New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Charlie Daniels' co-founded non-profit, The
Journey Home Project, hosted their annual dinner at The Palm Restaurant in Nashville on
September 13th. The event, emceed by SiriusXM's Storme Warren, raised over $100,000 with proceeds going to returning veterans and furthering awareness of the issues they face when they return home from serving the United States of America.
The program included American heroes, Mark "Oz" Geist and John "Tig" Tiegen, Buck Taylor of "
Tombstone" and "Gunsmoke" fame, a performance by Ryan Weaver, Marisa Wayne of the John Wayne Foundation, and the man of the hour, celebrating his 80th Birthday,Charlie Daniels. The evening included a renowned live auction, silent auction items, the Palm's signature Surf & Turf dinner and live entertainment.
"The yearly
Journey Home Project at the Palm was, at least for me, the best yet. Raised a lot of money, had a lot of fun and made a lot of friends," said Charlie Daniels.
"Thanks to our remarkably supportive sponsors, friends and guests, we have set a fundraising record for our organization while having an entertaining and fun evening. The
Journey Home Project continues to be able to serve our veterans and returning servicemen and women thanks to the continued support through events like this, Volunteer Jam and more throughout the year," said Mercedez Longever, The
Journey Home Project Board Member.
2016 has been and continues to be one of the biggest years in Charlie Daniels career. The year began with an announcement that he would be in the Country
Music Hall of Fame's class of 2016 alongside
Randy Travis and Fred Foster, the Charlie Daniels' Band played on one of country music's biggest stages, Nissan Stadium at CMA Festival, in June and just last week, an exhibition was announced at the Country
Music Hall of Fame and Museum featuring artifacts from Daniels life and career. To top it all off, the southern rock legend will turn 80 years old on October 28 followed by a celebration of his birthday with friends Kid Rock, Chris Stapleton,Luke Bryan, Larry the Cable Guy,
Travis Tritt and more at Charlie Daniels' 80th Birthday Volunteer Jam on November 30. Rounding out the year, Daniels' will have played over 100 shows in just 365 days, an astounding accomplishment at any age.
About The
Journey Home Project
The
Journey Home Project is a not-for profit organization that assists other not-for-profits in securing funds to help causes that benefit veterans of the United States Armed Forces. The
Journey Home Project was founded in 2014 by country music legend Charlie Daniels and board members:
David Corlew and Joe & Mercedez Longever. Conscious of the need to assist our nation's veterans, they have set out to partner with organizations that do the most good, with the least overhead. Working in tandem with these organizations, The
Journey Home Project is making a difference in the lives of American patriots.
As a result of funds raised through Daniels' 40th Anniversary Volunteer Jam at the Bridgestone
Arena last year, The
Journey Home Project has been able to donate funds to help with the completion of the state-of-the-art Veterans and Military Families Center on campus at Middle Tennessee
State University (MTSU), among various other fundraising events for veterans. This year's Volunteer Jam on November 30 will bring Kid Rock, Chris Stapleton, Larry the Cable Guy and more to the Bridgestone
Arena stage to celebrate Charlie Daniels' 80th Birthday. Tickets to this event can be purchased here.
For more information, visit www.thejourneyhomeproject.org.
About Buck Taylor
Born the son of famous Hollywood actor, Dub Taylor, and with an artistic career spanning fifty years, both on canvas and on the screen, Buck has appeared in everything from the "Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" and "My Favorite Martian" to classic period westerns like "Have Gun Will Travel", " The Rebel" and "
Bonanza", but is best remembered for his eight-year run as Newly on "Gunsmoke" and his role in "
Tombstone" as Turkey Creek Jack Johnson. Buck is appearing in the upcoming, major motion picture "Hell or High Water" starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster and Chris Pine that hits theaters in August. His paintings can be found in such places as the Loomis Fargo Headquarters, the
Franklin Mint, and John Wayne Enterprises.
About John "Tig" Tiegen
Annex Security Team member, Tig, was in the midst of his third trip to Benghazi, Libya for the CIA's GRS when the attack of
September 11, 2012 occurred and was part of the CIA annex security team that responded to the terrorist attack on the US Special Mission. Tig directly saved the lives of many on his team, also was paramount in saving over 2 dozen lives while fighting off terrorists from the US Special Mission and the CIA Annex for over 13 hours. Tig received the Award For Heroism and Valor in recognition of his bravery. He is the co-author of 13 Hours along with members of the Annex Security team and NYT's best-selling author, Mitchell Zuckoff. He also consulted on the movie 13 Hours The Secret Solders of Benghazi, and helped with the set design and the movie script.
About Mark "Oz" Geist
Annex Security Team member, Oz, fought the
Battle of Benghazi, Libya, from
September 11 to
September 12, 2012. In 2004, he began doing contract security work in Iraq. Where he worked for Triple Canopy, providing Personal Security Details for Department of
State personnel in Baquba, Iraq, then for USIS, the United States Investigative Services, training Iraqi SWAT teams and Personal Security Details. He also served as a mentor/advisor to the Personal Security Detail of Dr. Ayad Allawi, the former Prime
Minister of Iraq. "Oz" finished his career as a security contractor in Benghazi, Libya, where he was credited with helping to save the lives of more than 25 Americans, he is still recovering from the injuries he sustained in the battle and is a co-author of the bestselling book "13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi" as well as consulting on the Michael Bay film.
