Huge Success for Nashville’s Premier Charity Event Annual Waiting for Wishes

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.
Kevin Carter, Make-A-Wish Ambassador Kayden, Jay DeMarcus
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.

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.
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:
Jared
Allen
Former NFL Player
Bonnie
Bernstein
Sports Broadcasting | Analyst
Jenn
Brown
Sports Broadcasting | TV Host
Jillian
Cardarellli
Country Artist
Wes
Chatham
Actor
Todd
Chrisley
Reality TV Star – Chrisley Knows Best
Savannah
Chrisley
Reality TV Star – Chrisley Knows Best
Chase
Chrisley
Reality TV Star – Chrisley Knows Best
Julie
Chrisley
Reality TV – Chrisley Knows Best
Mark
Clayman
Actor, Writer & Producer
Cris
Collinsworth
Former NFL Player | Sports Broadcaster
Randy
Couture
Former MMA | UFC Champion
Kendall
Coyne
Gold Medal Olympian Hockey Player
Michael
Cudlitz
Actor
Chris
Doering
Sports Broadcasting | Analyst
Lloyd
Eisler
Former Olympian Ice Skater
Jason
Fitz
ESPN Radio Personality
Mike
Hagerty
Actor
Halfway to Hazard
Country Duo
Shad
Hamilton
Former Navy SEAL | Actor
Matt
Hamilton
Olympic Gold Medalist – Curlers
Hunter
Hayes
Country Artist
Patrick
Kerney
Former NFL Player | Sports Broadcaster
Jake
Long
Former NFL Player
Tom
Luginbill
Sports Broadcaster | Analyst
Marcus
Mariota
Titans Quarterback
Max
Martini
Actor
Hugh
Middleton
Former Navy SEAL | Actor
Laura
Okmin
NFL Sideline Sports Broadcaster
Tito
Ortiz
Former MMA | UFC Champion
Dana
Perino
Fox News Channel Host
Mindy
Robinson
Reality TV star | Actress
Joe Don
Rooney
Country Artist – Rascal Flatts
Michael
Roos
Former Tennessee Titans player
Elika
Sadeghi
Sports Broadcaster | Host
Lisa
Salters
Sports Broadcaster | Reporter
Jason
Scheff
Former Lead singer of Chicago
Jaymee
Sire
Food Network Host | Sports Broadcaster
Lee
Stecklein
Gold Medal Olympian Hockey Player
Hannah
Storm
Sports Broadcaster | Host
Maria
Taylor
Sports Broadcaster
Tommy
Thayer
Lead guitarist for KISS
Storme
Warren
Media Personality | Host – SiriusXM’s The Highway
Jesse
Watters
Fox News Channel Host

 

About Shauna "WhiskeyChick" Castorena

Shauna "WhiskeyChick" Castorena is a freelance writer for both Country Music News and Country Music On Tour. Want to collab on some content? Email me. Want my rates for commercial promo work? Get them right here.