Country Music News | Nashville4U

“Hometown Hero” Winner to Build Playground with Country Music Superstars Rascal Flatts
and Attend 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards

Atlanta, May 13, 2008 – The Home Depot®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, is looking to country music fans to help them select the 2008 Hometown Hero award recipient. The Hometown Hero award recognizes an individual committed to volunteerism and improving his or her local community, and is part of The Home Depot’s sponsorship of the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

The community service award serves as a consumer extension of the 2008 Academy of Country Music (ACM)/The Home Depot Humanitarian Award, which will be presented to the members of the multi-platinum music group Rascal Flatts, Jay DeMarcus, Gary LeVox and Joe Don Rooney, during the ACM Awards broadcast on Sun., May 18, 2008. The Humanitarian Award recognizes country artists who serve others, have a generous spirit and help build the dreams of those in need.

The Home Depot is asking consumers for their help to find the nation’s Hometown Hero – an individual that gives generously of their time and talent to make their local community better. Consumers can log onto www.homedepot.com/acm to nominate themselves or someone they know for the Award from May 8 – June 9, 2008. Nominations must include a brief description that details the individual’s volunteer activities.

“The Hometown Hero program allows us to recognize every day people who generously volunteer their time and talents to improve our communities,” said John Ross, vice president of advertising for The Home Depot. “The Home Depot is proud to identify and honor one of these “heroes” and let them share the spotlight with three other people we see as heroes - the members of Rascal Flatts.”

The winner of the Hometown Hero award will get to join Rascal Flatts at their KaBOOM! playground build later this year, and will win a trip to the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards. Donated by The Home Depot and the company’s national nonprofit partner KaBOOM!, which envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America, the playground will be built by The Home Depot associate volunteers and community members in the city of Rascal Flatts’ choice.

Rascal Flatts were selected as the ACM/The Home Depot Humanitarian Award winner by a special blue-ribbon committee for their ongoing community service and charitable gifts. Rascal Flatts is a major supporter of the Monroe Carell J. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, a non-profit teaching and research hospital in Nashville that provides a place to hope and heal for children and their families. The band has donated more than $2.2 million of the proceeds of their Nashville concerts to the hospital spearheading the largest fundraising donation in the hospital’s history in addition to hosting an annual Disney-themed party and concert for the children. Rascal Flatts is also involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet.

The Home Depot® is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,257 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. In fiscal 2007, The Home Depot had sales of $77.3 billion and earnings from continuing operations of $4.2 billion. The Company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.