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Speaker 1: Canst play good. Well. Hi, this is Buds Night. I'm

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Speaker 1: the host of the Taking a Walk podcast series and

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Speaker 1: it's Giving Tuesday, a global effort to acknowledge the good

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Speaker 1: work of what goes on with many different charities everywhere

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Speaker 1: in this country and in the world. So we thought

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Speaker 1: for this episode of Taking a Walk, we would speak

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Speaker 1: with our friend r J. Curtis. He is the executive

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Speaker 1: director of the Country Radio Broadcasters Association. He has been

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Speaker 1: in this business doing good work in communities his entire

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Speaker 1: career and one of the things that in his work

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Speaker 1: he is very involved with is an amazing charity, very

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Speaker 1: important country radio, Saint Jude's Hospital. Nice to see you, RJ.

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Speaker 1: In Lovely Nashville. I'm glad you're here. Thank you, thank

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Speaker 1: you for being here. So many people hear about Saint

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Speaker 1: Jude's and they don't they don't comprehend how unbelievable when

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Speaker 1: you tell them this organization is talk about the work

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Speaker 1: of Saint Jude's. Well first and foremost, Saint jude Research

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Speaker 1: Hospital is a research hospital. They treat patients there, as

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Speaker 1: we know, and if you don't know, they do treat

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Speaker 1: patients there, and they treat children who have catastrophic cancer

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Speaker 1: diagnosis for free. No child, no family has ever paid

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Speaker 1: a dime to get the kind of treatment. But they

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Speaker 1: do amazing research there and I can't remember the exact

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Speaker 1: type of cancer. There are many of them, but they

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Speaker 1: have reduced the rate of survival from what was once

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Speaker 1: four percent to like ninety four percent. That's very typical

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Speaker 1: of a lot of the work that they do. You

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Speaker 1: have to go there and see it an absolutely magical place.

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Speaker 1: When you go to Saint Jude and you get a

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Speaker 1: chance to tour the hospital, talk to the doctors and

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Speaker 1: meet some of the patients, it is inspiring and you

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Speaker 1: think all things are possible. It's really a wonderful thing

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Speaker 1: that they're doing there. So when did the affiliation first

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Speaker 1: begin with country broadcasters in Saint Jude's You have to

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Speaker 1: go back to CRS nineteen eighty nine. Randy Owen from

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Speaker 1: the group Alabama was speaking, and this, of course is

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Speaker 1: in the height of Alabama's popularity and dominance at country music,

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Speaker 1: and it was opening ceremonies in nineteen eighty nine. I

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Speaker 1: was in the room, so I remember this vividly, and

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Speaker 1: Randy kind of threw down the gauntlet and he said, hey,

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Speaker 1: Country radio. You need to get involved and help the

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Speaker 1: kids at Saint Jude. You have the most loyal audiences,

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Speaker 1: the most empathetic listeners, and you use that power that

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Speaker 1: you have to get behind fundraising for Saint Jude. There's

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Speaker 1: no telling what you can do. So that's nineteen eighty

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Speaker 1: nine and now in twenty twenty two, the amount of

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Speaker 1: money that Country radio has raised for Saint Jude Children's

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Speaker 1: Research Hospital is nearing a billion dollars. I'm with Martha Earls,

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Speaker 1: who is the manager at Caine Brown. Martha, thanks for

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Speaker 1: being on What causes or charities would you like to

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Speaker 1: promote on this Giving Tuesday. Firstly, I think it's wonderful

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Speaker 1: that we're talking about Giving Tuesday. I would say there's

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Speaker 1: two that really are close to me and that we

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Speaker 1: donate a lot of time and effort and money too,

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Speaker 1: and just really honestly heart too. Is on a local

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Speaker 1: level here in Nashville. I'm very committed to a charity

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Speaker 1: called the Oasis Center, and the Oasis Center provides housing

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Speaker 1: for transitional youth when they come out of foster care

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Speaker 1: at seventeen or eighteen and have to get thrust into

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Speaker 1: the real world. You know, the Oasis Center is there

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Speaker 1: for them and serving youth and helping Nashville on a

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Speaker 1: local community level and then on a national scale. We've

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Speaker 1: really done a lot of work with the Boys and

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Speaker 1: Girls Club over the last few years, and it's been

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Speaker 1: so fulfilling to see youth come to our artists concerts

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Speaker 1: and be able to help rebuild buildings and just underserved youth.

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Speaker 1: I think is a critical population to help, and Boys

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Speaker 1: and Girls Club does that. How is it that the

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Speaker 1: Nashville community for so many years has been so giving.

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Speaker 1: I think the Nashville community is so giving because even

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Speaker 1: though Nashville is a big city, it still has a

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Speaker 1: small town kind of energy and mentality and a deep

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Speaker 1: pride and sensive community. And I think when you have

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Speaker 1: that connection to one another, when you have that, then

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Speaker 1: you want you want to help out. Russell Dickerson, Russell,

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Speaker 1: thanks for being here absolutely, man, thanks for having me. So,

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Speaker 1: what is a charity you want to highlight for giving

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Speaker 1: Tuesday that's important for you? Man? I'm actually playing a

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Speaker 1: benefit tonight for this organization called Cultivate and it's a

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Speaker 1: My buddy runs this farm and it's actually with the

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Speaker 1: State of Tennessee. He runs this entire farm that is

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Speaker 1: run by former addicts and felons, so it gives them

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Speaker 1: a new chance at life, gives them an income, gives

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Speaker 1: them a chance to help get back on their feet,

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Speaker 1: while also the food they grow is sent out to

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Speaker 1: the greater Nashville area for people in need. Well what

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Speaker 1: a special special cause. How long have you been helping

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Speaker 1: them out? Probably two or three years now, Yeah, and

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Speaker 1: during these last few years of pandemic living And how

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Speaker 1: have they worked their their magic during this difficult time? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean, like I said, they're involved with the state,

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Speaker 1: so they were able to keep everything afloat, but I

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Speaker 1: mean a large, a large part of it is all

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Speaker 1: outdoors anyway and spread apart, so there was there's not

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Speaker 1: a worry there. But yeah, they were there. I mean

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Speaker 1: year after year, keep growing and growing literally But but yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's just it's such an awesome thing. And he's this

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Speaker 1: is his passion, This is you know what he I

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Speaker 1: feel like, is on this earth to do as as

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Speaker 1: a farmer and as a mentor and a leader in

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Speaker 1: this community. Well, it's a great one to highlight on

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Speaker 1: Giving Tuesday, and we hope all the charities get support

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Speaker 1: in particular cultivating, cultivate. Yeah, all right, thank you Russell. Absolutely,

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Speaker 1: I'm here in Nashville with Carrie Edwards, manager of Luke Bryant.

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Speaker 1: And Carrie, what's important to you? I'm giving Tuesday. For me.

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Speaker 1: A personal kind of hit home organization that means a

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Speaker 1: lot to me is the MS Society. I have a

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Speaker 1: family member, a brother who has MS, and just the

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Speaker 1: work that they do and the effort and money that

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Speaker 1: they need to raise and I'm still trying to find

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Speaker 1: a cure for MS. That's one that hits home for me.

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Speaker 1: And please, please please go donate. Thanks Carrie, and look

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Speaker 1: forward to Carrie's episode of Taking a Walk coming up

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Speaker 1: in twenty twenty three with our special Nashville series Thank

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Speaker 1: You Hope taking a Walk last night