Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus and Kevin Carter Held their Annual Celebrity Waiters Dinner and Official After-Party “Jammin’ with Jay DeMarcus & Friends” on Tuesday night.
Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts and co-host, NFL veteran and Super Bowl Champion, Kevin Carter held their 17th Annual Waiting for Wishes Celebrity Waiters Dinner at The Palm Restaurant on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. The sold-out event raised an estimated $150,000 for The Kevin Carter Foundation andMake-A-Wish® Middle Tennessee. The event has become Nashville’s premier celebrity event, making national news, raising more than $2.2 million for charity since its inception in 2002.
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Kevin Carter, Make-A-Wish Ambassador Kayden, Jay DeMarcus
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The sold-out celebrity event was an exclusive, VIP evening where Carter and DeMarcus invited an eclectic mix of celebrities from all over the country to take over The Palm as servers before they headed over toWhiskey Row for the Official After-Party – Jammin’ with Jay DeMarcus & Friends. The event, presented by The Campbell Family Foundation and HCA, continues to be one of the most unique celebrity events in the country and is considered a “must attend” event for patrons and participants alike. Nearly fifty celebrities joined in to wait tables, sign autographs and perform at the after-party.
This year’s cast of unexpected celebrities included Fox News Channel’s Dana Perino and Jesse Watters, the Chrisley Family from USA Network Chrisley Knows Best as well as sports icons like U.S. Olympians Matt Hamilton (Curlers), Kendall Coyne and Lee Stecklein (Women’s Hockey) and Lloyd Eisler (Ice Skating), NFL stars Jared Allen, Cris Collinsworth and Marcus Mariota, UFC/MMA Champions Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz as well as music stars like Hunter Hayes just to name a few.
In 2012 “Waiting for Wishes” expanded to include an Official After-Party – “Jammin’ with Jay DeMarcus & Friends.” The informal jam session is an opportunity to create incredible “Only in Nashville” type moments on stage with SiriusXM’s Storme Warren serving as emcee. This year was no different as a unique group of musicians jumped on stage with Jay DeMarcus to include band member Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts), Tommy Thayer (KISS), Jason Scheff (Chicago), Jason Fitz (formerly with The Band Perry) and country artists Halfway to Hazard and Jillian Cardarelli.
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| Jason Fitz, Yankton, Jason Scheff and Jay DeMarcus |
“I am again so grateful to be able to continue to host this event in Nashville,” said Kevin Carter. “I’m thankful to my co-host Jay DeMarcus and the unbelievable celebrities that show up to wait tables for our patrons each year. I am humbled when I think about how many wishes we’ve been able to grant for children with life-threatening illnesses through our fundraising efforts and this event for the past sixteen years and now adding more funds to continue to provide hope.”
The event is sponsored by The Campbell Family Foundation, HCA, The Band Foundation, Aon, PAR, Tennessee Titans, The Hilton Downtown Nashville, Empire Distributors, DET Distributing, Donatos Pizza, Trattoria IL Mulino, Nashville Lifestyles, RJ Young, The Palm, Matchless Transportation, Whiskey Row, Ego Design, Lipman, Jewelbox and Tito’s Vodka.
More About The Kevin Carter Foundation
Kevin and Shima Carter founded The Kevin Carter Foundation to enrich the lives of children focusing on youth and character development. Carter often quotes his father’s saying, “To whom much is given, much is expected,” and admits he tries to live by that today. For more information, visit www.Kevin-Carter.com or go to the foundation’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/waitingforwishes.
Kevin and Shima Carter founded The Kevin Carter Foundation to enrich the lives of children focusing on youth and character development. Carter often quotes his father’s saying, “To whom much is given, much is expected,” and admits he tries to live by that today. For more information, visit www.Kevin-Carter.com or go to the foundation’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/waitingforwishes.
The Kevin Carter Foundation will make a donation to Make-A-Wish® Middle Tennessee, the primary beneficiary of “Waiting for Wishes” with the proceeds of the event. Make-A-Wish® Middle Tennesseegrants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. www.middletennessee.wish.org
Celebrity Lineup from Tuesday’s event:
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Jared
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Allen
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Former NFL Player
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Bonnie
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Bernstein
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Sports Broadcasting | Analyst
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Jenn
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Brown
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Sports Broadcasting | TV Host
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Jillian
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Cardarellli
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Country Artist
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Wes
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Chatham
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Actor
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Todd
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Chrisley
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Reality TV Star – Chrisley Knows Best
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Savannah
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Chrisley
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Reality TV Star – Chrisley Knows Best
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Chase
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Chrisley
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Reality TV Star – Chrisley Knows Best
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Julie
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Chrisley
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Reality TV – Chrisley Knows Best
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Mark
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Clayman
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Actor, Writer & Producer
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Cris
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Collinsworth
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Former NFL Player | Sports Broadcaster
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Randy
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Couture
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Former MMA | UFC Champion
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Kendall
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Coyne
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Gold Medal Olympian Hockey Player
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Michael
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Cudlitz
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Actor
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Chris
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Doering
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Sports Broadcasting | Analyst
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Lloyd
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Eisler
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Former Olympian Ice Skater
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Jason
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Fitz
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ESPN Radio Personality
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Mike
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Hagerty
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Actor
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Halfway to Hazard
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Country Duo
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Shad
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Hamilton
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Former Navy SEAL | Actor
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Matt
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Hamilton
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Olympic Gold Medalist – Curlers
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Hunter
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Hayes
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Country Artist
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Patrick
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Kerney
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Former NFL Player | Sports Broadcaster
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Jake
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Long
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Former NFL Player
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Tom
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Luginbill
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Sports Broadcaster | Analyst
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Marcus
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Mariota
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Titans Quarterback
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Max
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Martini
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Actor
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Hugh
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Middleton
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Former Navy SEAL | Actor
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Laura
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Okmin
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NFL Sideline Sports Broadcaster
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Tito
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Ortiz
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Former MMA | UFC Champion
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Dana
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Perino
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Fox News Channel Host
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Mindy
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Robinson
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Reality TV star | Actress
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Joe Don
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Rooney
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Country Artist – Rascal Flatts
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Michael
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Roos
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Former Tennessee Titans player
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Elika
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Sadeghi
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Sports Broadcaster | Host
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Lisa
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Salters
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Sports Broadcaster | Reporter
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Jason
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Scheff
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Former Lead singer of Chicago
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Jaymee
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Sire
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Food Network Host | Sports Broadcaster
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Lee
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Stecklein
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Gold Medal Olympian Hockey Player
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Hannah
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Storm
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Sports Broadcaster | Host
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Maria
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Taylor
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Sports Broadcaster
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Tommy
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Thayer
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Lead guitarist for KISS
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Storme
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Warren
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Media Personality | Host – SiriusXM’s The Highway
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Jesse
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Watters
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Fox News Channel Host
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