Local Author & Historian Rody Johnson Presents "Forever Vero" at Vero Beach Book Center on December 4

Rody Johnson has been hard at work telling Vero Beach's story for as long as he can remember, and he's never been more passionate about it. The acclaimed local author has spent decades chronicling the fascinating threads of our community's past, and his latest work, Forever Vero: A History 1880-2020, is his most ambitious yet.

He will be hosting a special book signing and author presentation at Vero Beach Book Center on Thursday, December 4 at 5:00 PM, where he’ll present Forever Vero and discuss the sweeping history of our city from its early settlement days through its evolution into the modern community we know today.

Johnson's journey as Vero's storyteller began with his father's World War II tales in Different Battles, where he traced Kit Johnson's dramatic U-boat encounter off our coast in 1942. Since then, he's explored Ice Age discoveries at the Old Vero Site, the 60-year story of Dodgertown, and examined everything from his own West Virginia heritage to alternative energy controversies. Through seven books, Johnson has proven himself a masterful researcher with an eye for compelling narratives.

But Forever Vero represents something more personal -- part historical chronicle and part love letter to his hometown. Johnson arrived in Vero Beach in 1936, at the age of two, with his parents, Kit and Sis Johnson. Following a career in aerospace, he returned in the 1960s and witnessed the transformation of the community he knew as a child. This unique perspective allows him to weave personal memories with meticulous historical research, creating an honest account of Vero's triumphs, challenges and everything in between.