By Cassandra Mosley

ROGERSVILLE - Charlie Chase offered a heartfelt explanation of why last Sunday's Coming Home concert to benefit the Hawkins County Relay For Life was particularly important to him.
    "My cousin died of cancer this past Thursday," he said.  "Jean Henry [general manager of Oh Henry's Restaurant] was my first cousin and Mavis Livingston, my second mom, died of cancer.  This is why we are doing it.  We have a lot of survivors though, too, as a result of research.  Look at the people around here today that are survivors."
    This year, the Coming Home concert featured award-winning country music singer Blake Shelton along with opening act Benny Wilson.  Previous benefits have hosted Vince Gill, Tim McGraw and the country group Lonestar.  All proceeds benefit Hawkins County Relay For Life in its fight against cancer.
    "So there is a reason we raise the money and that is why we do it," Chase said.  "I am fortunate enough to ask some of these stars if they are in the area to come.  I explain how personal it is and what it means to the community.  For a lot of these stars, they come from communities like [Rogersville] and that is why Blake is here."
    Shelton said he "was proud to come with Charlie to his hometown."
    Lorianne Crook, who has for many years hosted shows with Chase, said, "Knowing Charlie so well, knowing how he grew up here, and how special the people are . . . he made me feel like part of the family here."
    Both Crook and Chase said they were overwhelmed by the affection given to them by the people of Rogersville.
    Chase, a Rogersville native, went to work at WRGS radio station when he was 13 years old.
    "One thing lead to another and I linked up with Lorianne back in 1983 and we did "This Week in Country Music" on national TV."
    But while he has attained notoriety and fame, Chase said his heart is in Rogersville, as well as the Coming Home concert.
    "As long as we can contribute to help out, then why not," he said.  "I always say it takes a village to raise somebody and [Rogersville] is a heck of a village - and it raised me. Anything I can do to help these people out, its a way of giving back.  However, these people work their tails off.  They work hard to make this event flawless."
    One hard worker in particular is Linda Poe, who assists in organizing the event through Hawkins County Relay For Life.
    Poe, who is employed by Spectrum Lab at Wellmont Hawkins County Memorial Hospital, said she like Chase has a personal interest in Relay For Life.
    In 2001 her husband was diagnosed with leukemia.  Poe was working in the lab the day his blood test results came in.  In 2005, she would again have the same chilling experience when she ran blood tests for her mother, Mavis Livingston, and the results showed colon cancer.  Sadly, in August 2005 Livingston passed away, but today Poe's husband is in remission and is a Relay For Life volunteer.
     In addition to money raised through the concert, money is also obtained by auctioning items that Chase acquires from celebrities.
    Crook said, "This event is always on the top of [Charlie's] mind.  No matter where we are or what we are doing . . . all year long Charlie is collecting the auction items."
    According to Leann Hensley, an accounting representative with Relay For Life, "The concert alone brought in more than $30,000."
    For the Hawkins County area Relay For Life, totals are "around $75,000 to $80,000," she said.  However, the fiscal year does not end until August 31, and Hensley said the total will continue to increase.
    To make a donation to the Relay For Life of Hawkins County you can send money to P.O. Box 53 Rogersville, TN 37857, or call (423) 923-5085 for more information.
    To watch the filming of Crook and Chase in Rogersville tune into RFD-TV this week, or log onto www.crookandchase.com for more info and pics from the Rogersville Review.