FOX Sports South Celebrates Military with Third Annual Tribute to the Troops

On Sunday, June 30, FOX Sports South and the Atlanta Braves honored local military personnel and their families during the third annual Tribute to the Troops celebration at Turner Field. FOX Sports South hosted 150 soldiers from Fort Benning and the Georgia National Guard as well as Governor Nathan Deal, Mayor Kasim Reed and Major General Jim Butterworth, the Adjunct General of the Georgia National Guard, for the Atlanta Braves vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game. The fans at home were not left out, with the entire broadcast focused on the troops and their incredible stories.

Soldiers arrived at Turner Field in style via the FOX Sports South Fan Express.

Upon their arrival at Turner Field, the soldiers received a hero’s welcome on the red carpet, where they were welcomed by FOX Sports South Senior VP and General Manager Jeff Genthner, Mayor Reed, Major General Butterworth, local boy and girl scouts, the Braves Heavy Hitters and Tomahawk Team, as well as numerous fans.

Prior to taking the field, Genthner presented each soldier a Challenge Coin in the right field tunnel. 

At a private pregame reception, the soldiers enjoyed a ballpark meal and were welcomed by Genthner, Mayor Reed, Governor Deal and Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. The troops and their families also had the opportunity to meet numerous Atlanta Braves alumni who came by to pay tribute.

A pregame ceremony on the field honored the troops and included remarks from the Governor, Mayor, and a rousing ovation from the fans, as Braves and Diamondbacks players lined the field side by side with the soldiers. 

During the game, Mayor Reed, Governor Deal, and Major General Butterworth joined the Braves broadcast team of Chip Caray, Joe Simpson, and Tom Glavine for in-booth interviews. Braves reporter Tom Hart interviewed with several soldiers and veterans throughout the course of the game, including the Director of Warriors Speak Dan Nevins, 1^st Lieutenant Ariel Castro, who proposed to his girlfriend on air, President of the Georgia Purple Heart Riders Joseph Kidder and many more. 

Chip Caray, Governor Nathan Deal, Tom Glavine and Joe Simpson

1^st Lieutenant Ariel Castro proposed to his girlfriend on air.
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Fans could take part in the day’s tribute by tagging their photos and messages of gratitude of love with the hashtag #FSTribute, and several tweets and photos were featured throughout the telecast.  More than 191,000 Twitter accounts were reached by messages about Tribute to the Troops, which generated over 714,000 impressions.

Governor Nathan Deal let his followers know that he would be attending Tribute to the Troops. 

Alabama lead singer Randy Owen mentioned Tribute to the Troops to his 6,200 twitter followers. 

Kim Hudson, wife of Braves starter Tim Hudson, tweeted about Tribute to the Troops.

Mayor Kasim Reed tweeted to FOX Sports South about his excitement to attend the event.

Fans enjoyed the broadcast and shared their thoughts on Twitter. 

All FOX Sports South talent and staff wore specially-designed Tribute to the Troops t-shirts, including Braves LIVE host Jerome Jurenovich and his partner on Sunday’s telecast, Paul Byrd.

Braves LIVE host Jerome Jurenovich and Paul Byrd
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Media Coverage

Media coverage for Tribute to the Troops included stories from all four local television networks (FOX-5, ABC-2, NBC-11, and CBS-46) and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  The live, on-air marriage proposal by Lt. Castro, while being interviewed by Tom Hart, went viral after being posted on FoxSportsSouth.com, with subsequent postings on MSN and the Huffington Post, among many others. The proposal was also featured on CNN Headline News "Morning Express" show.