Russell Dickerson and Wife Kailey Receive Randy Owen Angels Among Us Award at Country Cares for St. Jude
“This isn’t about us. This is about these kids…”
Randy Owen presenting Russell and Kailey Dickerson with Angels Among Us Award; Photo by ALSAC + St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Russell Dickerson and his wife, Kailey Dickerson, were honored with the Randy Owen Angels Among Us Award during the 36th annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids event. The award recognizes a country music artist who has demonstrated exceptional dedication and service to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The award was presented to the couple by its namesake, Randy Owen of ALABAMA, who founded the Country Cares program in 1989. Since then, the country music community has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to help ensure St. Jude families never have to pay for treatment, travel, housing or food.
Past recipients of the honor include Keith Urban, Old Dominion, Brothers Osborne, Scotty McCreery, Lady A, Darius Rucker, Jake Owen and Brad Paisley.
Ahead of the special dinner where Owen presented them with the award, Russell and Kailey spoke to Country Now about what it meant to receive such a special honor together.
“Such a huge honor to receive this, especially together. And as parents now, it means a whole different thing to have children of our own. And when you meet these families and see where they’re at and just an unimaginable situation and knowing how incredible St. Jude is to come through for these families year after year, decade after decade, it’s just the highest honor that we could do to give back and to promote St. Jude at every turn of our influence, what little influence we have on the world. I hope that we can point people to God and St. Jude,” Russell told us.
“You can’t go to St. Jude and leave the same as you came. It is such an honor to partner with them and never in a million years did we think this was part of the process. It was such a surprise and such an honor and it’s honestly kind of hard to receive. But we love St. Jude and we’ll be here supporting them forever,” Kailey added.
Things became official later that evening when Owen presented the couple with the award. Together, Russell and Kailey delivered a speech lasting more than seven minutes, reflecting on their first visit to St. Jude in 2017, when Russell was on tour with Thomas Rhett.
“This isn’t about us. This is about these kids,” Kailey told the crowd from the stage.
She went on to thank Randy Owen for “paving the way” and offered prayers for the families at St. Jude, as well as the research conducted there to help children around the world.
Russell shared how supporting St. Jude is deeply rooted in his family before revealing why he believes he and Kailey were selected to receive the award.
“I’m not the biggest superstar in country music by any means, nor am I the biggest donor to St. Jude by any means either. We just paid off our student loans a few years ago,” he said with a laugh. “And the only thing I can really think of of why it would be us up here is the word yes.”
He continued, “We get pulled in a lot of directions in this industry and in this business and we get a lot asked from us to be here, fly there, play here, call here. And honestly, as we have built a family, it’s become a lot more nos. But if I ever hear the two magical words, St. Jude, yes.”
For the “Worth Your Wild” singer, the answer is always “yes” when St. Jude is involved. He then turned that message into a challenge for the room full of country radio programmers, influencers and media members.
“So I challenge you, everybody here tonight, when you hear those magical words, those two magical words, St. Jude, what do we say?”
A resounding “YES” rang out throughout the crowd.
St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and works to defeat childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Those inspired by Russell Dickerson’s challenge can help make a difference by donating at MusicGives.org.
Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.
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