The forty-first annual West Texas Rehabilitation Center’s Telethon will air live from the Abilene Civic Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. and runs through midnight. The fundraiser will feature the popular country music group Diamond Rio.
Each year the WTX Rehab telethon attempts to raise over $1 million to serve its more than 28,000 patients.
Hosting the telethon for the eleventh year is Charlie Chase, co-host of the “Crook and Chase” talk show from the Nashville Network. This year, it will be shown live on Television stations in Abilene, San Angelo, Corpus Christi, Laredo, Midland/Odessa, Lubbock, Amarillo, Waco, Wichita Falls and Lawton, Oklahoma. Additionally, the show will be streamed live, and can be viewed at the WTX Rehabs website www.westtexasrehab.org.
Dan Huggins the Director of Doner relations is hopeful the show will generate interest.
“We have great entertainment lined up, and we hope it’s going to appeal to a lot of people,” Huggins said. “Last year, we raised over $1.2 million, and we’re hoping that this year will be even better.”
This year’s featured entertainment, Diamond Rio formed in 1984 and released its first single, “Meet in the Middle,” in 1991, which topped the country charts at No. 1. The band also has received the Country Music Association’s Vocal Group of the year award four times and have also been honored at the Academy of Country Music twice. Diamond Rio currently has produced 32 singles and four other No. 1 hits and have sold over ten million albums.
In addition to the telethon, WTX Rehab plans to raise funds with an internet auction of merchandise and services donated by various “friends” and businesses in the Big Country. Items available for bid will be on display an hour before the telethon starts at the Abilene Civic Center.
“We have over 400 items in this year’s auction with a retail value of over $400,000,” Huggins said.
Starting on Wednesday, before the start of the actual telethon, 125 volunteers began calling previous donors in hope that they would pledge again. Volunteers are a huge help each year to the telethon, said Michelle Mickey, phonathon coordinator.
“Volunteers are needed to call previous donors to get a pre-gift before the telethon starts,” Mickey said. “You’ll get here at 5:30, where we’ll feed everyone Subway, then train from 6-6:30, when we’ll begin calling. And we’re out of there by 9.”
Calling past donors before the telethon opens phone lines for new people to gift the rehab center, Huggins said.
To help out, volunteers are encouraged to call 677-1342 and extension number 110 to contact Mickey, but she also said people are welcome to just show up as well.
Suddenlink Communications and gridSmart/AEP Texas are sponsoring this year’s telethon.
