What's Cooke'n Blog

Twitter / Facebook

Hey everyone -

I gotta tell you... this new world media stuff is creating a lot of busy work.  I wake up every day and I'm faced with all sorts of options of what to check first..

work emails? personal emails?  my facebook account? friendsofamy facebook account? my twitter account?  friendsofamy twitter account?  or perhaps myspace if I can still remember the log in password? 

or do I blog...or do I read and make comments on the amy grant message boards?  do i text amy and nudge her to twitter (she does her own but needs "encouragement" from time to time) or should i be really ambitious and ask her to blog.

and that all happens before the actual work day begins.....

I guess what I am trying to say that although I am a big fan of social networking and think it creates an incredible opportunity to stay connected to friends, family, and things of interests in an ever increasing medium, it also creates a lot of busyness that sometimes can feel a bit overwhelming. 

Personally, I have reconnected with high school friends, people I grew up with in California and relatives where time and distance have taken a toll on our connection.  Professionally, I have been able to network with a bigger group of people and keep my finger on the pulse of what's hot and what's not.  Professionally (and personally) I've been able to put a face to so many of the names that have supported Amy's career through the years and have been able to offer up prayers for those battling illness, unemployment, depression or just struggling with life in general. 

It is all good -- but it also takes a lot of time -- and time is something we can not get back.  So my encouragement to all of us is that while I fully support and encourage social networking, I think we also need to put a HIGH value on our face-to-face time with friends, family, spouses, partners, employees, neighbors, dogs, and the person standing in line behind you at the grocery.  If you are bold enough to befriend someone on facebook or follow them on twitter, be even more bold in person and say "hi" to a stranger... or tell your parents or children that you love them when they least expect it.  Let us not hide behind these new-fangled social networking mediums (as much fun as they are and as much good as they do) and let's not diminish the value of quality time with the people we come into contact with.

Just food for thought at the end of a very busy day.  I'm going to turn it all off in 30 minutes and go on an adventure walk with Braden tonight and catch lightening bugs.  No cell phones allowed. :)

Jen

Challenge America Press Release

In case some of you missed it, here is the Challenge America press release that was serviced to the news wires after the event.

Challenge America initiative launches to inspired audience

At the john f. kennedy center for the performing arts

in Washington, DC

Hosted By Amy Grant and Vince Gill with Michael McDonald, Alison Krauss, Darius Rucker, Mac McAnally, Melinda Doolittle, NY Times Bestselling Author Stephen Mansfield and Bob Woodruff, Support Returning Injured Veterans.

Washington, DC (June 11 , 2009) – The Challenge America initiative to support returning injured veterans and their families by virally networking recreation, jobs and housing programs through ChallengeAmerica.com, recently launched with a rare musical event played to an inspired audience on the stage of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

 

The night, hosted by Amy Grant and Vince Gill, was filled with poignant stories from ABC’s Bob Woodruff, NY Times Best Selling author Stephen Mansfield and music from Grant, Gill, Michael McDonald, Alison Krauss, Darius Rucker, Melinda Doolittle and Mac McAnally.

 

“Challenge America provides each of us the opportunity to help to satisfy our injured Veteran’s simple need for a job, a home and the chance to recreate with their families when they arrive home and begin to heal,” remarked Houston Cowan, Founder of Challenge America and Co-Founder/CEO of Challenge Aspen, the adaptive sport, cultural and competitive sporting group from which Challenge America extends.  “This Kennedy Center launch is the first step in an effort to give back to the men and women who have served us so well. ChallengeAmerica.com will continue to add comprehensive local and national resources in the area of jobs, housing finance and life-building recreation,” he added.

 

“Challenge America begins with each one of us.  There is no small effort and every one of us can do something that has impact on Veterans living in our own community,” adds Amy Grant.  “Whether you’re a basketball coach who starts a wheelchair basketball league on Saturdays in your community or you’re a banker who finds ways to connect an injured Veteran with a loan or a job, all of us can help in our own small way.  The challenges are great and the possibilities are greater,” she says.

 

Dr. and Mrs. Michael Morykwas were 4-Star General Sponsors for the launch event and received recognition in a special award presentation from Houston Cowan and Amy Grant for their dedication to Challenge America.  Dr. Morykwas invented the VAC, a medical device credited with saving countless lives of injured veterans.  Upon receiving the award,

Dr. Morykwas announced that he would match his own sponsorship contribution.  The American Red Cross, and its affiliated philanthropic group The Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders, was also a key sponsor of the event.  Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman of the Board, gave and received special thanks.

 

Challenge America (http://www.challengeamerica.com)

Christmas duet

Recording with Matthew Ryan went great today! Brown Bannister still rocks! Pictures coming soon....

Sirius XM Radio interview - Saturday 9pm ET

Sat 6/6 9:00 pm ET

Amy Grant stops by The Message studios for an entire hour to talk about what’s been going on in her life lately. She’s involved with a very worthy cause called “Challenge America” which aids our wounded veterans in very unique ways. She’s also got some big news about new music in the works!

Sponsor a Vet....

Amy sent a tweet about this last night but I wanted to make the offer available to those of you who use the website and who don't "tweet."  (I still can't believe we are forced to talk like this!)

Many people have asked how they can support the Challenge America cause without being able to actually attend the event (based on distance, conflicts, etc.).  Well, the Challenge America team has been working with their donor base on an offer to sponsor veterans to go to the concert in their place.  The way it works is this -- a donor makes a $500 tax deductible donation to Challenge America and for that donation, the Challenge America team will work directly with Walter Reed and other military organizations to bring a seat a veteran at the concert in the patron seats (first few rows of the orchestra).  It's a win-win for everyone.  The donor gets to contribute to the cause and gets a tax deduction and the veteran gets to go to an event they normally couldn't afford and be honored by Amy, Vince and their musical friends.

If interested in making a donation, please contact management@amygrant.com. 

I know it is a lot to ask of you. $500 dollars is a lot of money for anyone these days.  But maybe a few of you are in the position of being able to help.  We never know unless we ask...

Thanks for even considering...

Jen Cooke

Washington Post extended video interview

I think this one is worth checking out... let me know what you think.

Washington Post interview with Sally Quinn

Jen

Interview from Fox & Friends

Hey everyone - I'm back.  First of all, thank you to all of you who made such sweet and supportive comments to me on amygrant.com and on facebook regarding the passing of my grandmother.  She was an incredible woman and her memory is something that will burn bright in my heart and mind.

As hard as it is to lose someone close to you, life does move on and you have to jump back on the roller coaster even when you don't feel quite ready.  Well, JUMP ON is what I did today!  I've been plowing through hundreds of emails and details that have been sitting on my desk since last week.  In going through my stuff I found this link to the Amy interview on Fox & Friends and decided to share it here for those of you who may have missed the interview.

Amy discusses Challenge America, which is the launch of a huge nationwide initiative to help assist returning war veterans.  The kickoff event is on June 8, 2009 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.  Tune in here for more details about the event:

http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=011008&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=5220166&referralPlaylistId=playlist

More to come...

Jen

Hello from Los Angeles

I am sitting at a Starbucks on Sunset Boulevard using free wi-fi because I've been at my grandmother's house for the past few days (right above Sunset Blvd) and it is like being in a technological black hole.  You can't even use dial up service at her house because her phone lines are drilled into the wall and are not the type you can plug in and out....  crazy.

I know Amy has had a busy few days and I had all good intentions to blog about her press days and all of her appearances but I got a call on Sunday saying my grandmother (Nan) was being sent home from the hospital and into hospice care and would only have a few days.  I immediately flew out here with Braden and my family and we've been gathered around her bedside ever since.  She is still alive and making us smile with funny one-liners and old stories but she is slipping every day.  It has been one of the most beautiful weeks of my life, although sad.  The cycle of life God ordains is one of mystery and beauty - from beginning to end.

Anyway, I'm headed back up the hill in a minute but wanted you all to know the silence on this end is for good reason and I will check back in after all the goodbyes have been said.

Blessings,

Jen

Amy on the radio LIVE tonight 10:30pm EDT

The Jim Bohannon Show (1.5 million listeners) is Challenge America on its site now!  Listen to Amy LIVE online tonight (10:30 p.m. EDT) if you get the opportunity to do so...

 

Click Here

http://www.jimbotalk.net/

 

New interview on people.com

Amy Grant and Vince Gill to Sing for Soldiers

By Joey Bartolomeo

Originally posted Tuesday May 19, 2009 09:45 AM EDT

 

Amy Grant and Vince Gill are on a mission to help wounded warriors. The country couple will be hosting a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., on June 8 to help launch Challenge America, a national initiative to support and connect existing programs for disabled veterans.

"It's going to be a very relaxed, comfortable evening," Grant, who will be joined onstage by her husband as well as singers including Melinda Doolittle, Darius Rucker, Michael McDonald, and Alison Krauss, tells PEOPLE.

The concert, she explains, will be performed "family style": "We're going to sit in a semi-circle and go around the circle taking turns doing songs. It'll feel like sitting in a living room. You don't have any idea where the evening is going to go."

Challenge America is an outgrowth of Challenge Aspen, which Grant and Gill have supported for nearly a decade. Challenge Aspen provides recreational opportunities for people with disabilities, and Grant has witnessed first-hand how sports can help a wounded soldier's recovery..

"What they want is to return to normalcy, and that involves three things: a job, a home, and an ability to recreate with your family," she explains. "There's nothing about a job that goes, 'Woohoo!' But you get a young man who comes home totally different, and you give him some kind of freedom through sports and he goes, 'I can find myself again. It's different, but I can rebuild a life.' "

Grant hopes the concert will inspire others to help wounded vets get back on track. "I always think, 'What if I were that person who had served and things had turned out differently for me than I expected?' " she says. "I would be looking at my fellow citizens going, 'Aren't we all in this together?'"