GE Appliances, a Haier company, is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, where Marcia Brey leads the Lean strategy for the business focusing on delivering winning products and services for customers & consumers while minimizing waste throughout ALL functions.
Known as the Lean Enterprise, Marcia is responsible for implementing transformational, cross-functional processes, growing the capability of employees and improving management systems at GE Appliances. Marcia earned her Master’s degrees from both the University of Louisville in Mechanical Engineering & the University of Arizona in Quality & Reliability Engineering.
Marcia began her 26-year career at Appliances on GE’s Edison Engineering Program & has worked across multiple product lines in Design Engineering, Customer Service, Sales, Marketing, Distribution, Quality & Manufacturing.
She most recently was the plant manager for the Bottom-Freezer Refrigeration factory where she managed a $100M budget and led a team of 1,000 employees making significant improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost & employee satisfaction. She assumed her current role in Jan. 2017.
Marcia has volunteered with the American Red Cross for the past 10-years as the GE Appliance representative on the Board of Directors. She has led several Red Cross service projects as well as several committees AND assumed the role of Chair of the Board for the Kentucky Region of the American Red Cross in July of 2019. Marcia also volunteers at her church, St. Gabriel, leading several committees.
She has been recognized by Today’s Woman, Business First’s “Top 40 under 40” and as a Manufacturing Institute “STEP Ahead leader.”
Marcia & her husband, Greg, are raising their 3 children in Louisville.
Alex attends Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky and has served as Lieutenant Governor of the Kentucky Youth Assembly and more recently elected to serve as the KYA President of the Senate.
Additionally, he was selected to represent Kentucky at the Conference On National Affairs.
Since the age of 11, Alex has been leading a bipartisan effort in the Kentucky legislature to end the use of corporal punishment in schools.
Alex has also written opinion pieces for The Courier-Journal.
He enjoys running cross country & participating in Saint Xavier High School’s service club & student council.
The Saint Xavier faculty awarded Alex the Ryken Underclassman Award for outstanding industry, school spirit, cooperation, and loyalty.
Josh runs IDEAS xLab – an artist-led nonprofit based in Louisville, KY. He is an artist with a background in entrepreneurship, art & business administration, & editorial production – & explores the world through photography (& a lot of running), documenting his journey through joshmiller.ventures.
In addition to his outdoor explorations, Josh celebrates the brilliance and strength of marginalized people including LGBTQ+ & Black communities through photography & collaborative storytelling.
Josh was selected for Louisville Business First’s Forty under 40 and is a distance runner, a TEDx speaker, an advisor for the Derby Diversity & Business Summit, & founding Board Member of Civitas: Regional LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce headquartered in Louisville, KY.
From 2016 – July 2019, he served as the Co-Chair of the Louisville Health Advisory Board’s Communications Committee.
In 2019, IDEAS xLab was named Nonprofit of the Year by the Derby Diversity & Business Summit.
Lee Pennington is a graduate of Berea College and the University of Iowa. He holds two Honorary Doctor degrees – A Doctor of Literature from World University & Doctor of Philosophy in Arts from The Academy of Southern Arts & Letters. He taught for nearly 40 years, the last 32 as Professor of English and creative writing at the University of Kentucky’s Jefferson Community College until he retired in 1999. Lee is the author of 22 books including I Knew a Woman (1977) Thigmotropism (1993) & Appalachian Newground (2016)–each nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in poetry. His latest book is Daughters of Leda (2017)—selected as a finalist for “Best Book of Poetry published in 2017” by the American Book Fest. His Songs of Bloody Harlan was reprinted and re-released in 2019. He has had over 1300 poems published in more than 300 magazines in America & abroad. He has had 9 plays produced, wrote the script for The Moonshine War (MGM, 1970, starring Alan Alda, Richard Widmark, etc.), & has published thousands of articles & short stories in everything from Playgirl to Mountain Life & Work. Since 1990, through his video production company, JoLe Productions (joleproductions.com), Lee, along with his late wife, Joy, have produced 21 documentaries including In Search of the Mudmen (1990), Wales: History in Bondage (1995), & Secret of the Stones (1998), Eyes that Look at the Sky: The Mystery of Easter Island (2001), The Mound Builders (2001), The Serpent Fort: Solving the Mystery of FT. Mountain, Georgia (2005), Let Me Not Drown on the Waters: Fred Rydholm, Michigan’s “Mr. Copper.” Since 2011, Lee has produced 5 more documentaries: Some Days You Clean, Some Days You Litter: The Amazing Warner Sizemore, 2012; Room To Fly: Anne Caudill’s Album, 2013; Bosnian Pyramids Hidden History, 2015; Seafaring Strangers: Vikings in America, Part I, 2016; & Gunung Padang: Monument to Atlantis, 2017.
Lee has traveled extensively (in all the USA, in all the Canadian Provinces except 2, & in 90 foreign countries). For the past dozen years, he has served as president of the Ancient Kentucke Historical Association, a group dedicated to the study and research of pre-Columbian contact in the Americas. In 2013 the University of Louisville. opened the Lee & Joy Pennington Cultural Heritage Gallery, named after Lee & his late wife. The gallery contains UofL’s most valuable works including the likes of the first editions of Galileo, Copernicus, & Sir Isaac Newton. It will house all of Lee’s writings, films, & many artifacts he’s collected traveling around the world. He presently lives in Kratz House, a designated historic home, in Middletown, KY with his lady, Jill Baker, an artist who has illustrated several of his books.
Shelly is a community leader & an internationally recognized authority on American quilts. Check out www.shellyzegart.com for more information. She collects, curates exhibitions, writes, lectures, and appraises fine quilts. Shelly has curated many exhibits in the U.S. & abroad, and lectures on all aspects of quilt history and aesthetics. She is the President of the not-for-profit Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc., the 1st of the state quilt documentation projects. Shelly is a co-founder of the Quilt Alliance & Executive Producer and Host of “Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics” a nine-part documentary featured on more than 250 member PBS stations and whyquiltsmatter.org & now streaming on Kentucky Educational Television. Her private collection of quilts was acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2013 Shelly was the catalyst for the placement of the International Honor Quilt (see Judy Chicago Through the Flower site) at the University of Louisville Hite Art Institute, & chairs the governance committee overseeing the integration & use of the Honor Quilt at the University. She has built private & corporate quilt collections around the world. In 1985, Shelly was selected for Leadership Louisville & in 2004, she was named a Woman of Distinction by the Louisville Center for Women & Families & an Associate Fellow of the International Quilt Study Center. Shelly is active in a number of community efforts and boards. Her most recent project is Kentucky to the World or “KTW” a nonprofit she founded in 2013 & based in Louisville. KTW is dedicated to enhancing the intellectual reputation of Kentucky, it’s people & its assets through a unique combination of live events and video outreach. KTW features and promotes extraordinary individuals who are passionate about their Kentucky ties through a speaker series for general and student audiences, videos distributed online, through community partners & KET (KY. Educational Television) for further info visit kentuckytotheworld.org.
Shelly holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Michigan & resides in Louisville with her husband, Dr. Kenneth Zegart & has 2 daughters, Terri Seltz & Amy Zegart.
Ramez Naam is the co-chair of Energy and Environment at Singularity University. He is a computer scientist who spent 13 years at Microsoft leading teams that worked on email, web browsing, internet search, machine learning, internet-scale systems, and artificial intelligence. The products he built have touched the lives of more than a billion people. Ramez is an inventor with more than 20 patents, many of them co-authored with Bill Gates. He is also a startup investor, focused on disruptive energy startups, and is a board member of E8 Angels. He leads an angel investing syndicate on AngelList, where you can co-invest alongside him. He is on the advisory board of Shell’s New Energies division and has advised numerous Fortune 100 energy, utility, and transportation companies. He and his work have been written about in The New York Times, The Economist, Slate, Business Week, Scientific American, The Atlantic and more. Ramez is also the multi-award-winning author of five books, including “The Nexus Trilogy” science fiction novels.
Dr. Richard Murphy, who has been the research director at the Alltech European Bioscience Centre in Dunboyne, Ireland, for 17 years, is the recipient of the Alltech Medal of Excellence. Alltech’s highest distinction, it is awarded annually to someone of great character and achievement. Dr. Murphy is being recognized for his pioneering work in the areas of organic trace element assimilation, microbial enzyme technology and the mitigation of antimicrobial resistance in livestock production.
This research has provided the basis for a revolution in animal nutrition, including many exciting developments in the industry, such as: the application of organic trace minerals and their potential to positively impact feed quality and decrease feed costs; the optimization of solid-state fermentation systems by utilizing microbial enzyme production, opening opportunities for new supplementation approaches; and a better understanding of the microbial factors that influence gut health, which has been integral to the development of novel strategies for mitigating antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.
Dr. Murphy’s ability to analyze complex concepts and translate them into easily understood language has positioned him as an ambassador of some of Alltech’s most advanced technologies and their practical applications, taking him around the world as a much sought-after speaker and expert. Murphy is also heavily invested in the future of research, overseeing the activity of many Ph.D. and Master’s Degree students over the course of his career. This forward-thinking outlook extends to emerging technologies as well, such as metabolomics, a new science that explores the compounds that microbial populations produce in the gut and their effects on genetics, metabolism and overall health.
Amanda Radke is a fifth-generation rancher from Mitchell, South Dakota, who has dedicated her career to serving as a voice for the nation’s beef producers. A 2009 graduate of South Dakota State University (SDSU) with a degree in agricultural communications, education, and leadership, Amanda served internships with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service in Washington, D.C. and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Denver, Colorado. Her 2008 summer internship with BEEF magazine led to an ongoing blogger position for the BEEF Daily blog, where she provides timely industry news each week, Monday through Thursday.
She’s the 2006 National FFA Extemporaneous Speaking champion and the 2006 National Beef Ambassador. In 2012, she was recognized as a Top 10 Beef Industry Leader by Cattle Business Weekly and was included in Media Industry News’ 2012 “Top 15 People To Watch Under 30” list. When she’s not writing or ranching, Amanda is traveling the country speaking to agricultural groups about hot industry issues or reading her ranch-inspired children’s books, “Levi’s Lost Calf” and “Can-Do Cowkids,” at elementary schools. She married her SDSU collegiate meats judging teammate, Tyler, in 2010, and together, they have three children, Scarlett, Thorne, and Croix. Learn more about Amanda or purchase her books at www.amandaradke.com.
Samantha considers herself a Media Specialist, having worked for such organizations as Fairfax Media, Food Miles Magazine, the Daily Telegraph, and the Glen Innes Examiner. Based in Sydney Australia, Samantha became the Runner-Up 2019 IFAJ Alltech International Award for Leadership.
Deborah Wilson is senior vice president of TrustBIX Inc., which operates Business InfoXchange (BIX) in Canada and Viewtrak Technologies in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and China. BIX is currently expanding into other countries and beyond beef to other species and commodities. Her role includes business development, data management system development, blockchain use, traceability in supply chains, collaborative partnerships, pilot projects, and marketing and communications.
She sits on the national council for the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), was an adviser to the verification committee and serves on the marketing and communications committee. She currently sits on the CRSB business strategy committee as well as the project management team for the Canadian Beef Sustainability Pilot project. This allows her to pursue her passion for sustainability and support cattle producers, creating a future for the next generation.
Deborah has served on both the national and provincial boards of the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association, receiving its Honor Roll award in 2013, and she also received the President’s Award for Glacier Farm Media in 2012. As a lifelong cattle producer, she and her husband have used technology and data for production improvement and increased profitability since the late 1980s.
She has served on national cattle boards in the seed-stock industry in Canada and spent 11 years as a 4-H beef leader when her children were growing up.
Mike Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire also includes keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments. He contributed to a majority of the band’s musical compositions.
Linkin’ Bridge is a musical group consisting of Louisville, Kentucky natives Big Rome, Montre Davis, Shon China Lacy, and Elliot Nicholas. Montre and China are cousins that have known each other all their lives. The group grew up in the hip-hop era, listening to Run–D.M.C., Tupac, and N.W.A. Their goal is to take their message to the masses with controversy and comedy.
Natalie Zea is an American actress known for her performances on television. Natalie began her acting career in theatre. Her first major role was on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions (2000–2002), where she played the role of Gwen Hotchkiss. Her breakout role was on the ABC primetime soap opera Dirty Sexy Money as socialite Karen Darling, where she starred from 2007 to 2009. Natalie also has made many guest appearances on television, starred in a number of independent and made-for-television movies, and had recurring roles in The Shield, Hung, and Californication.
In 2010, Natalie began starring as Winona Hawkins in the FX critically acclaimed crime drama series, Justified as a regular cast member during the first three seasons and recurring guest star later. In 2013, she also began starring as Claire Matthews in the Fox drama series The Following. Zea also starred as Mickey Holmes-Harris, the lead character, in the canceled-before-airing ABC dramedy series, Members Only, and is currently starring in the TBS sitcom The Detour, which premiered in the spring of 2016.
Jennifer Nettles performed the National Anthem at the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 4th, 2019.
American country music singer, songwriter, and actress. She is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this, she fronted the Atlanta-based bands of Soul Miner’s Daughter and Jennifer Nettles Band. She also charted as a duet partner on the country version of rock band Bon Jovi‘s 2006 single “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” a Number One hit on the Billboard country charts.
Venezuelan American actor, producer, singer and television personality. He is best known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That ’70s Show (1998–2006) and as Carlos Madrigal in From Dusk till Dawn: The Series (2014–16). He was also the host of the MTV series Yo Momma (2006–07), the voice of Manny in the children’s show Handy Manny (2006–13) and has had recurring roles on Grey’s Anatomy as well as The Ranch (both in 2016). He also has a role on NCIS as Nick Torres.
American singer, songwriter, actor, and model, best known as a member of the Backstreet Boys. Kevin was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame along with his cousin and bandmate Brian Littrell on April 10, 2015.
David Alan Grier is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.
American singer, songwriter, and musician from Harlan, Kentucky. Jordan began singing in his church choir and continued through his college education at Lee University where he was a member of the Lee Singers. In 2015 he gained national recognition when he won season nine of the singing competition The Voice. During his time on The Voice, he was the show’s first artist of the season to reach No. 1 in sales of pop songs in the iTunes Store and set new sales marks on Billboard charts.
American actor, screenwriter, producer, and film director. He is best known for co-writing and producing the film Green Book, for which he received two Academy Awards. He has also directed the films In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man with One Eye Is King, Choker, and Stiletto, and co-wrote the screenplay to Deadfall.
The American country music singer and songwriter is signed to Curb Records. Lee has released four albums for the label: Love Like Crazy, Hard to Love, I Don’t Dance and Lee Brice. He has also released eleven singles, of which four were written by his cousin, Michael Cericola, and have charted at number one on Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay: “A Woman Like You“, “Hard to Love“, “I Drive Your Truck“, and “I Don’t Dance“. He has also charted within the top 10 with “Love Like Crazy“, “Parking Lot Party“, “Drinking Class“, and “That Don’t Sound Like You“. “Love Like Crazy” was the top country song of 2010 according to Billboard Year-End, and broke a 62-year-old record for the longest run on the country chart.
Besides his own material, he has also co-written singles for artists like Garth Brooks, Adam Gregory, the Eli Young Band, and Tim McGraw. One of his compositions, Brooks’s “More Than a Memory“, was the first song ever to debut at number one on the country chart, while the Eli Young Band’s “Crazy Girl” was the Billboard Year-End top country song of 2011.
In releasing his latest album, Two Lane Town, JD Shelburne feels he has recorded the album that could take him to a whole new level. “I’ve been working really hard on this album. I think it is my best collection of songs that I’ve released thus far,” he says of his fourth project. He says that he’s definitely learned a lot since he released his first disc that was self-titled, back in 2012.
“It’s all about writing and recording great songs,” he says. “It all boils down to just a great lyric. I try to write/record songs that I can relate to, ones that are catchy and have a great melody that I feel my fans can relate.”
Of the tracks from the new album, JD says there’s one in particular that has a special place in his heart. “I co-wrote a song on the record called ‘Born For This.’ It’s the first song on the record, and it talks about picking up guitar and adapting to a new venture in life while attending college and just running with it – I was nineteen when my grandmother passed away. My life turned around in an instant when I found that guitar after her death. I didn’t realize until early in college that music was my true passion in life. I had played three different sports growing up, and just led the simple small-town life. I picked up the guitar, and my life hasn’t been the same since. It’s kind of the title track of my life. When I was about to finish college, there was a point when I realized I was about to be an adult and wondered what I was going to do with my life. Where I was going to go? I honestly felt like I was born to play music and entertain people. It was just something that I gravitated towards naturally. Nashville, Tennessee was my next destination and I haven’t looked back since.”
J.D began that gravitation while growing up on a tobacco farm in Taylorsville, KY, a tiny town southeast of the Ohio River near Louisville KY. At age 19, he found a guitar after the death of his grandmother and began learning to play and sing on his own. By his sophomore year of college, he had found a few gigs at some local bars in the Louisville/Lexington, KY area and developed a fan-base that eventually landed him on some of the biggest stages in the business, opening for some of the nation’s hottest stars. Eventually, Shelburne was adding original songs into the set mix, in addition to producing songs of his own material.
In 2002, Kentucky fell in love at first sight with Shelburne, then a college student and a small-town kid with a wide smile, natural singing voice and a love of faith, family and his hometown of Taylorsville, KY. But that small-town image is merely a fond memory now that he has moved on to Nashville down the path to music stardom.
Now find him soaking up the music scene, touring cities, building a fan-base and celebrating a decade of success playing venues all across the southeast trying to get his big break. Today he’s among the most hardworking and relevant country singers in the business. They say Nashville doesn’t work that way anymore – that talented musicians with very few connections don’t stand a chance. But Shelburne proved that Music City’s engine still runs off of talent and persistent driven antics. Critics find him credible. Fans pack his shows. Venues strive to book him. There are very few new artists recording songs today about whom that can be said.
During his whirlwind career explosion, he has performed with over 50 national acts ranging from stars such as Montgomery Gentry, Craig Morgan, Jamey Johnson, Kellie Pickler, Steve Wariner to Clay Walker and Johnny Lee, performed at some of the region’s most famous venues such as the Historic Ryman Auditorium, Rupp Arena, Murphy Center, KFC Yum Center, Freedom Hall, Churchill Downs and Old Cardinal Stadium which recently drew the Kentucky State Fair’s largest crowd of the concert series. JD performed “God Bless America” prior to the 2016 Quaker State 400 NASCAR race at Kentucky Speedway to over 100,000 attendees. In September 2017, JD made his NBC Network Television Debut performing the National Anthem at the NASCAR XS Myrtle Beach 300! He has also been featured in Country Weekly Magazine, Kentucky Alumni Magazine, Kentucky Monthly Magazine amongst many other national publications including the Huffington Post. His debut music video “Farmboy” gained him thousands of new fans by airing on the TNN Top Ten Countdown nationwide on Heartland TV network and ZUUS Country Network. In 2015, he made his Nationwide debut on GAC – Great American Country Network and also CMT.com in October with his second music video entitled “Hometown” written about the demise of his small town. On October 21, 2015, JD debuted as #1 trending artist on CMT.com edging out Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan, and Jason Aldean! He has performed over 2,000 concerts all over the southeast as well as over 300 festivals. JD’s outfits have been featured on display at the Kentucky Derby Museum at Historic Churchill Downs from his appearances at the Kentucky Derby. In 2016, he was invited to perform in the Kentucky State Capitol for the State Senate as well as the House of Representatives where he performed his own rendition of “My Old Kentucky Home” for both parties. JD was named an Honorable Kentucky Colonel and was also presented the honor of “Admiral” by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Also, in 2016, the University of Kentucky’s College of Communication and Information named JD their 2016 Most Outstanding Alumnus! On September 18, 2018, he made his World Premiere on CMT!
In June 2017, Shelburne launched his world premiere official music video for “Better Man” that was filmed in Midway/ Millville, KY. The music video made its Network Television Debut on Great American Country (GAC) on June 23, 2017, and is currently in Nationwide rotation. At the 2017 Kentucky Derby, Shelburne was a guest chef of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives host Guy Fieri at his restaurant alongside Guy, Travis Tritt and NFL Legend Jerry Rice! Shelburne, most recently reached #29 on the Music Row chart with his debut single of “One Less Girl”. The single lead him to features on CMT and reaching over 120,000 views online! His follow-up single “She Keeps Me Up Nights” will impact radio this summer and has already reached #6 on the CMT 12-Pack Countdown!
JD also has performed at several prestigious nationwide events: NBA Basketball Games, Guaranteed Rate Field for the Chicago White Sox, Suntrust Park for the Atlanta Braves, The Kentucky Derby, Unbridled Eve Derby Gala, Barnstable Brown Derby Gala, events for Jim Beam Brands and Four Roses Bourbon, NCAA Division I College Football/Basketball Games, The National FFA Organization National Convention, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotel Brands, NASCAR Racing Events, Minor League Baseball Games, Dollar General NASCAR Racing Team Event, CMA Music Festival, the NCAA Women’s Final Four, SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament and more! As you can imagine, the road is a place where he loves to be.
“I rarely take days off. I performed 230 tour dates last year, and in 2016, I performed 246. I have always taken nearly every opportunity given to me that is within a reasonable distance. I have a relative in the family that was a Country artist back in the 1970s, and his name was Guy Shannon. He had a couple of charted singles and played the Opry several times. He told me before I moved to Nashville, ‘You’ll never get discovered in a basement. Anytime you can get a gig somewhere, take it and run with it. I have taken that advice and used it tremendously. I play shows just about everywhere. I’ve been in the business ten years, and I’m still hungry,” he says eagerly
J.D. has high hopes and expectations for the new music. “I want to try to get on a national tour and spread my music and my name to places I’ve never played. I think I’ve got some great songs on this record, and I think so many fans will relate and be drawn to this new album. I still have a lot of ground to cover and I don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.”
American country music singer, songwriter, and actor, Travis Tritt signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 2000s, he released two albums on Columbia Records and one for the now-defunct Category 5 Records. Seven of his albums (counting the Greatest Hits) are certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); the highest-certified is 1991’s It’s All About to Change, which is certified triple-platinum. Travis has also charted more than 40 times on the Hot Country Songs charts, including five number ones — “Help Me Hold On,” “Anymore,” “Can I Trust You with My Heart,” “Foolish Pride“, and “Best of Intentions” — and 15 additional top ten singles. Travis’s musical style is defined by mainstream country and Southern rock influences.
He has received two Grammy Awards, both for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals: in 1992 for “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’,” a duet with Marty Stuart, and again in 1998 for “Same Old Train”, a collaboration with Stuart and nine other artists. In addition, he has received four awards from the Country Music Association and has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1992.
Patrick Warburton is an American comedic actor and voice artist. In television, he has played David Puddy on Seinfeld, the title role on The Tick, Jeb Denton on Less Than Perfect, Jeff Bingham on Rules of Engagement and Lemony Snicket on A Series of Unfortunate Events. His distinct, firm bass voice has landed him prolific roles in animation, including Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove and its sequels, Joe Swanson on Family Guy, Brock Samson on The Venture Bros., Lok in the Tak and the Power of Juju video games and its television series, Ken in Bee Movie, Flynn in Skylanders and Hugo Vasquez in Tales from the Borderlands. In advertising, he has played a “control enthusiast” in a series of commercials for National Car Rental.
Warren Moon was a former American and Canadian football quarterback who played professionally for 23 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Moon also played for the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL.
Warren began his professional career with the Eskimos in 1978, after going unselected in the NFL Draft. His success during his six seasons in the CFL led him to the NFL in 1984 with the Oilers. Over his 17 NFL seasons, he was named to nine Pro Bowls and made seven playoff appearances. Following ten seasons with the Oilers, he had brief multiple-year stints with the Vikings, Seahawks, and Chiefs before retiring at age 44.
At the time of his retirement, Warren held several all-time professional gridiron football passing records. He was less successful in the NFL postseason, never advancing beyond the division round of the playoffs, although he won five Grey Cups in the CFL. Warren was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming the first African-American quarterback and the first undrafted quarterback to receive the honor.
Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo founded by vocalists Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both natives of Kentucky. Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry began performing in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery’s brother, John Michael Montgomery. Although Troy won a talent contest in 1994, he reunited with Eddie Montgomery after Troy was unable to find a solo record deal, and Montgomery Gentry was formed in 1999. The duo was known for its Southern rock influences and collaborated with Charlie Daniels, Toby Keith, Five for Fighting, and members of The Allman Brothers Band.