At age eight, Chuck discovered the beauty and power of music as he listened to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony for the first time. Unexplainably moved to tears, he was forever changed by this experience. Over the next decade, Chuck developed his guitar skills and played for various ensembles and groups in college. After two years of studies at Western Kentucky University, Chuck joined a Top 40 road band and spent the next two years touring the club circuit across the Midwest.
In 1977, Chuck returned to Bowling Green, KY where he met fellow musician and student Michael Card. They collaborated and performed together for nearly 6 years, when Chuck decided to complete his college education while Michael pursued a solo recording career. Over the next 25 years, Chuck continued playing guitar and worked with several worship teams in churches around Nashville and Atlanta, while enjoying a successful career in the construction industry.
In 2010, Chuck visited a friend who was a patient at a local Hospice facility to share some of his guitar arrangements. As family and friends gathered, they began to sing along and the music was heard throughout the facility. Upon leaving the room, Chuck was surprised to find other patients and visitors sitting in the hallway listening to the music. They exclaimed that they had never experienced anything so sweet and wonderful. It was at that moment that Chuck first thought of sharing his music with the suffering. He then asked a nurse how he might volunteer for other patients. Within a few weeks, Chuck had completed the required training and began serving other hospice patients.
Over the next year, Chuck visited patients a few times per week and soon felt led to form a non-profit organization that would allow him to serve others while equipping others to do the same. In researching similar organizations, Chuck discovered Mercy Music and Executive Director, Brad Richardson. Brad and Chuck began sharing ideas and began discussing the possibility working together in Atlanta. In 2011, The Mercy Music Board invited Chuck to join Mercy Music in Atlanta. In October of 2012, Chuck began transitioning out of his construction career to start working full time with Mercy Music. Chuck now serves three Hospice organizations, is completing training as a Certified Music Practitioner with MHTP and is working through area churches to help other musicians develop their musical gifts to serve those who are suffering.
