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For more than 50 years, the North Country has been home to an organization designed to help those with developmental disabilities and their families.<\/p>\n
And for most of that time, it has brought in some of the biggest names in music as a way to raise money.<\/p>\n
But as times have changed and concerts become more expensive, those DPAO shows will be no more.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
<\/center> \u201cThat’s the main thing, is helping the kids in the program. That’s why I’m still involved at my age,\u201d Disabled Persons Action Organization founder Joe Rich said.<\/p>\n Rich started the Disabled Persons Action Organization in 1974. It’s designed to provide individual services for those in the North Country with developmental disabilities. And now, 52 years later, Joe has not lost an ounce of passion for this place.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you counted everybody, we impacted, it’s well over a thousand every year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n However, to keep the DPAO running, Rich\u00a0needed to fundraise, so, he created a summer concert series. But it wasn’t just a local group playing in the park. He brought massive shows with the biggest names to little Watertown, New York.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did every imaginable show you can think of, altogether 300 major concerts,\u201d Rich said.<\/p>\n From Brantley Gilbert, Willie Nelson and Blake Shelton to Keith Urban and even Reba McIntyre, the shows were a hit and made an impact that even Rich could not imagine.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was not only beneficial to the kids we serve, but it also put into the economy, at roughly $10 million a year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But unlike Rich’s passion, the economy has changed. And this summer, after 50 years, these concerts are no more.<\/p>\n \u201c$50,000 shows are now $400,000. We just don’t have the funds to do that,\u201d he said, saying ticket and concession revenue would not make up for the overall cost increase.<\/p>\n So this year, DPO Foundation Executive Director Tricia Schwartz says the mission to keep the organization not only alive, but thriving, will focus more grassroots, smaller community events.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope that people support us. We have a lot of people that rely on the agency, and, we’re here to stay,\u201d Swartz said.<\/p>\n And while Rich will miss it,\u00a0he says he only wants what’s best for the people in the DPAO building.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish there was somebody out there who could say, \u2018Hey Joe, I’ll back the show up and I’ll give you this much money to do it,\u2019 but no one has come forward.<\/p>\n Rich says competition from nearby cities \u2014 including the amphitheater and free shows at the State Fair each summer \u2014 also played a role in the decision to move on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source spectrumlocalnews.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For more than 50 years, the North Country has been home to an organization designed to help those with developmental disabilities and their families. And for most of that time, it has brought in some of the biggest names in music as a way to raise money. 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