whose parents immigrated to the United States in the 1950s. Ray’s father was born in Volhynia, and his story is the basis for this presentation. Ray’s mother was born in West Prussia, outside of Graudenz and because of her mother’s connections they were able to get on one of that last trains leaving the area in January 1945.
In 2003, Ray was on assignment to Uzbekistan on a USAID contract when he mentioned that “I have relatives in Russia, but I don’t know who they are or where they live.” He got their address from a relative, contacted them via letter and three months later was in Russia with his Dad. The story begins there. Stalin’s five-year plan changed the lives of the Germans in Volhynia and the Blochs were directly influenced.
