Academy of Country Music Announces Vince Gill as Host of Annual Celebrity Golf Classic

BURBANK, CA.(Academy of Country Music) - As part of the festivities surrounding the 41st ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, the Academy announced today that Vince Gill will host the Academy of Country Music Celebrity Golf Classic for a second year in a row. The golf classic will take place on Monday, May 22nd, 2006, the day before the ceremony itself.

The Annual Academy of Country Music Celebrity Golf Classic will be a fund-raising effort on behalf of the Academy of Country Music Charitable Foundation, an in-house organization that will raise money and distribute money to worthy philanthropies nationwide. This year the Academy has teamed up with the T.J. Martell Foundation, a 501c3 organization that supports innovative research for leukemia, cancer and AIDS.

The golf tournament will exclusively cater to a sold out group of 100 golfers at Cascata, rated one of "The Top 100 Golf Courses" in Golf Magazine in 2005 and was named the "Best Overall Golf Experience" by VegasGolfer in December 2004. Participating sponsors include PING, Aldila, Turner Luxury Properties, Windswept Music, Complete Logistics, Anderson Merchandisers, Sound Image, Fitzgerald Hartley Co., Coors Light, Dr. Pepper, House of Blues Concerts, McGhee Entertainment, William Morris Agency, AdVerb Design and American Airlines and will feature some of country music's biggest stars hitting the links.

The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 with a mission to support, promote, and enhance the advancement of the country music industry worldwide. The Academy, which is comprised of more than 4,000 professional members and a newly established Associate Membership, is headquartered in Burbank, Calif. For more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS and the Academy of Country Music, please visit https://www.acmcountry.com.

The ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS will be broadcast LIVE from MGM GRAND in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on CBS Television Network.