Thanks to support from The Dickirson Corporation, Ripley’s 2009 Fourth of July Celebration will be one of the area’s most exciting events.

David Dickirson, owner and CEO of The Dickirson Corporation, wanted to do something special for next year’s Fourth of July event to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of his company in Fairplain.

He has contracted with Grammy-awarding winning artist Kathy Mattea to perform as the headline artist for the event. Mattea, a South Charleston native, will perform in concert on the Courthouse lawn prior to the annual fireworks presentation. As a gift to the community, The Dickirson Corporation is offering this concert to the public free of charge.

In addition to Mattea’s concert, the annual Summer Bash Event, normally held later in July, will be held on the Fourth prior to the concert. The event will be moved from the Ripley High School athletic field to the Courthouse lawn to capitalize on the crowd.

“While I wanted to do something special on the Fourth to celebrate our nation’s birthday and the company’s 50th anniversary, I also wanted to do something good for the community that would have a lasting impact long after the Fourth of July decorations were gone. I am happy to announce that the community will not only get to see an outstanding concert with West Virginia’s own Kathy Mattea, they will also be happy to know that 10% of all the proceeds made that day will be devoted to the Jackson County Community Foundation’s Fund for Youth. In this way, our company’s 50th anniversary gift will continue to give back to the community’s children forever with annual grants for youth-related projects, programs and facilities,” commented David Dickirson.

Kathy Mattea is donating 10% of the sale of promotional items (cds, t-shirts, etc); The Dickirson Corporation is paying the normal fees for all food vendors who in return will donate 10% of their sales to the Community Foundation’s Fund for Youth; and 10% of the ticket profits of the 2009 Summer Bash will be devoted to the JC Fund for Youth. “We are thrilled to have Mr. Dickirson step forward with this gift to the one of the most action-packed 4th of July events we have had in Ripley for a long time. It was a wonderful idea to have the event also give back to the community to address one of our greatest resources – our youth,” commented John McGinley, the City of Ripley’s Fourth of July Coordinator.

“We are excited to join the Fourth of July Celebration this year. We are hoping to capitalize on the crowd and make this year’s Summer Bash one of our largest and most successful. Devoting 10% of the profits from our 2009 ticket sales to our county’s youth fund is something we are happy to do. Our mission is to support the children of our area, and this gives us an opportunity to expand our efforts in a lasting way,” commented Scott Ranson, Ripley High School Athletic Booster President.

Mattea’s concert will be the featured event for the Fourth of July celebration. Kathy Mattea became famous with such classics as “18 Wheels and A Dozen Roses,” “Where’ve You Been,” and many other hits. Raised in South Charleston, West Virginia, her mining heritage is thick: both her parents grew up in coal camps, both her grandfathers were miners, and her mother worked for the local UMWA. Her new album titled COAL includes songs about mining and is Mattea’s way to pay tribute to “my place and my people.” The album was just a sketch of an idea until the Sago Mine Disaster, which killed twelve West Virginia miners in 2006.  “I thought, ‘Now is the time to do these songs.’ Sago was the thing that brought it all back to the surface. When I was about nine, 78 miners were killed in The Farmington Disaster, near Fairmont in 1968.  When Sago happened, I got catapulted back to that moment in my life and I thought, ‘I need to do something with this emotion, and maybe this album is the place to channel it.’  And so I knew the time was right,” commented Mattea.

“The Community Foundation is extremely grateful to David Dickirson, Ripley’s Fourth of July Committee, and the Summer Bash Committee for making a lasting Fourth of July gift to our community. Kathy Mattea’s concert will be a fabulous ending to a great day. We encourage everyone to come out and enjoy the concert and Summer Bash and feel good in knowing the 10% of each $1 they spend will go to support the children of our community forever,” said Jane Winters, JCCF Regional Manager.

The Jackson County Fund for Youth was established by the Community Foundation to provide grants each year to local nonprofit organizations to encourage and support much needed youth related programs and projects in the county in the fields of health, human services, recreation, arts and culture, and education. The community foundation hopes to use this fund to encourage groups like 4-H, scouts, schools, the community college, Big Brothers Big Sisters, CASA, cultural and recreational groups, the hospital, health clinics, children service organizations, and other nonprofits to apply for funding for improvements to existing programs, to create new projects and programs, and to create facilities that will serve the youth and in turn improve our community.