Randy Travis

Like everyone else April, I too am SO HAPPY for you, that your DREAM OF MEETING RANDY finally came true. I can relate to the experience of meeting him.Of being so nervous . But as you pointed out he puts you at ease so easily. That before you even are aware you're havuing a friendly conversation with him. Like you've been life long friends, and next door neighbors..

Though my meeting with Randy was not an arranged M&G,or a one on one, I was still very nervous and just as excited and happy to have met him.

I enjoyed your review, and as others have said, your exitement was definately palpable.(sp). It puts a smile on myface and in my heart, to hear how well received he was at that show.

Sharon I hope your M&G is just as memorable. And trust me, you WILL remember it, for the rest of your lfie. As RANDY MAKES IT MEMORABLE FOR YOU! I can stil feel his gentle touch of his arm around my shoulders as we had our Picture taken.

So we will pray that your evening of the M&G goes as well as Aprils did for her..
Dee
Dee

Hi aprilbennett,
Congrats, on the M&G. This was a great detailed review. Aurora will be my first time seeing him live. I sure hope I win the M&G since I'm not likely to get to another concert anytime soon. I sure hope that I can remember in such detail both the show and the M&G (if I win it) as you have. I have a terrible memory so I'm hoping I'll be able to remember it at all let alone well. LOL! The venue says they don't allow flash photography or recording devices, they are supposed to be left in the manager's office so I may be left with just my poor brain cells to count on. I hope not! I can turn the flash off and use the high ISO setting on my kodak, I'm hoping with that ability they will allow me to at least photograph him during the show or at the very least let me keep it for the M&G if I get it. Everybody please keep your fingers, etc. crossed for me that I'll be as lucky as aprilbennett was.
I'm not shy or quiet so I hope that I don't babble on and on until Mike shoves me out the door of where ever the M&G might be (assuming I have one). LOL!
Looking forward to my first RT concert!
Sharon

Hello everyone. I have been home since yesterday and pondering, how do I write a post that would give justice to the night I experienced on August 15th at the Havelock Jamboree?!! I thought what I would do is recap of the entire journey from start to finish. So this is what you would have experienced had you been in my shoes....

As you all know I left home prior to the winners being announced but I was so much more hopeful after I read the post from the RT team saying the winners hadn't been selected yet and that they would hopefully be drawn Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday night I called home and had my son check my email --nothing. On Wednesday morning I called home again -- still nothing. Wednesday night --- again, nothing. By this point I was pretty disappointed because I was sure I hadn't won. On Thursday my family I was camping with asked if I had made my daily call to my son to check my email and I said I hadn't because I was afraid he would again say there was nothing there. I said I would wait and go to the booth on Saturday as instructed by the RT team on the website.

Friday around 11:00 a.m. my cell phone rings and it is my youngest son Justin on the line. (Just a bit of personal info, without going into too much detail...Justin suffers from anxiety attacks, however they have been under control) Anyhow, Justin says ''Yeah Mom, I am having a bit of an anxiety attack and I want you to come home but I know you can't because of the backstage thing with Randy Travis''. I told him that no, I couldn't come home because I was with other people, three hours away etc. Again he repeats, ''Yeah I know, I want you to come home but u can't because of going backstage with Randy Travis'' and again I said ''Yeah, that's what I just said, I can't come home, aren't your meds working?'' He said ''Mom, I KNOW you can't come home because you ARE going backstage to meet Randy Travis'' Well I must have been having a brain freeze because it still didn't fully register. I said what do you mean? He said YOU WON. YOU ARE GOING TO MEET RANDY!!!!!!!! Well I kid you not, I am sure that people anywhere within a half mile radius heard me scream. I was just beside myself with excitement. My family were clapping and then were laughing their heads off at my excitement. He gave me a number to call to confirm that I was accepting the pass.

I called and had the sheer pleasure of speaking with Carrie (sp?) from the RT Team. She is so pleasant and was very happy for me. At that time they had little details about where/when the M&G would take place but she did call me back the next morning. Off I went to the Will Call booth for the info. The person there told me to show up at the merchandise tent at 6 p.m. I waited there until 6:30 and then at that time, I was told to come back at 8 p.m. I thought ONLY for Randy would I do all that running lol. At 8:00 I met with Marilyn who gave me my pass and instructions to come back at 11 as the M&G was going to take place after his show. At that point I think I started shaking and yelled OH MY GOSH, I can’t believe this is truly going to happen because up until that point I was sure something would happen, it would be cancelled, I would pass out lol etc etc. I think Marilyn could see my excitement and I truly believe she was sincerely happy for me. I then had the pleasure of meeting Gerard, Janice and Diane (please forgive me if I am wrong on any of your names).

We returned to our seats and waited for the show to start. Everyone around me knew I had won and kept turning around saying ‘’It is getting closer’’, ‘’You must be getting excited’’. I COULDN’T STAND IT l was so excited lol.

At 10:10 p.m. our man hit the stage signing What’ll You Do About Me. His voice as always was golden. SPOT on. I was totally mesmerized. And Randy just kept churning out hit after hit…Before You Kill Us All, He Walked On Water, Look Heart No Hands, On The Other Hand, Better Class of Losers, Turn It Around and my favourite Digging Up Bones. I had decided that as much as I didn’t want to miss a minute of Randy singing, that I was going to head back to the tent at 10:40 so I wasn’t late. I got up from my seat and turned quietly to my 3 family members and said ‘’Ok I am going now’’ and then shook with excitement and yelled ‘’OH MY GOSH I AM GOING NOW’’ Everyone around us that knew I had won was laughing their butts off and wished me a good time. I made my way to the merchandise tent and while waiting for Marilyn and the other Ranch members to arrive I listed to Randy getting the crowd pumped up with King of the Road and then put listened to him put them in a heavenly lull when he sang a Horse Called Music.

The other members arrived shortly after I did and then Marilyn came out to greet us (and despite what you think Marilyn you were NOT late!) We followed her to the back of the stage (insert more shaking here). We were standing near the ramp where Randy would make his exit from the stage (Yes, insert more shaking here).. It was then I decided to test out the ‘’AWESOME’’ camera my cousin had loaned me and to my utter dismay it wouldn’t work as there was no light back stage. I was devastated. Marilyn quickly reassured me that someone from the team would take pics for me and mail them to me (insert another pat on the back for Randy’s wonderful staff here).

We were told that Randy still had approximately 40 minutes left to perform and so we got to watch the rest of the show on a giant screen. It was like our own private show. We were treated to hits like 1982, Deeper Than The Holler, I Told You So, Three Wooden Crosses and if my memory serves me correctly Peace In The Valley. And then came Forever and Ever Amen. I knew this was his closing hit (insert MUCH MORE shaking here). And then down the ramp he came. That was our cue. Marilyn escorted us to the front of the tour bus.

We waited for approximately 10 minutes for him to freshen up and take a breather and then Diane and Janice were escorted into the path between the tour bus and a rig. The tour bus door was then open for privacy for them. It was then I realized it was going to be a private one on one greet (Insert a whole lot of shaking here and laughter from Carol (who was my saviour with the camera) and advice to breathe, just breathe. I was SOOOOO excited and so nervous.

The tour bus door closed and Mike (I believe he is Randy’s tour manager) waved me in. AND THERE HE WAS. I thought, okay don’t cry, hold it together, stop shaking the bus is vibrating beside you lol. But when I shook his hand and he started talking, asking my name, where I was from, it was just so easy to talk to him. He was a CLASS act from start to finish. I told him that I had been a fan for 23 years and had dreamed for 23 years that this moment would happen. I also told him that in all honesty NO ONE, and I truly meant NO ONE had even come close to his spot on the pedestal. I do believe he was truly touched by this. We then talked a bit about his show in Ottawa and then we got into a conversation about my Mom who had passed away 3 years ago. Mom was also a Randy fan and when I said my last goodbyes to her, Randy’s ‘’I Am Going’’ was playing. He was so nice, and interested in everything I had to say. He signed my plaque I had brought with me, we took our pic and then he thanked me for my support for the past 23 years and said it meant a lot to him. It was then a final, most heartfelt handshake and then goodbye.

After waiting for Gerard to finish his meet and greet and Marilyn getting our names and addys it was time to exit. Marilyn escorted us back to the gate and we said our goodbyes.

I must say a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE thank you to EVERYONE on your team Randy. You certainly have surrounded yourself with the most kindest, most helpful and most professional souls. Marilyn, Carol, Carrie (sp?) and Mike, thank you for ALL of your help, advice, warmth and kindness. You truly played a huge roll in making this dream run smoothly.

WHAT A NIGHT! I cannot believe that my dream came true after 23 years. I will never forget it. I have uploaded some pics from the concert (that was taken by a friend) and a pic of the plaque that Randy signed for me. They should have approval soon for everyone to see. As soon as I get the pic of Randy and I in the mail I will be sure to upload it to my gallery as well.

Thanks again to everyone and anyone who sent me good luck wishes and said a little prayer for me. It worked! And to Linda, thanks so much for keeping me confident and hopeful all the way through this!

I forewarned you it was long lol.

P.S. There was NO way it was 12,000 people as stated by the Peterborough Examiner. I would estimate that it was EASILY 25 or 30 thousand. There were so many people that I actually had security escort me back to my friends as I couldn’t find my way through the crowd.

From the Peterborough Examiner, a show review of the night Randy was at the Jamberee.

While we await April's thoughts and review, here is an enjoyable read (see above). not much mention of randy but sounds like he was a hit.

Always and Forever...an RT Fan
Linda and Guide, Greg
\