Although George Strait is known as one of country music’s more charitably minded artists, he’s carried out most of his good works outside the spotlight.
Not so on the Cowboy Rides Away tour, Strait’s final live trek.
Partway through each concert, Strait stops the show and calls to the stage Lt. Gen. Leroy Sisco (Ret.) of the Military Warriors Support Foundation. In turn, Sisco brings to the stage one or two wounded service personnel and members of their families, to award them a mortgage-free home through the foundation’s Homes4WoundedHeroes Program.
The program began last year when Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jose Sanchez received a home at the closing date of the 2012 tour in San Antonio. Then, in celebration of the last tour stop of 2013 in the same city, Strait called to the stage Army Sgt. 1st Class John Faulkenberry as the 340th recipient overall and the 23rd of the tour. Strait himself handed Faulkenberry and his wife the key to their new home.
Sisco has known Strait for several years and first gave a home away with him at Strait’s annual roping event in San Antonio two years ago. Discussions to give away a home at one show turned into a plan to do it at every show on Strait’s final tour.
“The first one was in Lubbock [Texas], and everybody was just blown away — George, the band, [Strait’s wife] Norma, all of them,” Sisco recalls.
Staging the giveaways at Strait’s concerts provides more impact than Strait just giving money to the cause, Sisco says. “It’s a huge deal to do it in the show,” says Sisco, who adds that Strait’s fans believe in the cause and frequently contribute, sometimes at very high levels.
“For every $20,000 I raise, I give away on average a $250,000 home to a wounded warrior, mortgage-free, gift-tax-free. We’ve given 1,000 of those away, and 500 more to family members who lost someone over there.”
At one show, three fans in the front row next to Sisco contributed $60,000. “They said, ‘We’ve got three homes for you right here,'” Sisco says. “That’s [Strait’s] influence. He’s a special guy, and he’s got a huge heart.”
Another philanthropic effort on the tour is carried out through CID Entertainment, which offers VIP experiences and travel packages for festivals and concerts. On the Strait tour, CID auctions packages with proceeds benefiting the Jenifer Strait Memorial Foundation, in honor of Strait’s daughter Jenifer, who died in an automobile accident in 1986. The foundation provides assistance to various child-related causes, with this mission statement from George and Norma Strait: “The Jenifer Strait Memorial Foundation was formed to preserve the memory of our daughter. Even though she was just a child of 13 years, her love for younger children was amazing. It is for this reason we chose to help others who might be in need in her honor.”
Strait’s fans have long supported the foundation, and the current tour is no exception, CID founder/CEO Dan Berkowitz says. For each concert, a pair of front-row seats and meet-and-greet passes were auctioned off, raising $239,000 from 40 separate winners across the 19 shows. According to Berkowitz, the highest winning bid was $18,000 in San Antonio.
The charity auctions and presentation of homes to service personnel will continue next year on the final leg of the Cowboy Rides Away tour.