Rascal Flatts, who was slated to headline the Gala, was forced to cancel their concert when lead singer Gary LeVox became ill. “We had 24 hours to find another national act,” said President & CEO, Susan McConnell.
“In my 17 years with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, I have seen countless celebrities come through for us at the last-minute to grant wishes. Now we were making a BIG Wish that we could find a suitable replacement in time for the Gala.”
Phil Vassar, who was performing at a benefit concert in Nashville on Friday evening, agreed to bring his crew up to Columbus after the show. “We got the confirmation from Phil’s manager at 10 p.m. Friday and a huge wave of relief washed over us. I'd like to thank John Crenshaw from 92.3 WCOL for personally contacting Phil on our behalf.”
“Make-A-Wish is a great charity. We’ve worked with them before and we were happy to help,” said Vassar.
Nuttin’ But Stringz, an up-and-coming musical entertainment act whose rise to stardom began on the hit show America’s Got Talent, agreed to make the trip to Columbus at 8 p.m. Friday night.
“When Phil Vassar confirmed, we decided to keep Nuttin’ But Stringz in the program. We wanted to give our guests a very special surprise and ensure that we had quality entertainment lined up in the event that Phil Vassar was unable to make it to our event,” remarked McConnell.
And it was the guests who were on the receiving end of McConnell’s BIG Wish. Nuttin’ But Stringz gave an energetic performance during the silent auction portion of the program. Vassar played to a delighted crowd who danced to his hits including Love Is A Beautiful Thing and Just Another Day In Paradise during the final hour of the program.
Country music superstars Rascal Flatts will be on hand to provide a private concert at the BIG Wish Gala on May 9, 2009 on the 50-yard line of the “Horseshoe” stadium at The Ohio State University. The Grammy-nominee recording artists, who have granted 16 wishes, will be recognized during the evening by the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of America with the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award. This national award recognizes celebrities that rise to the occasion through their support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and have done so in an amazing way.
Since their career launched in 2000, Rascal Flatts has sold over 18 million albums and scored 10 #1 singles. Their new album, Unstoppable, will be in record stores April 7.
Four-year-old Cassidy loves to sing along to her favorite band, Rascal Flatts, with her mom. But singing along with this hot country-rock band in front of thousands of fans was even better.
Cassidy’s dream-come-true kicked off with an exclusive candle-lit dinner with her family and her favorite band member, Jay DeMarcus. At dinner, Cassidy and Jay exchanged smiles and jokes. Jay answered all of her questions, and, much to his delight, Cassidy even sang the first verse to the Rascal Flatts’ song, “Bless the Broken Road” to him.
After dinner, Cassidy received a tote-bag full of T-shirts, calendars, and other little treasures compliments of the band. And then her family was escorted backstage to meet all the other members of the band before the sold-out concert at the Tacoma Dome. An eager crowd of Rascal Flatts fans waited and cheered as Cassidy stole the spotlight and the band members brought out photos and signed autographs for this special wish kid.
Cassidy’s VIP status continued even after the boys took to the stage, as she enjoyed the concert from her front row seat. When they began playing “My Wish,” Cassidy was invited on stage where she strutted her stuff, waved and gave high-fives to the fans like a true superstar.
All that practice singing in her bedroom paid off when Gary handed Cassidy his microphone and she sang to a roaring crowd. “It was just a magical moment,” Cassidy’s mother, Shannon, said. Later, Jay surprised the ecstatic Cassidy when he handed her two of his guitar picks from the stage.
The fairy-tale night ended when the limo pulled up to take Cassidy and her family home and Jim, the drummer, gave her a final hug goodbye.
“There are really no words to describe it except that it was above and beyond our wildest dreams."
BIG Wish WRAP-UP
Enjoy photography courtesy of Adam Queen
Rich Sharick
George C. Anderson
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