{"id":758,"date":"2014-11-14T18:22:27","date_gmt":"2014-11-14T18:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/peanutsandpopcorn\/?p=758"},"modified":"2014-11-14T18:22:27","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T18:22:27","slug":"michael-w-smith-named-philanthropist-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/peanutsandpopcorn\/2014\/11\/michael-w-smith-named-philanthropist-of-the-year.html","title":{"rendered":"Michael W. Smith Named Philanthropist of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Michael<\/a>
Michael W. Smith is presented with Philanthropist of the Year Award by the AFP. (AFP)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Friday night affair<\/em>
\nOut in the city heat<\/em>
\nAlways a party there<\/em>
\nAlong the sordid street<\/em>
\nAnd it was guaranteed<\/em>
\nThe place to be was Rocketown<\/em>
\nThe drinks were two for one<\/em>
\nInside the crowded bars<\/em>
\nThe girls would make their run<\/em>
\nOut on the boulevard<\/em>
\nIt was the idol place<\/em>
\nWe lived the ways of Rocketown<\/em><\/p>\n

– From the song \u201cRocketown\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

November 5, 2014 was designated as National Philanthropy Day and in Nashville, Tennessee; the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP<\/a>) celebrated the \u201cdifference makers\u201d in the community which included naming singer\/songwriter Michael W. Smith, as the Philanthropist of the Year. This was based on his extensive work with the Rocketown outreach program which he founded in 1994, eight years after the song of the same name was released on his album, \u201cThe Big Picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rocketown is considered to be the first of its kind in the Southeast and has since grown into a regional outreach. \u00a0Located in downtown Nashville, the facility features three stages for live entertainment, an indoor skatepark, a snack bar, a recording studio, and other studios for photography, art and dance. It is estimated that more than 800 teens from across the Middle Tennessee region participate in programs each weekend as well as an after-school program at a local high school.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a good week for Smith as he was again given an award at the Nashville Association of Talent Directors<\/a>\u2019 annual gala on November 11th.\u00a0<\/span>The program honors entertainment professionals for their efforts \u201cto make Nashville the exciting and vital entertainment mecca that it is today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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