Petey’s Preds Party was held at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night. There were 940 people in attendance at the annual event which is a benefit for the Peterson Foundation for Parkinsons as well as the Nashville Predators Foundation.

A buffet dinner was served and guests were entertained by comedian Jeff Allen, whose most notable performances include performing at President George W. Bush’s inauguration gala. Throughout the evening, individuals were also invited to bid on memorabilia from the world of sports and entertainment as well as other packages from companies around town.

George Plaster, host of The Sports Zone on 104.5 the Zone, was the master of ceremonies.

The evening began with an emotional tribute to Wade Belak and was followed by a moment of silence for members of the KHL’s Lokomotiv who died tragically when the Yak-42 aircraft carrying the team crashed just after takeoff on Wednesday a few miles from the airport at Tunoshna outside Yaroslavl, Russia.

Former professional athletes Brian Grant (NBA) and Ben Petrick (MLB ) were on hand and said a few words as individuals living with Parkinsons Disease.

The crowd was also treated to special acoustic version of Jesus Take The Wheel by Carrie Underwood, who was introduced to the crowd by Coach Brent Peterson as Mrs. Mike Fisher, making reference to the newspaper headline stating Carrie Underwood’s husband had been traded to the Predators. 

Besides the silent auction items up for grabs, a raffle was held for a half carat diamond. There were 200 tickets sold for $20 each. Predators forward David Legwand was asked to pick the winner out of the 200 tickets. An already emotional evening all around, the ticket Legwand drew was that of Wade Belak’s brother, Graham. A surprised Legwand assured those in attendance that it was by chance only that Belak’s name was selected.

Sean Henry, the Predators Chief Operating Officer, spoke briefly about the work of the Nashville Predators Foundation and informed those in attendance that the Foundation gave out $600 000 last year, including $350 000 in grants. Henry said that proceeds collected for the Foundation over the course of Thursday and Friday will be used to fund the upcoming season’s grant program.

The donations collected for the Peterson Foundation for Parkinsons will go towards researching Parkinsons Disease. Last year, the Foundation’s events supported medical research on Parkinsons Disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for Research.

Coach Peterson addressed the crowd before Underwood took the stage and spoke about living with the neurological illness. Stating that while the disease took away from him his chance of one day becoming a head coach in the NHL, Peterson said his goal now is to help find a cure for the disease.

The Nashville Predators Foundation is hosting its annual Celebrity Golf Classic Friday on the North Course at Vanderbilt Legends Club.  The tournament includes hole-in-one contests with vehicles as prizes as well as a putting contest for a flat screen TV.

For more information on Parkinsons Disease as well as a video of Coach Peterson speaking about recent medical advances, please visit the official website of the Peterson Foundation for Parkinsons.

 

Photo Credit: Amanda DiPaolo