I just received these photos of the entire family together in Africa as well as a few additional candid shots and thought I would post them.

Amy Grant and Stephen Mansfield are creating a gift book designed to
welcome America's warriors home. The book will combine a new song by
Amy, entitled Welcome Home, and inspiring stories of
returning warriors written by Stephen. The book is published by
Zondervan and will be out early next year.

More to come…

Summer vacation has ended for the most part in Nashville, Tennessee and kids are back in school full time, football has started (go Titans!), and although the days are still long and hot, it won't be too much longer before we feel the first hint of fall in the air.

Feels like the perfect time to recap the summer and give an update on the fall activities…

This summer was dominated by a few key events.  The first one was the incredible Challenge America event at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.  It was truly a spectacular night and an incredible launch for the Challenge America team.  Just last week, Amy and Vince traveled to Aspen for the annual golf tournament they host for Challenge Aspen and they were able to talk to the newly formed Challenge America Board and hear about all of the exciting connections, invitations, and developments that have happened since the June 8th concert.  More than anything, it is amazing and inspiring for Amy and Vince to hear of the lives that are being touched by this initiative which reaches out to our returning wounded war veterans and tries to help welcome them home.  For more information on how you can be involved, feel free to visit the Challenge America website here.

The other huge event of the summer was the family trip to Africa.  Exploring Africa with her children has been a longtime dream of Amy's and yet I don't think she had any idea going into the trip just how much of an impact it would make on her and on each one of the kids.  I think they all came back changed for the better and it will be interesting to see how those changes take hold and morph in the months to come.  One result of the trip for Amy is that it completely re-energized her relationship and commitment to Compassion International.  She is so excited to explore the relationship with Compassion and how she can be used to help further their cause to help children and families in need all across the world.  Feel free to visit Compassion International 

Now that those two monumental events are over and summer is drawing to a close, Amy is shifting gears (in her very slow Amy fashion!) back toward songwriting and recording.  She will head back in to the studio to put down a few more songs in the next couple of weeks.  We have purposely kept the fall performance schedule very light in order to keep her focused on new music. 

Speaking of schedule, here is a general idea of what the rest of the year looks like in terms of Amy's performances, appearances and charitable activities (some of this has already been posted or mentioned in message boards):

September 9 -  Amy will help host the Grammy Salute to Vince Gill in Nashville, TN. 
September 11 – Amy concert in Peachtree, GA.
September 15 – Amy and Vince photo shoot for Good Housekeeping (Feb 2010 issue)
September 16 – Amy performance for a private event at Opryland Hotel
September 17 & 18 – Amy attends the dedication of the newly remodeled Amy Grant Room at The Target House at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, TN
September 26 – Amy's performance for the Extraordinary Woman conference in Roanoke, VA
October 3 & 4 – Amy participation in the "Jack & Back" fundraiser for MS (t)
October 12 – Amy's performance in a Gospel Music Association benefit concert in Nashville TN
October 24 – Amy's 2nd Annual "Yard Sale" at David Lipscomb University
November 4 – Amy's participation at a Theta Luncheon in Oklahoma City
November 9 – Amy's participation at a benefit at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN
November 11 – Amy helps the Red Cross kick off their Holiday Heroes program in Washington DC
November 18 – Amy and Vince receive the Massey Leadership Award from the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee at Lowe's Vanderbilt Plaza in Nashville, TN
December 1 – Amy participates in the annual "Lighting of the Green" at David Lipscomb University

It promises to be a busy and rewarding fall.  Oh, and for those of you who have asked or are wondering, Amy and Vince have decided not to do a Christmas tour this year.  Perhaps 2010? 

More to come,

Jen

Here are some beautiful photos of Amy performing "El Shaddai" at St. George Cathedral in Capetown, South Africa.  Amy's dress was provided by designer Alberto Makali.

– The
Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee today announced that musicians
Amy Grant and Vince Gill have been named the recipients of the 2009 Jack C.
Massey Leadership Award.  This award is
presented biennially in recognition of outstanding community leadership and
considerable contributions to numerous causes that improve the lives of Middle
Tennessee’s citizens.

“For nearly than 30 years, Amy and Vince have been very successful
in Nashville ’s
music industry,” said Tom Starling, President and CEO of the Mental Health
Association of Middle Tennessee.  “However,
their greatest legacy to Nashville
is not just record sales or professional accolades.  Their generous contributions of time and
resources to numerous charitable organizations serving underprivileged
children, performing arts, physically disabled, homeless, and other persons in
need exemplifies the
type of visionary leadership that Jack C. Massey demonstrated.  We are delighted to
name Amy Grant and
Vince Gill as the recipients of the Jack C. Massey
Award.”

Amy Grant's
career spans over 25 years and stretches from her roots in gospel into an
iconic pop star, songwriter, television personality, and philanthropist. Grant
has sold more than 30 million albums and won six Grammys^® in
multiple categories, beginning with the platinum selling Age to Age in 1982. She also has six #1 hits, including "Baby,
Baby," and "Every Heartbeat". 
For as long as she has been singing, Grant has also been giving back to
her community.  Many organizations, large
and small, local and international, have benefitted from Grant’s involvement.

Vince Gill
has sold more than 26 million albums. He has earned 18 CMA Awards, including
Entertainer of the Year in 1993 and 1994. Gill is a member of the Grand Ole
Opry and has received 19 Grammys^® to date, the most of any male
Country artist. In 2007, the Country Music Association inducted Gill as the
newest members of the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame.  An avid golfer, he helped create the annual
Vince Gill Pro-Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament (“The Vinny”) in 1993 in
order to help support junior golf programs throughout Tennessee. 

Besides being known for his
talent as a performer, musician and songwriter, Gill is regarded as one of
Country Music’s best known humanitarians, participating in hundreds of
charitable events throughout his career.

The Jack C. Massey Award was created by the Mental Health
Association in 1986 to honor the late Mr. Massey’s lifelong dedication to the Nashville community.  He was a founder of Baptist Hospital and was on its
Board of Trustees for 20 years.  He also was
a trustee of Montgomery Bell Academy and a founder of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. He made frequent
contributions to local academic institutions such as Vanderbilt Law School, Meharry Medical College, and Belmont College, 
whose graduate school of business bears his name. One of the most successful
entrepreneurs of his time, Mr. Massey helped establish and lead numerous
corporations including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Surgical Care Affiliates, Corrections Corporation of America, Hospital
Corporation of America and Massey Surgical Supply.

Former Jack C. Massey Leadership Award recipients include
Ambassador Joe M. Rodgers (1986), Leah Rose Werthan (1988), Buddy Killen
(1991), Governor Ned McWherter (1993), Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr. (1995),
Annette Eskind (1997), Alyne Massey (1999), William O. Whetsell, Jr., M.D.
(2001), William S. Cochran (2003), Orrin H. Ingram, John R. Ingram, David B.
Ingram and Robin Ingram Patton (2005), and Mayor Bill Purcell (2007).

Alyne
Massey, Mr. Massey’s widow, will serve as honorary chair of the invitation-only awards dinner event, which will be held November 18, 2009.  Diana Day-Cartee and Karen Moore will serve as event co-chairs.

About The Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee

The Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee promotes
mental wellness for all individuals through advocacy, education and service.
For more information about the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee,
call 615-269-5355 or visit www.ichope.com.  

I have finally downloaded some candid photos from my camera phone and thought I'd post them here for you all to see… enjoy…  (please note – photos not high quality)  And, oddly enough, Amy's not in any of these photos!!!

Vince and Corrina singing at the Vinny!

Challenge America rehearsals in the hotel room (Melinda Doolittle, Darius Rucker, Vince and Alison Krauss)

Vince and Michael McDonald soundchecking at the Kennedy Center for Challenge America…

Over the past several months I have accepted hundreds of friends requests from Amy fans on my personal facebook page.  I accepted the requests because there are several longtime Amy fans that I have gotten to know over the years on a personal basis and it didn't seem fair to accept them as friends and not accept other people.  I made the decision to accept everybody but I have continually stressed via private messages and this blog that I was asking those Amy fans who were not also personal friends of mine to respect the page as my own personal page and not ask questions about Amy or work.

For the most part everyone has respected my wishes.  On a couple of occassions I have had to write a gentle reminder via private message to those who have made numerous comments about Amy on my page.  The problem for me is that my own page gets so many comments from Amy fans that my own friends and family are reluctant to engage with my page.  My own sister told me the other day that she doesn't comment on my status updates because she doesn't want to deal with all the incoming texts on her phone when a slew of other people she doesn't know also respond.

So, I am going to make another request of all of you — PLEASE do not comment or respond to my every post or status update.  An occasional comment is fine but there are some people who comment numerous times every single day and that makes my personal facebook page feel more like an extension of Amy's fanbase than it does of my own personal friends and family.

I am not trying to upset anyone and I hope this is not taken out of context.  I'm fine to have some interaction on the page with FOA'er but don't want it to be overrun.

For those of you who have refrained from making a lot of comments on my page — thank you.  For those of you who are not facebook users or could care less about being my "friend" — sorry to waste your time with this.  But for those of you who respond to something on my page every day or several times a day, please give it a bit of a rest.   If it doesn't get better I am going to have to make my page private for friends and family only.

Thanks for understanding…

Jen

Check out this link to read more about the International Academy of Achievement Summit that Amy and Vince participated in in South Africa from July 3 – 8, 2009.  INCREDIBLE organization.  This link shows photos and recaps the summit.  Definitely worth clicking…..  so click here:

http://achievement.org/autodoc/pageg…009/index.html

I received a couple of photos of Amy and Vince's performance at The Grand Ol Opry (May 30) and thought I would share them with all of you.  (Photos by Chris Hollo / courtesy of the Grand Ol Opry)

I apologize for the delay and the lack of updates while Amy was in Africa, but she lost her iphone early in the trip and never "phoned home," so to speak.  Anyway, we will be posting a personal blog from Amy recapping her experience in Africa as well as lots of photos in the days to come….

Here are the first few photos…