Country Music Star John Rich Named Grand Marshal for 57th Nashville Christmas Parade Hosted by Piedmont Natural Gas
November 05 2009 - 4:52PM
PR Newswire (US)
Parade to Benefit Piedmont's Share the Warmth Round Up Program John
Rich to Join Mayor Karl Dean for Tree Lighting Ceremony at Public
Square NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Renowned
Warner Brothers recording artist, John Rich, will serve as Parade
Grand Marshal for the 57th annual Nashville Christmas Parade,
hosted by Piedmont Natural Gas. The parade, which will benefit
Piedmont's Share the Warmth Round Up program, kicks-off the
Christmas season in downtown Nashville on Friday, December 4, 2009
at 7:00 p.m. CST. "Piedmont Natural Gas is proud to continue this
Nashville holiday tradition. This is the 57th straight year for the
Nashville Christmas parade and the people of Nashville and all of
Middle Tennessee have enjoyed and supported the parade with huge
turnouts every year," said Tim Greenhouse, Regional Executive,
Piedmont Natural Gas. "We are especially excited to have John Rich
join us as Grand Marshal in support of the Share the Warmth Round
Up program." "It's an honor for me as a Nashvillian and as an
artist to serve as Grand Marshal for Nashville's Christmas Parade.
I'm also very proud to help support the Share the Warmth Round Up
program. There is no more basic need than helping our neighbors
stay warm this winter and by donating just a few cents a month, we
can make that happen," said John Rich. "This parade will showcase
the best that Music City has to offer and spotlight a great cause.
I can't wait to kick it off! Can I get a YeeHaw!?" Thousands of
spectators and families from throughout the middle Tennessee region
will converge on the city for the Nashville Christmas Parade. John
Rich and Mayor Karl Dean will light the Nashville Christmas Tree at
the Public Square, near the intersection of Second Avenue and Union
Street. "The Nashville Christmas Parade is a great tradition for
downtown, and is one of my favorite events of the year," said Mayor
Karl Dean. "With the city's tree lighting ceremony on the same
night, the first Friday in December will mark the official start of
the holiday season in Nashville. I can think of no better way to
get into the spirit of the season than with music, lights, and
floats -- not to mention Santa Claus himself -- all centered on the
theme of giving to others. I hope everyone will come out and help
us celebrate the holidays in Music City." Following the tree
lighting, the Parade will start at the intersection of Broadway and
6th Avenue in front of the Sommet Center and continue through
Nashville's historic downtown, concluding at LP Field. Fireworks
sponsored by the Nashville Downtown Partnership will kick off the
parade. Community sponsors for this year's parade include the
Nashville Conventions & Visitor's Bureau and Wal-Mart. Other
sponsors include Averitt Express, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, and
Caldwell, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), the Copper Kettle,
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, Joslin Signs, Kickin' Coffee &
Tea, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, and Nashville Downtown
Partnership. Presenting Media partners are The Tennessean, Lamar
Outdoor Advertising, Comcast and Clear Channel Communications which
includes WSIX 98, 1510 WLAC, 107.5 The River, 105.9 The Rock and
101.1 The Beat. For more information on the parade, please visit:
http://www.nashvillechristmasparade.com/ or on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/nashvillechristmasparade. About John Rich
Most recently known as one-half of the Multi-platinum Warner Bros.
Records duo, Big & Rich, Rich has been honing his writing
skills for years. He has made a name for himself as an artist in
his own right, a producer, an award-winning songwriter, judge on
Nashville Star (NBC), and host of the smash hit series Gone Country
on CMT. As a part of Big & Rich and as a songwriter, he has
garnered multiple Grammy, ACM, CMA and CMT Music Award nominations.
He was also awarded the ASCAP Songwriter Of The Year Award in 2005,
2006 and 2007 and has written 13 Top 10 singles. This spring, Rich
made it official with the release of his first solo album, "Son of
a Preacher Man," which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Top Country
Albums Chart. The second single from the set, "Shuttin' Detroit
Down," peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
About Share the Warmth Round Up Share the Warmth Round Up offers a
simple way for Piedmont customers to round up their monthly natural
gas bill to the nearest dollar with the difference going to assist
neighbors in their community who need help paying their home energy
bills. Share the Warmth Round Up funds can be used to pay energy
bills throughout the year regardless of the energy source used in
the home -- including natural gas, propane, oil, electricity, coal,
kerosene and wood. To enroll, visit http://www.piedmontng.com/ and
click on the Share the Warmth Round Up icon on the left-hand side
of the page. About Piedmont Natural GasPiedmont Natural Gas is an
energy services company primarily engaged in the distribution of
natural gas to more than one million residential, commercial and
industrial energy customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and
Tennessee, including 61,000 customers served by municipalities who
are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint
venture, energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail
natural gas marketing, interstate natural gas storage and
intrastate natural gas transportation. Additional information about
Piedmont is available on the Internet at
http://www.piedmontng.com/. DATASOURCE: Piedmont Natural Gas
CONTACT: David Trusty, +1-704-731-4391, ; or Loree Elswick,
+1-704-731-4236, , both of Piedmont Natural Gas; or Tree Paine (for
John Rich), Warner Brothers Nashville, +1-615-214-1500, Web Site:
http://www.nashvillechristmasparade.com/
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