Diamond Rio & Arby's Raise Over $135,000 At Third Annual Arby's Charity Tour Nashville

Nashville, TN. (Arby's Foundation PR) - The third annual Arby's Charity Tour Nashville hosted by Diamond Rio proved another major success, earning over $135,000 on behalf of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee and the Arby's Foundation. This year's festivities kicked off with a NASCAR 25 Lap Diamond Rio All Star Shootout at the Nashville Music City Motorplex on Sunday, October 16, followed by an auction and live concert at the Wildhorse Saloon that evening.

For the first time ever, the concert and auction at the Wildhorse were open to the public. Fans of all ages lined up around the block hours before the doors opened to check out the sold out show. Celebrity guest Mickey Jones ('Home Improvement') joined Diamond Rio for a special performance of his song 'Double Bogey Blues' that was featured in the film Tin Cup. The Gibson Les Paul guitar that Mickey played during the performance went for over $3,000 in the auction. Another guitar that was auctioned during the evening was a one-of-a-kind hand painted Les Paul that was a combined creation of Diamond Rio's Jimmy Olander and local artist Bryan Adams. The guitar is a miniature version of the 10 foot guitar statues seen around Nashville and went for $3,700. At the end of the evening a special moment occurred when Rio member Gene Johnson's grandson Benjamin signed his auction paddle in the hopes of raising additional money. The 4 year-old's paddle went for a whopping $600.

To further help the cause, monies will continue to be raised through mid-November for the special Make a Difference Donate a $1 campaign, for which pin-ups (featuring a member of Diamond Rio with a child from Big Brothers Big Sisters) are being sold at all Middle Tennessee Arby's locations.