Posted on 06/04/2009 8:13:42 AM PDT by green pastures
JANESVILLE (WKOW) -- A benefit performance in Janesville by American Idol finalist Phil Stacey was supposed to support the care of four year old Rylee Jo Williams, but Williams' parents said they received nothing from the show's promoter.
Johnathan Williams of Middleton said concert goers May 29 even dropped money into donation jars and bought special cloth bracelets with Rylee's name, but no money has been turned over.
"And the bracelets, we put them there for money for Rylee," Williams told 27 News. "That he (promoter) wanted to keep it all, (it's) just a little stunning. Just baffles me."
Promoter Tyler Rehm of TR Agency in Madison approached the Williams family about the idea of a benefit concert after a Fox-47 news report on Rylee Jo Williams' care at UW Children's Hospital for e-coli poisoning and complications. Williams is on dialysis and her father said she may need a kidney transplant, with the uninsured portion of his daughter's care growing.
Rehm said Stacey's concert at Janesville's Pontiac Convention Center was a disappointing draw, despite online, print and radio advertising. Stacey was in the hit show's season-six and mixes Christian, country and folk music. The concert advertising included the benefit purpose.
Jonathan Williams told 27 News he's contacted authorities because he's received no receipt copies or other formal accounting of the show's proceeds from Rehm, and no money from the sale of the bracelets family members purchased to sell at the show.
"We don't know if his business is to exploit vulnerable families. I hope it's not."
Rehm, 20, told 27 New he worked hard to promote Stacey's show, but he must recover his costs.
"He (Stacey) cut his (performance) price, but I did not make anything."
Rehm said the show's production and advertising costs were nearly $7,000, with ticket sales bringing in approximately $1,000. Rehm said he feels no obligation to share any ticket proceeds with the Williams family, but will give them $100, even though donations the night of the concert were "really nothing," a claim Williams family members dispute.
Wisconsin Division of Trade and Consumer Protection administrator Janet Jenkins said the advertising of a benefit concert with no benefit pay out "could be a problem" over rules on false advertising.
A publicist with Tennesse-based Reunion Records said Stacey was unaware his performance yielded no money for Rylee Jo Williams, but otherwise had no comment.
http://www.oregonobserver.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=1147&TM=36985.59
From that article: " All ticket proceeds will go directly to the Williams family to help support their needs. "
there were donation jars and he kept that too?? How low can you go?
What a bunch of jerks.
> Rehm said he feels no obligation to share any ticket proceeds with the Williams family
He might not get away with that. There is a clear difference between “proceeds” and “profits”, and he’s on the wrong side of that difference.
Time for a call to the cops.
If you want to help someone, you pretty much have to do it directly, or at the very least at a very, VERY local level - like the early Christian church model.
I never donate to “fund raisers”.
LOOK AT ME!!! I"M GOING TO HELP!!!
How it turns out: hey, i did my part ... get off my back
Yeah, he’s lower than low.
On the on-the-air version of the story from another local news station, the reporter indicated that Rehm said that there were no donations in the jars. (Yeah, right.) Also according to that report, Rehm decided to give them $100.00 from the sales of bracelets. (Total sales of bracelets not provided.)
Lower than low.
From one of the reports I saw it sounded like the dad had contacted authorities. I agree, there’s a clear difference between “proceeds” and “profits”— but I don’t think the promoter realized that difference. Yet.
More from the _Oregon Observer_ written _before the benefit:
“One decision that Rehm had to make is what to do with his first concert at the Pontiac Convention Center.
“I really wanted to do something that would benefit somebody and not be just another concert,” said Rehm. “Then my mom told me about this 4-year-old girl, Rylee Jo Williams, who was really sick and how the parents were trying to raise money and not having much luck. After contacting the family and learning their story, I knew I wanted to help.”
Help he did, by bringing in former American Idol star Phil Stacey, who is the first nationally known star that has performed in the Pontiac Convention Center. “They mostly held business meetings and trade shows there,” Rehm said. “But as soon as I saw the venue with its stage setup, I thought that it is a perfect place for concerts.”
After many calls to Stacey’s manager, Rehm finally had him booked, along with Ben Tankard, Rex Lex, and Loftland. “My hope is that we get a great turnout for Rylee’s benefit,” Rehm said. “This concert is all about helping a little girl in need.” “
Not all fund raisers are equal. I attended several in the past in which the money went to good use. Organizations like Pheasants Forever and Ruffed Grouse Society seem to make every dime count towards habitat restoration.
Local events like the Janesville one cited seem ripe for scam artists like Rehm. In the Chicago suburbs, various retailers are collecting for the troops; quite frankly, the collections take too long and are pitiful.
The more personal model that you highlight seems to be the ideal, which I have attempted to follow. Since the end of 2004, I have been sending packages (some in USPS flat rate containers and others in big brown boxes) to Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Golf clubs, Weber grills, Coolmax socks, sun block, coffee urns, and tons of coffee and candy went overseas. What has bothered me most is the gung-ho spirit of many troop supporters who turn out to do very little. One friend sent one box and continues to brag to others about it; big deal! I’m on package number 186. I guess he can brag all he wants; unlike yours truly, he was not the guest of the Marines at their Disneyland Birthday Ball nor did he receive a challenge coin from the MARSOC CO.
If the benefit concert cost more money than it brought in, should the promoter be forced to foot the bill?
The story said the crowd was small, despite a lot of advertising. Proceeds doesn’t mean profits. It usually means SOME PART of the profits, not all of the profits. Pro fundraisers usually recover their costs, and then give a percentage of the profits.
If there were no profits, there is nothing to share.
However, if they were “passing the bucket” for donations, that should go 100% to the charity, as it was presented as a direct cash donation opportunity.
I feel bad for the guy.
He probably had good intentions, but got swamped by the bad economy.
Unless there is something more we don’t understand, I can’t fault him.
No, he should most certainly send the bill to the family. In fact, I’m surprised he didn’t. /sarc
Is it okay for the promoter to take from the donation jars to help offset costs? To take money from the sale of family-provided bracelets to cover his losses?To keep the ticket proceeds when he said all ticket proceeds would go to the family? Is it okay for the promoter to not provide accounting information?
If a promoter says all ticket proceeds will go directly to the family to help support their needs, then it would seem that the promoter is responsible to come up with other means of covering the costs to put on the benefit.
I did not see that the promoter promised the family would get 100 percent of the money collected.
Most times when proceeds are donated to a cause like this, adminstrative expenses are taken out.
Unless the guy had a big fat paycheck inside the $7000 of expenses (or unless he stated that “100 percent of the proceeds will go to the cause”), then I don’t see the problem.
It will depend however on how the state defines “proceeds” - net or gross.
Thank you. The promoter, who is 20 years old was trying to do a nice thing for a struggling family. He and his family spent close to $7,000 on this event. That covers the singer, airfair, venue, sound person,printing, raido advertising and misc items. We could not get sponsorship however the family did, but we saw none of that money. As for taking jars with donations, that is ridiculous. The family had their own table set up at the event with a donation jar and bracelets for sale. They took that money home that evening. We have no idea how much that was. The counter where tickets were sold had a few bracelts (that were tallied that evening) and a jar with less than 20.00 in it. After the event the TR Agency issued a check, but amazingly this was on the news before the mail would have even arrived. After losing close to $7,000, there would be no point in keeping a tiny bit of money from a donation jar. All receipts and the money spent will be provided to the family and media. The media dropped the ball on this one. No one scammed anyone, and I am shocked the family sought out news coverage immedietly after the event but not in the weeks prior where it could have helped with ticket sales. They are not out any money, but a 20 year old trying to help out a family his mother saw on the news is out a lot.
Good deeds never go unpunished.
Prayers for the promoter.
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