BELLEFONTAINE, Logan County — As many as 11 area musical acts gathered in Logan County on Thursday to give back to a community still trying to right itself from the deadly tornado and severe storms that raked the area last week.
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Eight tornadoes hit Ohio on March 14. One of them an EF3, struck the Indian Lake community in Logan County, killing three people and injuring 27.
According to the National Weather Service, the tornado was on the ground for more than 45 minutes, starting in Auglaize County and ending in Logan County. Wind speeds reached 155 mph.
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The storms also caused damage in Indiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas.
“We could have probably turned this into a two- or three-day event and had non-stop artists because that’s how many people you know wanted to contribute,” Greg Titus, executive director, Holland Theatre, told News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson.
All of the artists performed for free and many of them grew up in the area.
Titus runs the theatre he visited as a youth in Bellefontaine.
“Friday morning [March 15], I ran into a trustee for the United Way and she said they had just had an emergency meeting and they were going to set up a fund and I was like, we, we want to do something,” Titus said.
Titus said one of his board members suggested a concert and that same day, organizers had lined up 10,000 sponsors and 11 artists ready to play.
One hundred percent of the money collected will be going to go to the United Way Indian Lake Tornado Relief Fund, Titus said.
Tucker Munz, a country singer, said, “There’s a lot of very, very great people who have been helping put this together and there’s been a lot of help.”
His performance tonight, at that venue, was important and personal, he said.
“I have some family up around like [the] lake area and [a] family friend of ours, he lost his shop in the tornado,” Munz said.
Organizers collected donations through sales of tickets and T-shirts. Two food trucks were on site. There also was a live auction featuring Ohio State University football goodies from one of the emcees – former Buckeyes quarterback Justin Zwick.
“I think people in this area have been looking for something to kind of let their hair down a little bit, just kind of relax, have a good evening and I think we’re going to try and give that to them tonight,” said Zwick, who played for OSU from 2002-2006 after starring at powerhouse Massillon Washington High School.
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