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AMVETS NATIONAL COMMANDER HONORS A COUNTRY MUSIC LEGEND
Jerry “Reed” Hubbard receives award for supporting veterans
WASHINGTON, March 3, 2008—AMVETS National Cmdr. John P. “JP” Brown III presented country music legend Jerry “Reed” Hubbard with the organization’s prestigious Silver Helmet Award this morning at Reed’s home in Nashville.
Brown made the special trip to Nashville to present “the Guitar Man” with the award because the legendary singer and actor can no longer travel. Brown was honored to recognize Reed for his contributions to the veterans’ community.
“I know it means a lot to Jerry,” Brown said. “He served his country and decided to pursue a career enriching people’s lives. But he never forgot where he came from and what it means to support and defend this nation.”
Reed, an Army veteran and stanch supporter of the Tennessee veterans’ community, was presented the award for his tireless work with the Murfreesboro Veterans Hospital and his support to last year’s National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, where he performed his song “The American Veteran.”
Reed released his first album at age 18, prior to joining in the Army. He is best known for his Grammy Award-winning song “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot,” and has appeared in more than a dozen major motion pictures, including “Smokey and the Bandit,” for which he is also known for the hit single “East Bound and Down.”
Reed was honored to accept the award. He is considering moving his Grammy awards aside to make room saying “this is going front and center.”
The Silver Helmet Award is an annual award presented by AMVETS that recognizes individuals and organizations that have gone above and beyond in their service to the veterans’ community. Past recipients had to be present at the awards dinner to receive what has been called “The Veterans’ Oscar.” However, Brown saw it fitting to make an exception to the rules to accommodate for Reed’s circumstances.
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