If you are visiting this site you must be a fan or care of about Jimmie. If that is the case you really need to read this story just to know what act of kindness and unselfishness Jimmie Van Zant did.

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First it started in Lenoir County, North Carolina. Two separate fire fighters in Lenoir County were struck with some tragedy. On July 22, 2008 a baby girl was born to Chris and Tracey Roddy. Her name is Hannah Beth Roddy. Hannah was born with several birth defects and has trouble breathing on her on, but she still fights everyday to stay alive. Chris volunteers with North Lenoir VFD and Tracey works for our local hospital. The second incident was with Timmy “Worm” Mooring. Timmy is a paid firefighter for Kinston FD and also volunteers with Sandy Bottom VFD. On August 9,2008 Timmy was burning some debris in his back yard and was accidentally burned. He suffered burns to approximately 50% of his body and had to be flown to UNC’s burn center. At this time Hannah was also at UNC  in the children’s hospital. Both families already knew of each other from the fire service. Some of the members of North Lenoir and Sandy Bottom fire departments that also belong to the Lenoir County Firefighter’s Association wanted to put on a benefit to raise money for these two families that serve our county. If you live in small communities like we do, you know how important our local volunteer fire departments are to us and how willing they always are to help anyone in need.

 The committee tossed around the idea of the traditional selling of BBQ and chicken plates. They really wanted to do something different, they wanted to do something that would be entertaining and something members of the community could come an enjoy.. Lynn “FBX” Hill the Assistant Chief of North Lenoir VFD was the committee chairman and suggested a concert. Steve “Trauma” Johnson from the Ghost Riders Motorcycle Club of Lenoir County suggested a motorcycle poker run to be held on the same day as the benefit. Darlene “MsRebyll” Stevens was in charge of finding the bands. The benefit was scheduled for November 1, 2008. Many venues were looked at and even offered for the use of the concert. Then luck happened. The committee was given permission to us Historic Grainger Stadium home of the Kinston Indians minor league baseball team.

The committee suggested we find local bands to help local people. The committee was blessed with several bands that said of course they would come and volunteer their time to help these families. We even had a band from Raleigh come and help us. Our bands were Alter Ego, The Southern Touch Band and Assembly Required. Our headliner band was the Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band “Tuesday’s Gone from Raleigh, NC. These boys know how to play some Skynryd, even the lead singer Ryan King bears a striking resemblance to Ronnie Van Zant. They would make the Van Zant family proud with the way they play Skynyrd’s music. I have to be honest, they really put their hearts into their shows. I was also glad to see an old friend of mine Noble O’Rourke playing guitar for Tuesday’s Gone. It had been about 20 years since I had seen him. I knew of his love for playing guitar back then and you can see and hear it when he plays. He is awesome.

The committee started up and things were coming together. We were selling advance tickets, we were contacting sponsors, we made posters of the event, and did we ever plaster the Internet with our benefit. Mr. Tom Skinner from WITN Channel 7 came down and did a story about the benefit and interviewed Timmy Mooring and some of Hannah’s family. Cindy Miller and Shank from WSFL 106.5 did an awesome job of making announcements about the benefit and they both came down and MC’ed the event for us. We were doing interviews about the poker run and concert on our local cable channel Tacc 9. Ryan King from Tuesday’s Gone even came down from Raleigh and did an interview for us. The Kinston Free Press did a couple of stories on what was happen.

So we were making sure the public knew about it.

Here is where Jimmie makes this story so worthwhile. About a week before the concert Ryan King came and did an interview. Even though Ryan had yet to meet Timmy Mooring, he had something very special he wanted to do. See Ryan had lost his home to a fire months ago. So in his eyes the fire service was very close to his heart for what they did for him. One of Ryan’s favorite possessions was his Ronnie Van Zant Hi-Roller hat that comes from Texas Hatters. Ryan had worn that hat in hundreds of his shows. Well just by chance it was salvaged from the fire. Ryan had always wanted to pass in down to his children. After we contacted Ryan and Tuesday’s Gone about helping us with the concert we told them the story about Timmy and Hannah. Ryan learned just how bad Timmy had been burned on August the 9^th.  He told Trauma and MsRebyll that during the show he wanted to give Timmy his Ronnie Van Zant hat. Well at first we were in awe. This man was going to give him something that meant the world to him to a complete stranger. Ryan had heard of how badly Timmy was burned and wanted him to have it. We told him that he did not have to do that, but there was no talking him out of it. He was determined for Timmy to have his hat. Ryan also didn’t want anyone to know what he was about to do. Well MsRebyll and I said we have to fine a replacement for that hat. The problem we had was the concert was about a week away, we didn’t have the money and we couldn’t spend any of the benefit money for a hat. MsRebyll got busy making phone calls and was trying to get a hat donated or pull any strings possible to get a hat to give to Ryan after he presented his hat to Timmy. Ryan had no idea we were doing this.

A few days before the concert a wonderful lady by the name of Lori Emory found out what were trying to do. She had heard about the concert, but didn’t know about what Ryan was about to do. Lori is Jimmie Van Zant’s manager. As you can expect, she too was personally touched about Ryan’s generosity.

Lori called Jimmie and told him all about the details of the benefit. She told him about baby Hannah Beth Roddy and Timmy Mooring and what their family, friends, and fellow fire fighters were trying to do. She told him that our headliner band was a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band. She then told Jimmie what Ryan was going to do. At this time still only a few people knew what Ryan was planning. Well here it is folks….Jimmie decided he was coming to North Carolina and he was going to show up at the Timmy and Hannah benefit. Jimmie was bearing a special gift.

The morning of the event the poker run started and was lead by Trauma and the Ghost Riders M/C of Lenoir County and following the Ghost Riders were approximately 275 bikers. It was a sight to be seen. Harley’s, Yamaha’s, Honda’s, Suzuki’s, and any bike you can imagine. The poker run went off without a hitch and we all returned safely. The bikers were fed and started getting ready for the concert. Now the public was starting to come in too.

We now had two more special guest at Grainger Stadium. Jimmie Van Zant and his lovely wife Zee.

Unaware by most people and only known to a few, Jimmie was there and he had a special surprise up his sleeve. As the first three bands played their sets Tuesday’s Gone was getting ready to take the stage. They were introduced and started playing some good ole LYNYRD SKYNYRD….A song or so later Ryan introduced the band to the crowd and said there was something he wanted to do. Now during the earlier part of the day Ryan did get to meet Timmy and hang out with him. They seemed to hit it off together. He called Timmy Mooring to the stage. It took Timmy a few minutes to get there, because since he was burned so badly it takes him a little longer to get around. He had just gotten out of the hospital about two weeks before. Timmy walked up on stage with Ryan. Ryan then told the story about how he lost his house to a fire and told of all the respect he has for fire fighters and what they do. He told Timmy that he wanted to give him something that was very special to him. Now Timmy had no idea what was about to happen. Ryan said “Timmy, this hat means a lot to me and I would like you to have it. I can’t think of anyone else that deserves it more than you.” Of course you should have seen Timmy and heard the crowd when he did that. Timmy was overtaken with emotion. Well the show must go on, so Ryan and Tuesday’s Gone started playing again. At this time Ryan was with out a hat. How can you watch A Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band play and see a guy that resembles Ronnie Van Zant not wear that signature hat?

As Ryan finished a song, still with no hat, there was a brief interruption. The fans were told that we had a special guest and Mr. Jimmie Van Zant was introduced and walked onto stage. Not only was the crowd surprised, but so was Tuesday’s Gone. Jimmie said he heard about the concert and what Ryan was doing. He told him that he couldn’t let him play the show like that, so Jimmie reaches into a bag and pulls out a “white Ronnie Van Zant Hi-Roller hat.” He told us that because of the unselfish act Ryan had just done, he had made the Van Zant family very proud. Jimmie handed that RVZ hat to Ryan and said this one is yours. The story behind this hat is special also. Jimmie said that hat had been all around the world with him. His wife Zee had given that hat to Jimmie the first year they were married. Jimmie said he had a few of the hats and of course that one was very special to him because it came from Zee. When it came time to pick out one to bring, Jimmie was unsure which one to pick out. It was Zee that suggested that Jimmie give the one she had given him. She knew that it was very special to Jimmie and it would mean even more to Ryan because it came from Jimmie. I will tell you, I saw the inside of that hat and it was stamped “Made Exclusively for Jimmie Van Zant” and “In Memory of Ronnie Van Zant. It was the White Beaver Ronnie Van Zant Hi-Roller hat. These hat are made for the Van Zant family. You can buy one from Texas Hatters that resembles these, but the Van Zant’s have some differences. The general public can’t buy those. Jimmie also did something for the fans, he got back on stage and sang a couple of Lynyrd Skynyrd songs with the band. Damn he was awesome!!!

I think that shows just what kind of man Jimmie is. I was able to just sit and talk to him before the show and he and his wife are down to earth good-hearted people. It was a pleasure just to sit and see how he carries him-self. If you ever get a chance to catch a Jimmie Van Zant show make sure you are there and when Jimmie does a meet and greet, make sure you get in line to say hello to him. A few days after the show Jimmie called our local classic rock station WSFL 106.5 and did an almost 10 minute interview with Shank and he talked all about the benefit. Go to http://www.wsfl.com and look at the top right and you will see a picture of Jimmie, click on that and listen to the interview. WSFL even has quiet a few pictures from the poker run and concert. You can see more of Jimmie at http://www.jimmievanzantmusic.net or on his official myspace page. Also please visit http://www.timmyandhannah.com for more information about Timmy and Hannah.

The Timmy and Hannah Benefit Poker Run and Concert was a complete success. I would like to thank Lynn “FBX” Hill for running the show and putting up with all the head aches, Darlene “MsRebyll” Stevens for finding the bands, to all of the committee members, volunteers, sponsors, firefighters, the Ghost Riders M/C of Lenoir County, WSFL, WITN and the Kinston Free Press. A thanks to all the firefighters and law enforcement that made the poker run go so well. A special thanks to our great bands, Alter Ego, The Southern Touch Band, Assembly Required and Tuesday’s Gone. A special mention to Ms. Lori Emory

Last but not least a very special thanks to Jimmie & Zee Van Zant….

Trauma

Ghost Riders M/C