BNA Recording Artist Kellie Pickler to Entertain Troops on USO Tour to Persian Gulf
BNA Recording Artist Kellie Pickler to Entertain Troops on USO Tour to PersianGulfARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Country musicsinger/songwriter Kellie Pickler will soon travel to the Persian Gulf toperform for service members as part of a USO/MNC-I entertainment tour. Thisis the first USO tour for Pickler, who will show her gratitude to troops byperforming songs from her current album, posing for pictures and signingautographs. Pickler will also visit with armed forces personnel and share herexperiences since her days as a contestant on Fox Network's "American Idol."
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031119/USO )In appreciation for U.S. troops and the sacrifices made by their loved ones,Pickler joined Brad Paisley, among others, in early August for an impromptuconcert at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. She kicked off the show and performed formore than 35,000 soldiers and their family members. Following the event,Pickler, along with other music artists, were presented with a souvenir ofthanks by Major General Jeffrey Schloesser of the U.S. Army. "I am so grateful to the USO for the opportunity to travel overseas andperform for troops," says Pickler. "When I performed for them back in August,it felt really good. Having a chance to offer my sincere thanks again andspend quality time with them is a dream come true."Born in North Carolina, 21-year-old Pickler auditioned for "American Idol" inthe fall of 2005 and made it all the way to the top sixth spot. Winning overthe show's judges, including Simon Cowell, and viewers worldwide, she signed arecord deal with RCA's BNA Records. In October of 2006, Pickler released herdebut album "Small Town Girl," which landed at No. 9 on the Billboard albumchart and nabbed the top spot on the country album chart. Most recently,Kellie performed on the 2007 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards as aHorizon Artist Nominee.Historically, few events have left a more lasting positive emotionalimpression on service members and their families than USO celebrityentertainment tours. Since the USO's inception in 1941, thousands ofcelebrities have selflessly lent their time and talents, and traveled tomilitary bases around the world to entertain the troops. USO tours areessential to fulfilling the USO's focus on boosting troop morale by bringing asmall piece of home to them.AT&T, Inc. is the official telecommunications sponsor of USO entertainmenttours. For a list of recent and upcoming USO tours, visithttp://www.uso.org/whatwedo/entertainment/. To learn more about the USO or tofind out how to support the troops, visit www.uso.org. About the USOFor more than 66 years, the USO (United Service Organizations) has beenproviding morale, welfare and recreational services to U.S. military personneland their families. The USO is a nonprofit, charitable organization, relyingon the generosity of the American people to support its programs and services. The USO is supported by Worldwide Strategic Partners AT&T Inc., BAE SystemsNorth America, Clear Channel Communications, The Coca-Cola Company, DRSTechnologies, Inc., S & K Sales Co., TriWest Healthcare Alliance and The WaltDisney Company. Other corporate donors, including the United Way and CombinedFederal Campaign (CFC-11381), have joined thousands of individual donors tosupport the USO. For more information on the USO, please visit our Web siteat www.uso.org.SOURCE USOOname Thompson of the USO, +1-703-908-6471, othompson@uso.org
