April 30, 2008

Carolina might have found a big fan on Wednesday night--and Vince Gill found over a thousand big fans. The country music Hall of Famer performed in a sold-out Memorial Auditorium to raise money for the Reece Holbrook Golf Classic, which benefits the North Carolina Children's Hospital. Gill, who turned down all appearance fees, helped present a check for over $71,000 at the end of the evening's two-hour show.

Gill's trip to Chapel Hill had a decidedly Carolina blue tinge. He brought two friends from Nashville, Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings (whose son will play baseball for the Tar Heels next year) and Belmont coach Rick Byrd (you might remember Belmont's NCAA Tournament near-miss), and that trio played golf with Roy Williams in Pinehurst during the day. Upon returning to Chapel Hill, the group ate dinner with the Holbrook family before taking the stage.

Gill was duly impressed with Memorial, raving about it during his soundcheck. Fans seemed equally impressed with him, giving a long standing ovation after the show. "Any time you need me," he told Chad and Jennifer from the stage, "just holler."

The concert was the kickoff event for this year's RHGC. The next event is Sunday night's sports memorabilia auction, which for the second straight year will be presented by Roy and Wanda Williams. This year's auction will take place in the UNC basketball practice gym and includes a special viewing of the new Carolina Basketball Museum. Limited tickets remain ($20 apiece) for the auction and can be purchased by emailing the RHGC. This year's auction contains the best items in the event's four-year history, including signed memorabilia from Roy Williams, Michael Jordan, Dean Smith, Butch Davis, the chance to play golf with Roy Williams or Butch Davis, a trip to Pebble Beach, and much more. So far, with the help of Carolina fans everywhere, the RHGC has raised over $500,000.