Saturday, February 26, 2011

Jason and Alisha McArthur Prepare for Maddox!

Tonight the ZOEs gathered with other friends to celebrate the anticipated arrival of Maddox McArthur. Jason and Alisha looked great and it was so fun to see them being showered with love and baby gifts! We can't wait to meet baby Maddox!




David England, Amy Westerman, Karin Hensley, me, Jason McArthur, Alisha McArthur, Sheryl Thomas, Melissa Kirby

Otter Creek Baby Blessing 2011

Last Sunday morning we got to cheer on Kiki, Kevin and baby Liam as Liam was blessed by the Otter Creek Church. It was a wonderful day! Although it was Winterfest and the youth group was all gone...even they left a special message for these newest members of Otter Creek. It was brilliant! Here it is...


Lip Dub - Let Them Be Little from David Rubio on Vimeo.


Here are some pictures of the morning...

Children's ministers Janet Crothers and Melanie Brown introduce the time of blessing.

YAY, Liam!



Uncle Kevin with Liam, Sam, Maddie, Gracie and Ella

Kevin and Liam

Our dear Kiki, Liam, Kevin and Gracie

Ella, Gracie and Maddie (Maddie was sporting her new haircut...looking WAY too old!)

Liam
We love you, Liam! May God bless you richly!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

ACU Sing Song

It's ACU Sing Song Weekend in Abilene. I wish we could be there. If you aren't familiar with Sing Song...it's a long standing tradition at ACU...50+ years worth. All the fraternities and sororities compete against each other as well as classes. Between each act, the "hosts and hostesses" do production numbers. I grew up watching Sing Song and always wanted to be a host.

It's pretty hard to believe that it was 20 years ago when Stephen Bailey, Val Durrington, Darcy Washburn Chapman, Martha Kate Stallings Gunn, Kristin Ward, Kimberly Meador Conder and I were hosts. What an experience! My Dad was there...he literally willed himself to live long enough to see that show. I sang a song called "If I Sing" dedicated to him. ("If I sing...you are the music"). I am grateful for the wonderful memories I have of that time--even 20 years later!

Here are a few fun pics from back in the DAY!


Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"
L-R...Val Durrington, Kimberly Conder, BST, Kristin Ward, Stephen Bailey, Darcy Chapman, Martha Kate Gunn


"We May Never Pass This Way Again"

Stephen entertained the entire crowd. It was so fun to see! Stephen was my roommate and we had a blast getting to be hosts together.

"If I Sing"...for my dad.

out of the yearbook....weirdly morbid.

"Man in the Mirror" Yep...you heard me...
Our 15 year reunion...we all got to lead worship together at Homecoming chapel. So fun! I love these guys! (We missed you, Kimberly!)

Here are a couple of more pics of Sing Song memories of other years from college....

My freshman year we were eyeballs. Stephen directed us....I can probably still sing every word of that song. "I first saw you in the burger line....blue eyes cryin' in the Bean..." Gotta love it!
L-R Nino Elliot, BST, Wendy Wray Ogren, Stephen Bailey, Amy Nichols Boone, Patrice Nataliccio Powell

My senior year I directed Gamma Sigs. We were doctors and surgeons. (I was dressed as a patient)

Friday, February 18, 2011

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Heart Gala 2011

After months of preparation and meetings the 2011 Heart Gala was a smashing success! The theme was "King and Queen of Hearts" and we went with an Alice in Wonderland setting where the "impossible is possible!" This kind of verbiage went well with stories from survivors of heart disease and heart attacks. There were many moving stories and the auction was successful in raising money to fight heart disease.

This was my 4th Heart Gala to work on for Gary Musick Productions and my second in serving as the primary Producer. Erin Link from the American Heart Association is a great client and we enjoy our work with her. Thank you, Erin for your partnership! Thank you also to Amos Gott for the part he played in making the night a great success.

To the Gary Musick Productions team--thank you for your tireless work and professionalism. You are all true pros and it is a pleasure to work with you. Thank you to Gary Musick, Jonathan Yeaworth, Keith Brogdon, Jim Sheridan, Chris Lyle, Eric Cardwell, Jacob Driver, Jennifer Pippen, Phil Barnes, Tucker...and all the crew guys...you're all amazing.

After the devastating Nashville Flood of 2010, our Symphony Center was down for months and month. Making it's return on New Year's Eve, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center was better than ever. And thank you to the great staff of the Schermerhorn for their hard work--Bruce Pittman, Brian Doane and Mitch Hanson especially.

As a part of the theme we had some actors on stage during the evening portraying the roles of the Queen, Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the White Rabbit.


Cindy Moore played the White Rabbit. She ran through the crowd during the silent auction out in the lobby yelling, "We're LATE! We're LATE!" She helped usher the crowd into the concert hall for the dinner and program.

As people got out of their cars at the valet station they walked through a series of forest lighting effects to enter "Wonderland".

Overlooking the main lobby inside the Schermerhorn where the silent auction took place.

Wonderland signage in the west lobby of the Schermerhorn

The centerpieces were giant roses adding to the magical feel of the Queen's garden

Gary Morris (famous for his hit country song, "Wind Beneath My Wings" and for playing the role of Jean Valjean in the Broadway musical "Les Miserables") poses with his son, Garon, backstage. Gary sang and played "Amazing Grace" for the invocation. His voice was as rich as ever. He and Garon shared our dressing room so we had a nice visit. Thank you, Gary, for your help last night.

Jim Sheridan is one of my heroes. Jim is our go-to stage and production manager. He is also hilarious and keeps me laughing every day at the office. Jim has more stories than you could ever imagine...early in his career he worked for Jim Henson and Disney. He's very creative and very talented...but beyond that, just a great guy.

We created an entry way on stage to the "Queen's garden". A giant 17 foot gate covered in roses provided the perfect setting.


One of my favorite scenic details was the Cheshire Cat which would fade in and out in different places on stage throughout the evening. Eric Cardwell had the idea to use a gobo for that...great idea!

During the dinner portion, the characters were so fun to watch. We also had dinner music provided by a really fun group named the "Gypsy Hombres". They were a jazz trio and created the perfect eclectic feel for Wonderland.

Jason Michaels played the Mad Hatter who welcomed everyone to the dinner and provided some opening entertainment by doing some fun illusions with tea pots and cups and a giant stir stick.


I loved the tree we were able to find which sat behind the Mad Hatter's tea party. It provided the perfect setting.

Michelle and Jim Schmitz were the co-chairmen for this year's Heart Gala.



This is a shot out at the audience as they were enjoying dinner.


Gary Morris sang "Amazing Grace" and did a fantastic job!


video clip of Gary singing "Amazing Grace"



The Gypsy Hombres



Throughout the evening we heard from several survivors...very moving


The live auction had some great lots...one was a golf outing with Vince Gill and friends as well as a dinner together at the Richland Country Club.



Another cool auction lot was a golf outing and dinner with one of the band members from classic rock band, Journey

At the end of the evening we moved into the late night portion where the band "Burning Las Vegas" provided dance music. They really rocked out.


Sheryl and I pose back in the dressing room.

I always love dancing with my wife. We had a great time last night. We enjoyed the late night party with Gary and Ellen Musick. Always fun to be together.


Burning Las Vegas as they kicked off the late night party


Gary and Ellen Musick

Sheryl and I were excited to see our friend Leon Dowling last night. We enjoyed getting to catch up.

And so, that ends another successful year for the Heart Gala. I have been in a vegetative state all day...and feeling thankful it all went so well.