Flood Relief Concert

Country star Clay Walker headlines flood relief concert with help from sensational singers

Country music star Clay Walker and an eclectic group of sensational singers and musicians are banding together to perform at a live concert to raise funds for Houstonians whose residences were devastated by the recent floods.

Houston Recovers with Clay Walker & Friends – Live from Lakewood Church will take place Friday, May 20, at the mammoth Lakewood Church on the Southwest Freeway. Doors open at 7 pm and the two-hour concert begins at 8 pm. It will be simulcast on ABC 13, abc13.com and the ABC WATCH app, and on KTSU-FM 90.9 and the SiriusXM Joel Osteen Radio (channel 128).

Walker will be joined by R&B stars Brian McKnight and Regina Belle, Houston gospel queen Yolanda Adams, La Mafia’s Oscar De La Rosa, gospel star CeCe Winans, American Idol finalist Danny Gokey, Houston saxophonist/songwriter Kirk Whalum, and the Houston Children’s Chorus.

Video tributes will come from singer Darius Rucker, The Catch's Mireille Enos, and Grey's Anatomy's Chandra Wilson (both TV stars grew up in Houston and both ABC shows have been renewed for another season), and Houston Symphony conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada.

Admission is free, while event organizers are encouraging people attending as well as those who watch or listen on various devices to make a contribution to the greater Houston Storm Relief Fund, which provides donations and financial assistance to residents who suffered devastating losses from the recent floods.

In Harris County, there are more than 12,000 homes damaged by the flood (6,851 damaged single family homes and 5,262 apartment units).

Regina Belle.

Regina Belle/Facebook

Regina Belle.

concerts

spac-tacular move

Houston SPAC announces merger with Beaumont tech company in deal valued at $100M

Photo courtesy of Gow Media

SportsMap Tech Acquisition Group will merge with the Beaumont infrared camera company in 2023.

A Houston SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, has announced the company it plans to merge with in the new year.

Beaumont-based Infrared Cameras Holdings Inc., a provider of thermal imaging platforms, and Houston-based SportsMap Tech Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: SMAP), a publicly traded SPAC with $117 million held in trust, announced their agreement for ICI to IPO via SPAC.

Originally announced in the fall of last year, the blank-check company is led by David Gow, CEO and chairman. Gow is also chairman and CEO of Gow Media, which owns digital media outlets CultureMap, InnovationMap, and SportsMap, as well as the SportsMap Radio Network, ESPN 97.5 and 92.5.

The deal will close in the first half of 2023, according to a news release, and the combined company will be renamed Infrared Cameras Holdings Inc. and will be listed on NASDAQ under a new ticker symbol.

“ICI is extremely excited to partner with David Gow and SportsMap as we continue to deliver our innovative software and hardware solutions," says Gary Strahan, founder and CEO of ICI, in the release. "We believe our software and sensor technology can change the way companies across industries perform predictive maintenance to ensure reliability, environmental integrity, and safety through AI and machine learning.”

Strahan will continue to serve as CEO of the combined company, and Gow will become chairman of the board. The transaction values the combined company at a pre-money equity valuation of $100 million, according to the release, and existing ICI shareholders will roll 100 percent of their equity into the combined company as part of the transaction.

“We believe ICI is poised for strong growth," Gow says in the release. "The company has a strong value proposition, detecting the overheating of equipment in industrial settings. ICI also has assembled a strong management team to execute on the opportunity. We are delighted to combine our SPAC with ICI.”

Founded in 1995, ICI provides infrared and imaging technology — as well as service, training, and equipment repairs — to various businesses and individuals across industries.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site InnovationMap.