There are a lot of good people out there. Unfortunately those everyday heroes sometimes go unnoticed. Thankfully the great work that is done by NASCAR and Crown Royal looks to celebrate these people whose stories should be shared. The “Your Hero’s Name Here” program is where Crown Royal renames the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after a deserving hero.
Along to help support this effort is Reigning ACM New Artist of the Year Justin Moore. For the past three years, Justin Moore has been involved with Crown Royal’s Heroes Project “Your Hero’s Name Here” program. Moore added a second consecutive #1 debut on the Billboard Country Albums Chart to his list of accolades with “Off The Beaten Path” which produced Justin’s fourth and fifth #1 hits “Point At You” and “Lettin’ the Night Roll.”
In 2013 Justin Moore released a special song called “Heroes,” to encourage people to celebrate and recognize the everyday heroes. Justin has also been a part of the past three “Your Hero’s Name Here” winner reveal events where he was present for the unveil by performing at special ceremonies in the hometowns and announcing the winner live during the CMT Awards in the backstage Crown Royal lounge. Justin is currently encouraging adult consumers to nominate their heroes for the 2015 “Your Hero’s Name Here” program by visiting www.CrownRoyalHeroes.com. You have until April 12, 2015 to submit your nomination the 2015 Crown Royal “Your Hero’s Name Here” Contest.
This past week I was able to talk with Justin about his work with Crown Royal and what inspires him about the “Your Hero’s Name Here” program.
Justin said, “Once you meet these nominees it is really one of those moments that make you go I need to be a better person. I need to be more like him or more like her. Anytime you meet somebody in life no matter the circumstance that makes you want to be a better person it is something that you definitely want to be involved with.”
Moore, who even with his success stays humble talks about his part in the program. “I am a small piece in the puzzle. Crown Royal and NASCAR deserve all the credit. I just go around and run my mouth. (Both laugh.) It is a really, really cool idea. Crown has done a really good job for some years. I have been fortunate to be a part of this for the past five years. It has been something that has been an annual thing for us.”
Moore continues, “It’s been awesome to get to know these guys and gals and their families. Their stories are humbling and encouraging. It makes me 
want to be a better person. That is what it is all about. Not to be cliché, but it is awesome. You can nominate anyone you think it deserves recognition. It could be a firefighter, a teacher, or a military veteran. Whatever it is it is someone you feel that is a hometown hero. Whoever gets the most votes wins and has the Brickyard 400 named after them. They get treated like a king or a queen for that day. It is really cool to meet these families. I still see them when I am on the road during my shows. I literally have watched their kids grow up for the past five years. It’s been pretty awesome.”
Justin and I both had the pleasure of meeting the 2013 “Your Hero’s Name Here” winner Samuel Deeds. Again Moore spoke on how meeting Samuel made him try to be a better person. Justin told me, “It makes you go man I am such a loser. I need to be more like him.”
We also spoke about when he enjoys Crown Royal responsibly, which variant is his favorite he told me, “I like the XR and the XO over ice. That’s it. I’m pretty simple.” I have to say those two variants are fantastic.
Make sure you look out for the “Justin Cole – My Life of Dad” column later this year where he and I continue our conversation on his music and fatherhood.
