The Starkey Hearing Foundation held its fifth annual Awards Gala and raised a record $4+ million. Garth Brooks, who attended the event with his fiancée, fellow country singer Trisha Yearwood, showed his appreciation for the recognition by bidding $250,000 during the live auction to fund a Starkey mission to South Africa to give hearing aids to people in need.

This spectacular evening included performances by Yearwood, singer/songwriter Michael Bolton who performed a song written solely for the evening by Paul Williams, and pop and stage performer Donny Osmond. Dozens of additional celebrities— including Lorraine Bracco, Robert Culp, Lou Ferrigno, Senator John Glenn, Marlee Matlin, Leslie Nielsen, Mickey Rooney, Marion Ross, Paul Michaels and many others also attended the event.

When asked why she was supporting the Starkey Hearing Foundation, Yearwood said, "Especially in the entertainment industry, because you have to focus on yourself and your career every day, it's really important to do things that remind you that it's not just about you; things that really take you back to reality."

"We're here to make money to help people, and that's a great thing," said Bracco, who participated in the event for the second year in a row.

The evening would not have been possible without the support and generosity of many businesses and organizations, including: Spectrum Brands, Knowles Electronics, LLC., Schulze Family Foundation, AMI Semiconductor, FedEx, Micro-Tech, Royal Caribbean, Sonion, Starkey Canada, Wells Fargo, Gennum, 3Shape A/S, Hearing Unlimited, Best Buy, Born, UPS Foundation, Jack Walser/Dean Aikens, and Samsung Electronics America.We also want to recognize all of the hard work that our 180 volunteers put toward this gala. You are the ones that made it work!!!