| The recording of the new Patriotic song
"Thank You" on Star Chaser Records-Nashville
is now available!
Destined to become an important song in the history of patriotism and the support of our troops, this song is getting rave reviews! Written by songwriter Daniel Smith, of Nashville, TN, and recorded by Hank Brake, on Star Chaser Records, in memory of his Uncle, Kenneth Slaughter, killed in Vietnam in 1970. This song touches the hearts of all who hear it!
Click here to hear the song today. This song is so powerful that it was the first song in the Nation chosen for the tributes page of the DOD website: America Supports You. Donald Rumsfeld even commented on national news shows about the quality of the musical tributes on the site. If you go to America Supports You, then go to Video Tributes on the mani menu, then once on the page, scroll down to the bottom and there it is. What a thrill it is to be a part of such a hugely successful site, a see all the others across our great Country, doing their best to show their support for the troops. It's an amazing site, you ought to check it out.
To purchase the song, click on Hank's Store, on the menu, to order today.
The release of this single project is in support of all of our veterans, and the troops currently serving here and abroad. $1.00 from every single sold will be donated to an organization, Operation First Response, providing for the needs of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, wounded in combat. Many return from their mission missing limbs, badly burned, or otherwise severely wounded , and require long hospital stays for recovery. The organization provides comfort items for these soldiers during their stay at Walter Reed Army Hospital and the Naval Hospital at Bethesda, both in the Washington, DC area. We provide things like shaving gear, toothpaste, toothbrush, homemade quilts, pre-paid phone cards, books, magazines, cd players and music, socks, t-shirts, shorts, etc.. Aside from those items, Peggy Baker, founder of Operation First Response, also provides lots of much needed love and caring support. Her son is in the service, and this is her way to show her support. She is dedicated to ensuring that our military know they are loved, supported, and not forgotten during and after their deployment into harms way. OFR also provides travel support for family members, by accepting donations of sky miles, and cash, used to bring the soldiers' family to vist them. There are many more services Peggy, and OFR members provide. For more info on services offered, ways to donate, and lists of more service organizations supporting our troops, click on the link above.
Coming Up Next On The Calendar:
November 10 - 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada for the Las Vegas Veteran's Day Parade and for the Las Vegas Airshow. This will be an incredible weekend! Las Vegas is celebrating 100 years as a city, the Thunderbirds will be at the Airshow, and the entire weekend is dedicated to the 2.7 million Vietnam Veterans out there, who never got their parade. Well, we're going to give it to them! Operation Welcome Home is what we are calling it, what I call it is It's About Time! As Hank has stated above, "Thank You" is dedicated to the memory of 1Lt Kenneth Slaughter, his maternal Uncle, who died in Vietnam in 1970. Hank sees this event as an opportunity to Thank Uncle Ken and all those who served with him. Go to www.aviationnation.org for more info, and stay tuned for the official press release.
What Hank has been up to lately..... starting with the most recent event, and working working backwards from there chronologically :
September, '05
Labor Day weekend - Cincinnati, Ohio for another USO Fundraiser, Cincinnati USO, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Washington, DC chapter USO, put on a huge event. This was a great time for all involved. This trip, it was just Big Hank and Buddy. The first night, a Bengals' game, catered, in the Cincinnati Bell club level box ( Thanks, Jack! ), then dinner the next night at The Cassaday Villa. Hank, along with fellow performers (there for the event), Daniel Rodriguez, and the Liberty Belles, had a chance to sing for their suppers in Jack and Karen's back yard. We also got to meet and spend time with Diedra Downs - Miss America 2005, and not only is she beautiful, she is truly a sweet, all- American girl. Hank enjoyed lots of conversation with her, and Bonnie, her traveling companion. Diedra is a credit to her crown. What a blast! It seems that we meet some of the greatest people in the country at these events. Kudos to Karen and Nancy ( and everyone whose names I can't remember )in Cinci, and Elaine, Beth, and Ellen from DC. Thank You Steve Lee for getting us in on this one. The next evening was the biggie... dinner by the river at a great restaurant, Montgomery Inn at the Boathouse, followed by an evening of honoring some tremendous service men. We will never forget those men that we met at this function. We wiil always be in awe of Joe, Doc ( Princess ), Paul, and the rest. We also got to see our old friends Kenneth and Carolyn Maupin, parents of Matt Maupin ( still MIA in Iraq ), that we met earlier this year. They look great, but you can tell that waiting for news of their son weighs heavily on them. Our thoughts and prayers are still with them as the go through the wait. Hank sang "Thank You" right after Brigadier General Carter Ham pinned the Bronzre Star with Valor on SSgt Joe Bowser. It was the perfect puntuation to the recognition of those brave men. The was a standing ovation... I like to think it was for all the guys and gals who serve this great Country. The rest of the show, Daniel Rodriguez, and the Liberty Belles, was just as moving, followed by a tremendous fireworks show. We hope to be invited again next year.
August, '05
Time for the NC USO Black Tie Fundraiser. We had such fun there! When we got to Raleigh, Mary Alice and David hosted a small mixer so we could meet some of the folks involved in putting on the event. It was great to meet such nice people. After a night's rest (they put us up in a nice hotel), We got up in the morning and stopped by the USO's military welcome center at the Raleigh - Durham Airport. It's a really nice facility, with many recliners, tvs, computers, phones, and video games. I had an opportunity to sing the "Thank You" song there, to a few guys waiting on outgoing flights. Then I spent some time at Randy and Simone's home, prepering the music for later on that evening. Thank you, Randy, for your assistance with that, and for playing roadie later on at the event. I couldn't have done it without you. Then, on to the Raleigh Women's Club for the main event. The evening honored one member from each of our Armed Forces. The ones chosen for the honors certainly deserved them. My sympathy and prayers go out to the Zimny family, whose son, Corporal Christopher Zimny, died in Iraq before he could come home to be honored for this event. He Will Not Be Forgotten.
Thank you Mary Alice, David, Nancy, Simone, Randy, Judy, and all the others for a wonderful evening. The entire event was beautiful. All those dinner dress uniforms, all those beautiful ladies in their dresses, fantastic decorations, WOW! And on top of that, we raised almost double the fundraising target! It was great being back in the Tarheel State, if only for a few days.
June, '05
June 11th - Little Hank's 7th birthday! GROWING like a weed!
Big Hank is contacted by Nancy Wilson, in North Carolina, about a black tie fundraiser for the NC USO, set for the 13th of August. The event is in the town where Hank was born, Raleigh, NC. Excited to be invited "home", he accepts.
May, '05
We had a couple of things going on this month. First, Hank's son, Little Hank (1st grade, 6 years old) decided he wanted to do something for the soldiers. When asked what he wanted to do, Little Hank stated he wanted to give the wounded soldiers a big get well card. Well, Big Hank went in search of a sign company to help. He found Sign-A-Rama, in Lilburn, Ga. (770-972-8797 - support this store, they are gung-ho for the troops!). Chris Michaels, the owner of that location donated two 8' X 3' banners, printed with "We Love You" and "Get Well Soon" from Annistown Elementary. Little Hank then took the banners to his school and on the last week of school, had 546 children sign each banner. There were articles about this in three local newspapers: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Gwinnett Daily Post, and The Gwinnett CItizen.
Big Hank was invited to perform at a Memorial Day weekend event by the Adopt-A-Platoon Chapter in Aberdeen, Maryland, so we (Big Hank, CIndi, Granna (Big Hank's mother), and Little Hank) loaded up the truck and headed North. We met up with Hank's partner/manager/friend/bodyguard (he's 6'7") Buddy Spenser, and got ready to do the show. We ran into some rain on the day of the performance, so we moved inside the American Legion Hall, and carried on with the show. There were several other performers, who were all very good, and all in all, it was a good day. The following day, we went to the Aberdeen Proving Groud base, saw the Ordnance Museum, and got to play for three companies of soldiers in training, preparing to ship out to various bases across the land, some going to Iraq and Afghanistan. It was awesome to play for them! Hank sent them off with the "Thank You" song, and there were a lot of tears in the crowd (including Hank). Thank You Chaplain Watters, for setting that up for us.
Hank spent the week after Memorial Day with his family, seeing some of the sights around Washington, D. C. Then, on Thursday, he and Cindi took LIttle Hank to the National Naval Medical Hospital in Bethesda, MD, to deliver one of the Get Well banners. We were accompanied by Ellen Brody, of the Metropolitan DC USO. Little Hank handed over the banner, and they immediately placed it on the wall on the floor we visited. As Little Hank stayed in the day room with Granna, Hank and Cindi went from room to room, meeting several terribly wounded Marines and Sailors. Each one of them was convinced they were not heroes; "just doing their jobs", they said. Their humility was overwhelming. We left a signed cd with each of them, and a few for the ones out of their rooms at the time, then, in awe of them, quietly left. Friday, we did the same thing at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Little Hank once again presented the "Get Well" banners, and while he waited with Granna in the Admin offices (Stealing several hearts, I might add), Hank and Cindi headed to the floor to see the wounded. We visited with a lot more wounded that day, and were again amazed at the humble soldiers we met. After several hours visiting, we left and headed down to the office to get LIttle Hank. Boy did we get a surprise there! Lt. Col. Fitzpatrick presented both Hanks with a Commanders Coin in honor of their support of the wounded. LIttle Hank treasures that coin, and will take it to "show and tell" his classmates in the second grade during the first week of the new school year. What a great story to tell for "What did you do over the summer vacation?.
April, '05
Hank is invited to come to the Cincinnati, Ohio area (Batavia) to perform for an American Legion fundraiser honoring the family of Matt Maupin, missing in action in Iraq, after being kidnapped in battle. He has not been found or heard from in a year. His parents are at the event, and Hank had the honor of spending a few moments with them. Hank played to a packed house, and the response was wonderful. When he did the "Thank You" song, everyone gathered around him in a huge circle, holding hands, and singing along. It was very moving. Our thoughts and prayers are with Matt's family and friends as they wait to hear what has become of him.
March, '05
The Marines come home! Hank is invited to travel to Peoria, Illinois to welcome home the C Company Marines, freshly arrived from Iraq. He did a show March 18th, for the unit and their families, and had an absolute blast! Several Marines cornered Hank throughout the event to thank him for the cds they received, and for his support. We would like to thank all involved for their hospitality, and Gunny Howard for his efforts in coordinating everything. Semper Fi !
November, '04
We were contacted by the family members of Company C, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, U. S. Marine Corps Reserve, from Peoria, Illinois, who were serving in Iraq. They would be there through the Christmas holidays, and the families were putting together Christmas stockings for them. Hank was asked if he would consider selling some cds to them for the unit's stockings. Hank, of course, said yes. He sold them for cost, plus the $1.00 per cd he has committed to Operation First Response. He then got a roster of the entire Company, and autographed each one to each individual in the Company. They were shipped to the unit in time to get there for Christmas. Hank asked to be notified when the unit came home in 2005.
October, '04
Hank recently returned from a trip to Woodville, Texas, where a small town AM radio station has been playing "Thank You", daily, during the local portion of their radio show. The family of Chief Warrant Officer Charles "Chuck" Fortenberry, KIA in Iraq, heroically saving an entire convoy, pinned down by the enemy while bringing fuel to the battle of Fallusia, requested of the Station Manager, a copy of the song, to play at the dedication of a monument, on the town square honoring this great American Hero. The station Manager contacted Hank for permission to make a copy, or get Hank to send a copy of the song to use for this purpose. "I told him that I would not send a copy, rather, I would come to them myself", says Hank. "I flew into Houston, was picked up by Mike Sanders, the Station Manager, and driven two hours out into the Middle of Nowhwere, southeast Texas. The song was used in the ceremony, and I hand delivered a signed copy of the song to his family. The people there were wonderful, and I was told many times that they just couldn't believe someone would bother to come all rhe way to their little town for something like this. I responded that little towns like theirs, and many more across this great Country of ours, raise men and women that understand the honor and duty of military service, and that is the backbone of this Country. CWO Fortenberry is a hero, and I was extremely honored to be a part of the service honoring him.
September, '04
We completed a wonderful trip to Winchester, VA. for a 9/11 remembrance ceremony and concert. Hank was part of a ceremony of remembrance for the heroes of the 9/11 attack on America, and the heroes who now are fighting to end terrorism here and abroad. Members of American Legion Post #21, and Congressman Wolf, (R) Virginia, were in attendance, along with several wounded veterans from the Martinsburg,W.VA. Veterans Hospital. All were touched by Hank's performance of "Thank You".
Hank has been singing all of his life and has enjoyed performing in gospel and church choirs, junior high chorus, barbershop quartets and choruses, and many clubs and performance venues across America.
Hank has had the opportunity to sing in numerous "honky tonks". In fact, he's performed in "far too many to name." He's performed at several famous venues such as The Palomino in Los Angeles, California; Gilley's in Houston, Texas; and places closer to his Georgia home like Miss Kitty's in Marietta and Mama's Country Showcase in Atlanta. While performing at Mama's he also had the opportunity to be the opening act for many of country's current stars such as Joe Diffie, Tim McGraw, Billy Dean, Kenny Chesney, Shenandoah, Little Texas, Toby Keith, Tracy Byrd, Confederate Railroad, Chris Ledoux, and many others.
Hank's greatest musical influences include Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, George Strait, Merle Haggard, and the Eagles. However, he loves all kinds of music - country, jazz, blues, old rock & roll, old-time gospel, 70's and 80's pop and he really enjoys the vocal harmonies of barbershop quartets.
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