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Toby Keith’s Annual Fundraising Event Hits Million Dollar Mark

Posted by Kristina Burton on 05/20/2013
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Superstar Toby Keith, along with more than a thousand celebrities and supporters, helped The Toby Keith Foundation raise over one million dollars at the recent 10th Annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic. "We've been talking about what we are going to do with the OK Kids Korral for a few years now. This year we showed people what we are doing and that made the difference," said Toby Keith.
 
 
 
Keith kicked off the event on May 10th by showing a video of The Toby Keith Foundation's OK Kids Korral construction progress. Followed by the McDowell family taking the stage and talking about how the impact the Korral will have on their fight against cancer. "Emotions were running high as little Mia McDowell twirled on stage and her mother told us about their struggles. Our supporters stepped up and we are completely humbled by their support," said Juliet Nees-Bright, executive director of The Toby Keith Foundation.
 
 
Comedian, actor and writer Rodney Carrington and Keith took the stage as the auctioneers for the evening raising nearly $500,000 in the live auction alone. The highest priced item won was a behind-the-scenes day with Toby's crew on his upcoming Hammer Down Tour Presented by Ford F-Series. The CMT Awards package, a custom Honda Rune motorcycle and the ACM Awards package rounded out the other top selling items of the evening.
 
 
There were close to a hundred silent auction items including the opportunity to name a sandwich after yourself at the Oklahoma Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill, which sold for $10,000. Other popular items won that evening included concert tickets to see Luke Bryan, spots in the Walter Payton Golf Tournament and Cal Ripken autographed memorabilia. Together, the live and silent auctions raised a large amount of funds to help it become one of the biggest auctions for the state of Oklahoma.
 
 
 
Saturday's golf tournament also broke records with more than 240 people attending, forcing the event's organizers to have two separate shotgun starts for the first time in the history of the fundraising weekend. The winning team in the morning shotgun was Dr. Rohrer's team with Ryan Chattin, Jeremy Moe, Jared Eck, Josh Eck, Shelby Drake and team celebrity Alex Brown. The afternoon winners were Double Diamond Hot Shot with Daniel Myer, Steven Davis, Brandon Porter, Steve Lawson, Johnny Smith and celebrity Kevin Bookout. Shelby Drake also walked away with a Ford F-150 truck in The Built Ford Tough Shootout.
 
 
 
All proceeds from the event go directly to The Toby Keith Foundation's OK Kids Korral which is scheduled to open in October 2013. The house features 16 guest suites, gourmet kitchen, Route 66 indoor playroom, theater, family resource room and areas throughout for relaxation or congregation.
 
 
 
For information about ways to help build OK Kids Korral, visit www.tobykeithfoundation.org.