Country Cares 2008

The 19th annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids seminar is off to a bright start. With more than 850 radio representatives in attendance and more than $315 million in pledges made since the program’s inception, the seminar’s success keeps growing, as evidenced by the enthusiasm of visiting radio personnel and country artists.

Randy Owen, lead singer of the GRAMMY®  Award-winning group ALABAMA and co-founder of the Country Cares program, could not be happier. “The last few years have been wonderful,” he said, “the realization of a dream.”

View a message from Randy Owen

As a kick-off to the event which ran January 18 – 20, Owen met up with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patients Amber, Hutch, Joshua and Leah to color, tell stories and laugh. It’s clear that for Owen, the commitment to St. Jude is personal. That so many in the country music industry have heeded the call to support St. Jude inspires him. “There are a lot of heroes out there in radio who continue to make this happen,” said Owen.

Hospital tours
On Friday, country artists, radio representatives and other industry professionals had the opportunity to visit St. Jude and meet patients. For many, it was not only an emotional visit, but also an educational one. Seminar guests were given guided tours of the hospital where they learned about the cutting-edge research conducted at St. Jude that has helped push the survival rate for childhood cancer from less than 20 percent to more than 70 percent overall.

“The research really is fascinating,” said singer Jewel, who was at St. Jude for the first time. During her tour, Jewel was able to visit some of the labs to see first-hand the life-saving work being done at the hospital. “I’m just amazed at what happens here.”

View a message from Jewel

Country artist Miranda Lambert was on her second visit to St. Jude. She spent some time coloring with patients, and proudly displayed the artwork they did together. “The spirit here in unbelievable,” she said. “I’m just so happy and surprised by all the people, especially in country music, who’ve taken St. Jude to heart.” Lambert also met a patient in isolation who asked if she would come visit him. Without hesitation, Lambert donned the sterilized mask, gown and gloves so she could enter the isolation room. “It was fun,” she said. “He put on a mask, too, when we had our picture taken together.”

Artist recognition and Lucky Duck Casino night
Friday night at the Peabody Hotel, a special recognition ceremony was held for the artists attending the seminar. St. Jude patients Roman, Taylor, Daniel and Ty were on hand to present appreciation plaques in front of a ballroom full of radio representatives, family members and professionals in the music industry.

The artists receiving the plaques were Katie Armiger, Lee Brice, Dean Brody, Stephen Cochran, Jypsi, Rockie Lynne, Jeremy McComb, Jason Meadows, Minnie Murphy, The Road Hammers, The Roys, Fisher Stevenson, Sara Evans, Laura Bryna, Julianne Hough, Bucky Covington, Blake Shelton, John Michael Montgomery, Jewel, David Nail, Phil Stacey, Lost Trailers, Miranda Lambert and James Otto.

“This is just amazing,” Lee Brice said upon receiving his recognition plaque. “I’m just excited to be here, doing what I can to help.”  James Otto, whose song “Where Angles Hang Around” was written to help raise awareness of St. Jude, agreed. “The artists who come here need to take what they’ve learned and pass it on. The type of care offered here is revolutionary.”

After the artist recognition, the ballroom was opened up for the Lucky Duck Casino night. Radio representatives were on hand to ‘gamble’ for faux money they could then use to purchase promotional items to give away during their stations’ radiothons. Among the items up for grab were country artist CDs, T-shirts, baseball caps, a St. Jude backpack signed by Kenny Chesney and cowboy hats signed by artists such as Toby Keith and John Michael Montgomery.

Participants could also purchase major prize tickets with their winnings for a chance to win big ticket items to give away during radiothons, including guitars signed by Sara Evans, members of ALABAMA and winners of the Country Music Awards.

Of the day’s festivities, one person summed it up best. “It’s pretty exciting and amazing,” said Heather, mother of St. Jude patient Roman. “All these people took the time out of their busy schedules to come here and help the kids.” At that, she smiled at Roman, who was happily eating a cupcake as the country artists mingled with the crowd of anxious bidders. Roman seemed unaware that he – and the other patients in attendance – were the real stars of the evening.

Meet the Patients
On Saturday, the radio representatives and music industry professionals wrapped up the seminar with moving patient family stories and informative sessions on hosting radiothons.

During a special breakfast Saturday, Patricia and Patrick Morris spoke movingly about their time at St. Jude with their daughter Teresa “Tera” Morris, who passed away in December 2005.

Then, during morning sessions designed to help attendees run successful radiothons, topics such as programming and sales were addressed. At the buffet lunch that followed the sessions, St. Jude doctors and researchers talked about the work that happens at St. Jude every day, thanks in part to the funds raised through radiothons.

After lunch, attendees gathered to hear a special guest’s motivational message. Peter C. Doherty, PhD, is a member of the St. Jude faculty and the winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work with killer T-cells. He holds the Michael F. Tamer Chair of Biomedical Research and is the co-leader of the Infection & Host Defense Program at St. Jude.

Doherty regaled the standing-room-only crowd with a lecture about chickens and the influenza virus. He good naturedly compared scientists and country music artists to each other, noting that “neither needs to be conventionally good-looking,” which brought laughter from the crowd. In his remarks, Doherty explained how the money raised through the Country Cares for St. Jude Kids program helps support the life-saving work at the hospital. Doherty ended his lecture with stories about winning the Nobel prize and attending the awards ceremony in Oslo, Norway.

During the Meet the Patients panel following Doherty’s lecture, attendees heard from several patient families, including Caleb and his mother. Caleb’s mother, Della, moved the audience to tears as she told the family story. The family was vacationing in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, when Caleb became ill. The local Florida hospital told the family they'd need to pay $300,000 before they would begin treatment. Instead, Della turned to St. Jude and was stunned to learn that St. Jude pays for everything.

Also on hand sharing their stories were patients Daniel, Natalie and Ty. Ty’s little sister, Samantha, is his bone marrow donor. When she was introduced to the crowd, she received a standing ovation.

View a clip from the Meet the Patients panel

The weekend’s events came to a close during the Songwriters’ Dinner on Saturday night, when songwriters Dave Berg, Victoria Shaw, Mark Slaughter, Don Poythress, Arlos Smith and Chris Tomkins performed for the group.

The highlight of the dinner, however, was Randy Owen’s performance of his new song, “Braid My Hair,” which he debuted that evening. The song is about a young girl who has lost her hair due to illness.

“It’s probably the most uplifting, saddest song ever,” Owen said. He recorded the song as a way for people to remember the hospital. “It’s a special song to me,” he said. “I don’t want people to ever forget about St. Jude.”

Purchase a digital download of Randy Owen's new single

Recording this song and donating all publishing proceeds from the song to St. Jude, Owen said, is a way to ensure people will keep remembering – and helping – the kids of St. Jude.

January 2008

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