Merchants And Friends And Matt Cordell Raise $2,000 For Etowah Kids

The Merchants and Friends of Etowah presented Christmas With The Cordells on Saturday night at the Historic Gem Theater and raised $2,230 for the Etowah Christmas For Kids Project.  Matt Cordell, his wife Tasha, and their daughter Madison entertained a packed house with a variety of music including Christmas favorites.

In the many years that the Cordells have performed at the Gem Theater, it was the first Christmas show they have performed in Etowah.  Matt Cordell opened the show with Christmas favorites by several artists, and then turned the stage over to Tasha and Madison with their versions of holiday cheer.

When the ladies exited stage right, lights flashed, dry ice vapor rose, and the entrance music of Elvis Presley came to a crescendo as Matt appeared in a black leather jumpsuit to perform his award winning impersonation of the King of Rock and Roll.  This set included a medley of Elvis favorites and Elvis Christmas tunes.

After an intermission at the conclusion of the Elvis set, Cordell came out for the second half of the show to perform his latest impersonation act of country star Jason Aldean.  Cordell also performed several other contemporary favorites.  But as the show concluded, Cordell talked about Christmas being a season more of giving than receiving.

Cordell called Etowah Reserve Police Sergeant Wes Atwell to the stage, who was working security for the show.  Sgt. Atwell is also the chairman and co-founder of the Etowah Christmas For Kids program that purchases Christmas gifts for kids from needy families in Etowah. Cordell asked Sgt. Atwell to talk about the program.

“I started the Etowah Christmas For Kids Project several years ago with  former Etowah Detective Jim Shaw, and it really got going when I saw a young boy’s appreciative face when he  received a basketball we gave to him," Sgt. Atwell said. "l told myself from that point on, we would have this program every year.”

Tasha and Madison came on stage with special buckets and handed them out to Merchants and Friends of Etowah Volunteers at the show.  Matt Cordell traded his cowboy hat for a Santa hat and said that instead of the ending the show, he said he would keep singing as long as people in the audience kept putting money in the buckets for the Etowah Christmas For Kids Project.

“I want to make sure the kids of Etowah have a Merry Christmas, so I’m going to also throw in money made from sales of my Christmas CDs being sold in the lobby,” Cordell said.  “Etowah has always been good to me and my family, and we want to give back to Etowah.  I know the Merchants and Friends of Etowah are making a donation and you all are filling up those buckets, so I know the kids of Etowah are going to have a Merry Christmas courtesy of the Etowah Christmas For Kids Project.”

Cordell sang a few more songs and performed for the audience until the last bucket left the theater to be counted.  The audience gave a total of $1,230.00 in cash donations and CD sales.  The Merchants and Friends of Etowah also gave back to the Etowah Community by giving another $1,000 of proceeds from the show to bring the total collected for the Etowah Christmas For Kids project to $2,230.

Once Matt Cordell left the stage and the music stopped in the theater, Matt Cordell went to the lobby of the Gem Theater to meet and greet the audience as they left the show.  As he always does, Matt posed for photos and signed autographs until everyone that wanted one got one.  It was close to midnight before “Elvis” left the building.

“The Merchants and Friends of Etowah thank Matt Cordell and his family for another awesome show in the Gem Theater, and we also thank everyone that came to see the show,” Merchants and Friends of Etowah Vice President Roby Helm said.  “They all made it possible for us to do what we do, and that’s to give back to the community.

“It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been able to bring Matt in for a show due to COVID restrictions. But now that those restrictions are gone, we’re moving forward with the city of Etowah to plan more shows in the future for the Gem Theater and several other programs in the city of Etowah.”

For more information visit the MAFOE website at www.etowahtn.org and follow on Facebook at merchantsandfriendsof etowah.