Toby Keith & Friends Event Raises Record $1.4 Million
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Toby Keith & Friends Event Raises Record $1.4 Million
Sammy Hagar Hosted Gala And Golf Tournament
photographer – Ahh Shoot! Photography
This year’s Toby Keith & Friends was hosted by his longtime friend, Sammy Hagar, who kicked off the gala with a $10,000 donation from the Hagar Family Foundation. Asking if anyone wanted to match, an attendee offered $25,000 and Keith’s wife, Tricia Covel added another $25,000. The donations took off from there. More than $100,000 was raised in the event’s first two minutes. “Now that’s the way to start a fundraiser!” Hagar says. “I had a blast … would be happy to do it again. Toby would’ve done that and more for me any day.”
The live auction, emceed by Shawn Parr and aided by longtime event supporter and Keith family friend, Jim West, raised more than $600,000. The highest-dollar items included a Kentucky Derby package that went for $60,000, a Tuscan Villa experience that sold three times at $40,000 each and a Toby Keith Limited Edition Military Guitar that sold twice for $35,000. Silent auction items receiving high bids included a George Strait autographed cowboy hat for $7,000 and a Lainey Wilson concert experience that went for $6,800. Music from Party On The Moon entertained the crowd throughout the evening.
Fifty-three golf teams participated in the next day’s (5/31) shotgun start tournament. Winners in A Flight were Mark Vanhoose, Bryan Vineyard, Kelsey Cline, Talor Gooch and Matt Walker. Second place went to Steve Fulkerson, Shawn Fulkerson, Conner Walker, Michael Leake and Jett Johnson. Winners of B Flight were Shawn Hunter, Chad Maschino, Alex Poston, Cole Stevens and Joey Bennett, followed by second place golfers Dave Guy, John Guy, Justin Guy, Tim Braaten and Mike Hearne.
photographer – Ahh Shoot! Photography
photographer – Ahh Shoot! Photography
photographer – Ahh Shoot! Photography
About the Toby Keith Foundation
In 2024, the Toby Keith Foundation celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the opening of OK Kids Korral – a cost-free home for families with children receiving medical care. Marking the milestone, the Foundation bestowed $10,000 in grants to 10 local children’s charities. Last year’s 20th Anniversary Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic brought in $3.1 million for a to-date total of $20 million raised. With a new endowment established, Keith’s family pledged continued commitment to the foundation’s good works. In his final interview, Toby Keith told a local reporter that OK Kids Korral “is my best gift I’ve ever given to the world.”
Bursting on to the country music scene with his solo-penned first single “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” Toby Keith began stacking hits through a succession of label permutations, all of which built to the Sept. 1, 2005 launch of his own label, Show Dog Nashville. Keith released 14 albums during that final phase of his career, cementing his place as one of the most prolific self-directed creative forces in country’s modern era. All in, Keith amassed 42 top 10 hits, 33 No. 1s, more than 44 million albums sold, 100 million BMI performances, and more than 10 billion streams largely on the strength of his own songwriting and producing. He was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame shortly before his passing in February 2024. Among his many accomplishments, the New York based all-genre Songwriters Hall of Fame (2015), the National Medal of Arts (2021), the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (2021) and BMI Icon (2022) were his most treasured.
About Sammy Hagar
For the last four decades, Sammy Hagar has been one of rock music’s most dynamic and prolific artists. From breaking into the industry with the seminal hard rock band Montrose, to his multiplatinum solo career, to his ride as the front man of Van Halen, Chickenfoot, The Circle and his latest supergroup The Best of All World’s band featuring Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Kenny Aronoff, Hagar has amassed 25 Platinum albums on sales surpassing 50 million worldwide. Along his journey, he has set the tone for some of the greatest rock anthems ever written with songs like “I Can’t Drive 55,” “Right Now,” and “Why Can’t This Be Love” and earned the highest respect of the music industry with a Grammy Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hagar is also a dedicated philanthropist, two-time New York Times best-selling author and auspicious entrepreneur.
About Shawn Parr
Shawn Parr has been entertaining the country music family for over 38 years! Southern California native Shawn Parr was born to entertain. Throughout the last 30 years he has dominated the airwaves and charmed the country music industry with his outgoing personality and wild antics – having so much fun that Team ATC gave his adventures their own hashtag – #SHAWNANIGANS! His playful interview style coupled with his work ethic and talent, has earned him endless coveted opportunities. Shawn’s voice has been the backdrop of the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Golden Globes, the American Music Awards, the Miss America pageant, and The Chase for GSN. Hosting special events, particularly for charities nationwide, is a passion of Shawn’s as well.
About Party On The Moon
Nationally recognized as America’s No. 1 corporate and private party band, Party on the Moon® has performed over 1,000 shows worldwide for the likes of Jesse Jackson and Ted Turner, oil sheiks, NFL quarterbacks, a number of U.S. Presidents, global company CEOs and top sales executives, discerning brides and national and local philanthropists.
