OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The Friends of the Nature Coast benefit concert raised roughly $525,000 for those recovering from the devastating losses Hurricane Idalia left behind.

The benefit concert, which was held on December 14, featured a variety of Nashville artists who volunteered their time and talent for the cause including Dixie County native Rob Hatch. He along with five other singer/songwriters performed at the Alachua County Agriculture & Equestrian Center in Newberry for a crowd of about 1,000.

Rob Hatch pours his heart into the music while doing so for a cause close to his heart. Courtesy: Jonny Nomad
Randy Houser takes the stage at the concert. Courtesy: Jonny Nomad

Craig Mikell who organized the event with Hatch says the concert exceeded all of his expectations.

Radio personality Lewis Stokes of 93.7 K-Country, 352today’s sister station, helped emcee the event which included a lot of light-hearted moments as the artists shared stories about their music and working with each other.

In addition to ticket sales, the event also raised funds through a live auction.

One of the items auctioned was guitar that was found among the hurricane debris in Horseshoe Beach and signed by all the artists.

The concert also raised funds through a live auction including this guitar salvaged from hurricane debris and turned into a piece of art featuring autographs from all the artists. Courtesy: Jonny Nomad

Other auction items included:

  • Jeep E-bike
  • Texas deer hunt
  • 4 Mexico luxury home trips
  • 2 new guitars autographed by the artists
  • Day on the set of the tv show Yellowstone as a guest of the producer along with fly fishing trip and exclusive resort accommodations

Mikell says the best part about all of it is knowing that through this concert, they can help improve the lives of people who lost everything.

“That’s going to be the most humbling part of it is to be able to bring these folks in and do something that’s going to make a difference,” said Mikell. “We’re trying to give people just a little bit of hope… a little lifeline where they can hang on until they can figure out what they need to do.”

Mikell who is in the insurance business told 352today in an earlier interview that he realized many of Idalia’s victims are uninsured and have no way to recover from the catastrophic damage. He said the goal was to provide some financial support for many people who no longer had a place to live.

The Next Step
Proceeds from the concert will be granted to those who have been significantly impacted by Hurricane Idalia which hit on August 30.

Anyone impacted had to fill out an application in order to be considered to receive the assistance. Mikell says they’ve received about 60 applications so far with the majority coming from Suwannee and Horseshoe Beach.

The Rex and Brody Foundation, a non-profit organization, will handle distributing the funds.

Mikell says their goal is to have all of the money allocated by the end of January. He added that they plan to hand-deliver the money to recipients. He says it’s important for them to know the faces behind the concert and those who were willing to help, as well as the community who came together to support those in need.

“This isn’t anything that I did or Rob Hatch did. This is something that north-central Florida did,” said Mikell. “We just happened to be sort of the ideas behind it, but we didn’t do this. The businesses and the folks in north-central Florida came together and did it.”