Hannah Montana - Mobile Production Pro

transportationcChristmas for Kids 2007by Deslee GonzalesIt was a par ticularly busy couple of days at the Wal-Mar t in Hendersonville, TNas hundreds of children, volunteers and countr y music ar tists filled its store andparking lot for the annual Christmas for Kids event.>>Christmas For Kids Inc. was originallyorganized by professional coachdrivers and is a non-profit, statechartered organization made possiblewith the dedication of the drivers,their families, countless volunteersand several sponsors. It is intended toprovide something extra for childrenfrom low income families in middleTennessee at Christmas. “The goalof the organization is to makeChristmas a happy and joyful timefor some special children in the community,”explains the organization’swebsite.For more details:g o to >> christmas4kids.orgThe two day event began December17 giving the public a chance to toursome of their favorite country musicartists’ buses and get some autographsfrom the stars from 5 p.m. to9 p.m. The artists and bus companiesprovide severalbuseswhile the public gives a small donationto tour the buses and meetsome of the artists. This year therewere approximately fifty buses ondisplay. A few of the bus companiesthat provided most of the busesare: All Access Coach, DiamondCoach, Music City Coach, Ziggy’sCustom Coaches, Coach Quarters,Four Seasons Coach, and HemphillBrothers Coach Company, amongothers. The bus companies and driversnot only donate their buses andtime but also the fuel. Artists thathave stopped by in past years tosign autographs included GretchenWilson, Larry the Cable Guy, TaylorSwift, Trisha Yearwood, ChrisYoung, Naomi & Wynonna Judd,Jeff Bates and the late ConwayTwitty. Donated merchandisefrom artists like Vince Gill,Martina McBride, TracyLawrence, TheOak RidgeBoys, Lorrie Morgan, Randy Travis,Joe Diffie, the late Chris LeDoux,and Big & Rich was also on sale withprofits used for the kids to shop atWal-Mart the next day.Literally bus loads of children andchaperones filled Wal-Mart TuesdayDecember 18 after spending a funfilled day on the tour buses and havinglunch provided by Garth Brooks,at a local Gallatin church. The daystarted with picking up the childrenfrom their schools and taking themto the church for lunch. While onthe buses, children were ableto watch movies and snackon some holiday treats.DuringStarting Top Left: Justin Ellis, Lynn Pitts(Driver), Olan Witt (Owner of CoachQuar ters Enter tainment Transpor tation),Jared Witt Bottom Left: Carolyn Kanafani(Accounting), Dean Pickering (ShopManager, Devin Kanafani photos by Aaron Crisler18 Tour Guide Journal