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Just announced:
9/14/09
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Craig Morgan & Chris Young Announced for latest Stars for Stripes Tour Overseas
Plus Special Guests GAC Host Nan Kelley and Wounded Warriors Joe Bowser and Scott Lilley
(Nashville, Tenn.) Oct. 15, 2009 – Craig Morgan, Chris Young, and GAC host Nan Kelley are joining forces with Stars for Stripes (SFS), Great American Country (GAC) and Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) to bring hardworking service members overseas a much-needed taste of home.
The Stars for Stripes tour will visit military bases and hospitals in Iraq and Germany this month for a series of acoustic concerts, courtesy of RCA recording artist Chris Young and BNA recording artist Craig Morgan. Young is currently celebrating his first No. 1 on the Billboard chart with “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song) while Morgan’s “Bonfire” is close behind at No. 12. GAC host Nan Kelley will serve as guest emcee at each tour stop.
“This will be my sixth trip to entertain and visit with the men and women of the Armed Forces,” says Morgan, who was the first artist to perform on a Stars For Stripes/AFE event in 2003. “I know first-hand what it’s like to be deployed overseas away from your loved ones, and it’s an honor to be able to take a little piece of home to them with this tour. It is encouraging to see the advances that have been made over the years in an effort to establish peace and democracy.”
Adds Young, “I have such respect for the men and women of our Armed Forces, and I am very excited to get the opportunity to go visit the troops in Iraq and Germany. Most people will never have the opportunity to see into their world. I'm looking forward to seeing it firsthand. I want to tell people back home how they're doing, and I hope I'm able to bring a little bit of 'home' to the troops."
The tour will also feature special appearances from two of the Armed Forces’ wounded heroes, SFC Joe Bowser (U.S. Army Retired) and SSGT Scott Lilley (USAF), both of whom were injured overseas in the line of duty. Bowser is an amputee who was wounded in Iraq in 2004, while Lilley has undergone a remarkable recovery from a traumatic brain injury sustained in Baghdad in 2007. Both men are committed to returning to the Middle East to show their support for the troops stationed there today.
“My thoughts on returning to Iraq are more than I ever thought they would be. First, I never thought I would go back to Iraq after I was wounded, but now that I have the chance, I am so excited to go back to where it all started,” says SSGT Lilley. “I’m a little nervous, but hey, I was nervous about going my first time. It’s time for some closure after being wounded there, and here it comes. I am so ready.”
Adds SFC Bowser, “I was wounded in Balad, Iraq and I would like to walk out this time. I never felt like I finished my mission and in some way I feel like this trip may change that feeling. They say after you get bucked off, you have to get back in the saddle. Well, this is my saddle.”
Nonprofit entertainment organization Stars for Stripes is sponsoring the tour with GAC and Armed Forces Entertainment. High Five Entertainment will film the trip for a one-hour GAC television special in December documenting the visit.
“What an honor to take a little bit of home to our troops and to travel with some of our wounded heroes,” says GAC’s Nan Kelley. “I’ve had the privilege of visiting our troops overseas several times, and I am so proud again to be able to say thank you to the brave men and women who are serving us so proudly.”
The artists and crew will depart for Iraq on Oct. 25 aboard a KC135 provided by the 434th Air Refueling Wing out of Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana.
For more information, visit www.StarsForStripes.com.
About Stars for Stripes:
Stars for Stripes (www.StarsForStripes.com) is a nonprofit organization that provides entertainment to internationally deployed American military forces and informs the general public on various aspects of U. S. military history and operations. Since 2003, Stars for Stripes has produced more than 35 tours to Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea and other foreign countries.
About AFE:
Armed Forces Entertainment (www.ArmedForcesEntertainment.com) and its performers have the honor of supporting soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors by bringing them the very best in American entertainment. Today, AFE hosts over 1,200 shows around the world each year, reaching over 500,000 personnel at 270 military installations. From muddy make-shift stages to show-stopping extravaganzas, the performances bring a piece of home to those stationed far away from home.
More news:
GAC's Nan Kelley Heads Up 'Country Faces Cancer' Initiative
Join The Cause & Win A Trip To Nashville
GAC (GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY) personality NAN KELLEY, a survivor of lymphoma, is leading an industry-wide initiative called "Country Faces Cancer" (CFC). CFC will help raise awareness and support to advance the mission of the LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY (LLS) through its LIGHT THE NIGHT WALK.
Several Country artists and organizations have joined the cause, including the GRAND OLE OPRY, CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENGY (CAA), BLAKE SHELTON, MIRANDA LAMBERT, LUKE BRYAN, LITTLE BIG TOWN, MARTINA McBRIDE, JAMEY JOHNSON, BILLY CURRINGTON and more.
Fans, cancer survivors and their families can register for a chance to win a trip to NASHVILLE by registering to participate in a LIGHT THE NIGHT WALK and join the COUNTRY FACES CANCER effort.
Individual fundraising webpages can be created online with the help of your local LLS chapter staff, and the top individual CFC fundraiser will win a VIP trip for four to NASHVILLE, provided by the GRAND OLE OPRY. For more info on how to participate, click here.
NASHVILLE's chapter of the LLS will hold their LIGHT THE NIGHT WALK on OCTOBER 1st at LP FIELD. Registrants can check in beginning at 6p (CT), and the 1.75 mile walk will begin at 7:30p (CT).
For more info, click here.