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Clear Lake Musician to hold Benefit Concert for Crime Stoppers
By Peggy "Domino" Taylor
A young lady loses her girlfriend to a horrible crime. A year later she pushes through her pain and uses her musical talent not only to remember her in song, but with ambition and drive, she coordinates a benefit concert to raise money to help solve this unsolved quadruple murder. Meet Jennifer Grassman, a loving friend, talented singer and songwriter, ambitious businesswoman and she's all of 19.
Jennifer and her band EdenNox are putting on a concert to benefit Crime Stoppers at Six Flags Astroworld. On July 18, 2003, four Clear Lake teenagers were murdered in a Brook Forest Subdivision home, Rachel Ann Koloroutis, Tiffany Nicole Rowell, Marcus Ray Precella and Adelbert Nicholas Sanchez. Everyone has seen and read the news accounts, grieved and shocked that something that horrific could happen to these fine young people in our community; but even more shocking is that the killers have not been caught. On September 19, 2004, these teens will be remembered. The concert is to be held on the Center Stage at Six Flags Astroworld to help publicize the composite sketches that the police released two months ago and to promote Crime Stoppers.
Crime Stoppers, a charitable organization, runs a 24-hour, 7-day a week crime tip hotline (713-222-TIPS) and a cash reward program. The largest reward in national history, $100,000 is offered for information that leads to the arrest in this case. The billboard on I-45 and FM 1959 displays the composite sketches of two people who investigators say are possible witnesses in this mysterious case.
Jennifer Grassman and Rachel Koloroutis became friends several years ago while working as cashiers at Randall's supermarket at Space Center Boulevard. They did what most teen girls do: laugh, talk about make-up and boys, chit-chat with customers, and go to Starbucks for lattes. One afternoon, Jennifer told Rachael she had written enough original songs to dedicate to her friends and with that, Rachael asked if she would write a song for her. They laughed as bubbly teens do and Jennifer told her she would. Shortly after that fun time, her friend was gone. It took a week to sink in, for the news her mother had to tell her.
"I was really sad and depressed, just trying to make sense of it all. To help ease the pain and clear my head, I fulfilled my promise and wrote a song for Rachael," said Jennifer. The song in memory of her missed girlfriend is White Roses.
It took a while for her to approach Rachael's family, but she had the song in her heart and wanted to share this musical memorial. George Koloroutis, Rachael's dad, was actively raising donations for the Crime Stoppers reward when Jennifer said she wanted to do more; hence, a concert. She had played several venues in normal bookings in Houston and the Clear Lake area, appeared at festivals, coffee houses and the University of Houston's theater, but she need a bigger venue to hold an expected large crowd. Jennifer went to meeting after meeting not getting the answers she needed. This determined teen didn't give up. After months of working on this benefit concert, it occurred to her that Six Flags Astroworld, a family oriented fun place, had to be the place. She knew it was a long shot, but her faith kept her going. Astroworld wanted to help when they heard Jennifer's story of Rachael and her friends. Despite the busy line-up, Astroworld arranged the benefit concert for September 19 at 2:00pm. This girl on a mission was ecstatic!
Six Flags Astroworld gave her one thousand $23 off coupons to hand out at her current concerts to give everyone a chance to go. She then proceeded to contact Kim Ogg, from Crime Stoppers. Then arranged press conferences to publicize this benefit. Astroworld will also donate $1 to Crime Stoppers for every admission ticket sold. The coupons are available at her concerts or by downloading them from her website www.jennifergrassman.com or the band website www.edennox.com.
Hosting the event will be Kim Ogg of Crime Stoppers with Jennifer Grassman, George Koloroutis will also be there to speak to the audience. Musical performances will be by Jennifer and her band EdenNox. She really hopes that a lot of people come out to enjoy the show. "This is not just about publicizing some sketches or putting on a great rock concert, it's about keeping the hope alive…it's about spreading the word… and that is why we need everyone to help us accomplish this," Jennifer concluded on a positive note. With this singer/songwriter's determination and faith, it's already a huge success.
Jennifer Grassman is bound to make White Roses a hit in our hearts with notes she composed out of love so that her friend will never be forgotten.
Rachel won't be forgotten and neither will Jennifer's determination.
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