Dr. Ray Denfield White

- Ray WhiteDeveloper

*Ray Denfield White Chief Information Officer (615) 591-4750

"The blame is on me," said Ray White, one of the event's chief organizers and the outgoing president of ProHealth Rural Health Services.

"People make bad decisions sometimes.We made bad decisions."

White, who projects an estimated loss of $250,000 on the event, said that he and his team, which had no experience in event promotions, underestimated the costs involved to run the event.

The money, which came from a loan made by ProHealth, will affect the not-for-profit health care provider and its plans to expand its dentistry and mental health services.ProHealth was going to add preventative adult dentistry services to its ProHealth Williamson location for TennCare recipients and uninsured patients.The organization also has locations in Columbia and Tusculum.

"We're still going to do it, but we have to start all over," White said.

Signs of the event's impending failure came as early as April, when, after planning the event since the summer of 2003, White was unable to secure sponsors for the event.

White and his organizers had projected that it would take about $200,000 to finance the event, but that was about $75,000 less than needed.

There were 3,500 seats for each of the three evening concerts, but fewer than 300 advance tickets were sold for all three shows.

White had hired Robinson Omnimedia & Studios to plan the event.He did stop short of pointing a finger at Robinson but said that a big reason for the event's cancellation had to do with the fact that two parties couldn't work together on the direction the event should go after Friday.
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Robinson's company pulled out of the event Friday, leaving White to plan the rest of the activities.

White had hoped that door ticket sales would help to pay the remaining amount the artists were owed.But not enough revenue was generated, and the event had to be shut down, he said.

"We're still licking our wounds, and we're still talking with the people we owe," said White, referring to the negotiations taking place between him and the artists, production and others involved with the event.

Saturday evening, when soul crooner Downing was supposed to perform, dozens of cars snaked out of the Williamson County AgExpo Park after the audience learned the event had been canceled.But as late as Saturday night, the event continued to run on television ads.

White said that the people who paid for tickets at the door were given refunds.He said about $350 more in sales was refunded than what was issued."Some people weren't completely honest with me," White said.

White said they will aim to put on another concert series in the summer but under a different name.
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As for the concert promotions business, White compared it with the business he knew best.

"This is not like health care," he said.

Ray White, MHA, NHA, PhD, Chief Development Officer

Robinson and Dr. Ray White of ProHealth Rural Health Services organized some powerful sponsors to do something about these issues ó something big, and something fun.

"This will be a major venue in which to get health-education information'" says Dr. Ray White, founder and developer of ProHealth Rural Health Services, a not-for-profit health agency serving Tennessee.The agency has facilities in Nashville, Franklin and Columbia.During the month of May, these three facilities and other participating healthcare providers are providing free health screenings for any three "health disparity" diseases, including diabetes, asthma and heart disease, and free festival passes to testees.

"This is a way to get a whole lot of people tested," says White, who hit upon the idea of the festival as a means to encourage testing, particularly among men, who are typically the worst offenders when it comes to neglecting their health.

"If we (men) feel bad enough, our wives make us go to the doctor," says White."Then, if we feel better, we don't go back."

White says that diabetes and high-blood pressure are always a concern in men, that minority populations, especially Afro-American and Hispanic men, experience disproportionate risks of disability and premature death from many diseases, and that because of cavalier attitudes and/or lack of education about prevention, many men never take the most elementary steps to safeguard their lives.
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Like the Temptations, White ain't too proud to beg, when it comes to making people more aware of their own health."We're expecting 30,000 people (over the three days)," he says.