Academy of Country Music and The Home Depot(R) Select Country Music Group RASCAL FLATTS to Receive Humanitarian Award

Academy of Country Music and The Home Depot(R) Select Country Music Group RASCAL FLATTS to Receive Humanitarian Award

Award to be Presented During the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards to Air Live From MGM Grand in Las Vegas Sunday, May 18 at 8 PM ET/PT on CBS

ENCINO, Calif., April 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Academy of Country Music and The Home Depot(R) announced today that multi-platinum country music group RASCAL FLATTS will be the 2008 recipient of the Academy of Country Music/The Home Depot(R) Humanitarian Award, to be presented during the 43rd ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS ceremony honoring country music's best and hottest emerging talent. The show will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

In its seventh year, the Humanitarian Award recognizes country music artists who serve others, have a generous spirit and help build the dreams of those in need. The members of RASCAL FLATTS -- Jay DeMarcus, Gary LeVox and Joe Don Rooney -- were selected by a special blue-ribbon committee comprised of executives in the country music industry as well as local and national philanthropic leaders for their ongoing community service and charitable giving of their time and talent.

"We have been blessed with some incredible successes in our career the past couple of years," said Rooney. "The most rewarding thing for us is the opportunity to give back to our communities. We'd like to thank The Home Depot and the Academy for recognizing us in such a humbling way."

As the recipient of the Humanitarian Award, RASCAL FLATTS will receive a beautiful crystal trophy designed by Tiffany & Co. during the live CBS telecast. They will also be honored with a playground donated by The Home Depot and the Company's national nonprofit partner KaBOOM!, which envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. The playground will be built by The Home Depot volunteers and community members in the city of RASCAL FLATTS choice. Past recipients of the Humanitarian Award include Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, Lonestar, Martina McBride, Neal McCoy and Reba McEntire.

"The Humantarian Award embodies the kind of giving spirit that the Academy strives to foster within the industry," said Bob Romeo, executive director of the Academy of Country Music. "The selfless giving to others by artists like Rascal Flatts helps bring that spirit to life, and makes us so proud to be part of the country music community."

"Philanthropy and giving back are embedded in The Home Depot culture and are at the core of the Humanitarian Award," said John Ross, vice president of advertising for The Home Depot. "The members of Rascal Flatts show a true dedication to charitable giving and community service and exemplify the values represented by both The Home Depot and the Academy of Country Music. We are proud to recognize them for their contributions and impact on improving our local communities."

THE RECIPIENTS

Rascal Flatts is a multi-platinum selling vocal group whose current album "Still Feels Good" was one of Billboard's largest country album debuts of 2007. The band has become a major supporter of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, a non-profit teaching and research hospital in Nashville that provides a place to hope and a place to heal for children and their families. The hospital is ranked as one of the 10 best children's hospitals and is in the top 10 for pediatric cancer care in the nation, offering comprehensive services to more than 100,000 patients each year. RASCAL FLATTS has donated more than $2.2 million of the proceeds from their Nashville concerts to the hospital, spearheading the largest fundraising donation in the hospital's history in addition to hosting a Disney-themed party and concert for the children every year. They are also involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation (R) and the Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet.

THE HOME DEPOT

The Home Depot(R) is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,257 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. In fiscal 2007, The Home Depot had sales of $77.3 billion and earnings from continuing operations of $4.2 billion. The Company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS

The 43rd Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by Dick Clark Productions and will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. The show is executive produced by R.A. Clark, and produced by Barry Adelman. The executive in charge of production is Bob Bardo.

For more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC and the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, please visit http://www.acmcountry.com/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Academy of Country Music

CONTACT: Rascal Flatts PR, Jessie Schmidt of Schmidt PR,
+1-615-846-3878, jessie@schmidtpr.com; or The Home Depot PR, Megan McGovern of
MS&L, +1-404-870-6852, mobile, +1-404-219-0107, megan.mcgovern@mslpr.com, for
The Home Depot; or Julie Smith, jsmith@bncpr.com, or Enjoli Duval,
eduval@bncpr.com, both of BNC PR, +1-310-854-4800, for Academy of Country
Music

Web site: http://www.acmcountry.com/

---

Profile: International Entertainment