Neal McCoy shares details on 29th annual Angel Network fundraiser featuring Vince Gill
“Well, we have Vince Gill this year and we sold out in about four hours,” McCoy said.
LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - This weekend marks the twenty-ninth time Neal McCoy’s Angel Network Fundraiser has been held, and it’s helped out hundreds of East Texas families over the years.
About thirty years ago Neal McCoy and his wife decided to help a couple of East Texas families with a sick child and high medical bills. It wasn’t long before the East Texas Angel Network was born.
“It’s a foundation to help children with life threatening, life challenging illnesses here in East Texas. Probably about a 70-mile, 90-mile radius. Because if you go any further, you go to Houston or Dallas and they have a lot of foundations already,” McCoy said.
They started putting on a fundraiser with a golf tournament, auction and concert featuring McCoy and his friends from the business.
“We have helped over 600 families in the 29 years. And also, this is a staggering number, we’ve raised over $11 million,” McCoy said.
He says that money stays in East Texas. This time around there was a kind of frenzy when the tickets went up for sale in July.
“Well, we have Vince Gill this year and we sold out in about four hours,” McCoy said.
That was a new one. He says if you’ve ever seen Vince Gill, you understand why it sold out so quickly.
“And this is a perfect place for Vince to perform. He really likes more of these intimate settings to work because he’s such a good musician, such a good player and singer. He wants you to hear every word,” McCoy said.
He says it’s a challenge to get performers on a Saturday since that’s typically the big money night, but Gill agreed to the September 30 Belcher Center performance.
“Look up the last four weekends of the Eagles and you’ll see where they’ve been every weekend. And you’ll notice this weekend the Eagles are off because Vince is an Eagle now,” McCoy said.
That kind of explains why it sold out in four hours. So, they came up with a way anyone can enjoy the concert.
“We’re going to be streaming it live,” McCoy said.
And it’s free to watch, although there is an opportunity to donate. McCoy says the families they help are always welcome to stop by the Angel Network Office.
“As important as anything we do from a financial standpoint is that we are there to listen,” McCoy said.
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