This event which coincided with thanksgiving, was the culminating event of CNN’s quest to find people around the world whose efforts to alleviate specific problems in their society merited recognition and support. Of the record-number of nominees they received this year, Filipino Efren Peñaflorida won the prestigious award with his effort to provide alternative education to impoverished children in his country through pushcart classrooms. Peñaflorida, who was selected after seven weeks of online voting at CNN.com, garnered over 2.75 million votes to win the $100,000 award in behalf of his Dynamic Teen Company. Aside from this, he also received a $10,000 pledge from Wallis Annenberg, chairman of the board, and president and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation who was also part of the Blue Ribbon Panel that selected the top 10 Heroes for this year.

Says CNN President Jim Walton, “This record number of nominations is further evidence of the momentum CNN Heroes has built in just a few short years.” He added, “Viewers have been engaged by these stories of inspiration and accomplishment beyond our expectations. It is truly an honor to be able to introduce the CNN Heroes to our global audience every year.”

The star-studded affair was attended by presenters such as Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Neil Patrick Harris, Pierce Brosnan, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Randy Jackson, Greg Kinnear, George Lopez, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Aside from Underwood, who performed an original orchestral arrangement of “Change” from her hit album, “Play On,” the other musical performances for the night were provided by Maxwell who sang “Help Somebody” from “BLACKsummers’night” and Grammy nominee Leona Lewis who performed “Happy,” from her second studio effort entitled “Echo.” Their performances collectively represented the spirit of the CNN Heroes campaign, which aims to give distinction and support to ordinary folks whose extraordinary efforts helped make a difference in their respective communities from countries as far as Iran, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, the Philippines and the US, among others.

Of the three performances however, it was Underwood’s finale number which perfectly summed up the night’s proceedings. The song’s lyrics talk about those “fools” who believe that they can make a difference and change the world with just a simple act. Its inspirational message of being able to bring change to someone’s life with just a small gesture and bringing hope to people who have none certainly evoked the kind of heroism exemplified by those who were being honored that night. Its bridge, “The world’s so big it could break your heart/And you just wanna help/Not sure where to start/So you close your eyes/Send up a prayer into the dark” perfectly captured the sentiments of the heroes being honored.

George Jones

At 78 years old, Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee George Jones clearly has no plans of stepping down to the younger superstars of the genre. In a move that some industry folks have considered as divisive, while leading others to laud his guts for speaking out, Jones has recently said a mouthful against the younger set of artists dominating the genre these days.

“They’ve stolen our identity,” this is what Jones said in a recent interview with the Associated Press when prompted to give a comment about younger artists such as Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. In the same interview, Jones added, “They had to use something that was established already, and that’s traditional country music. So what they need to do really, I think, is find their own title, because they’re definitely not traditional country music.” In his defense, Jones did admit that some of the newer songs are good; however, he thought these no longer reflected pure country music of old.

At the same time, though, he did praise fellow artists whom he thought have kept the spirit alive. “It’s good to know that we still do traditional country music. Alan Jackson still does it, so does George Strait.” Quite optimistic about the genre’s future direction, he says, “We still have it, and there’s quite a few of us that are going to hope that it comes back one of these days.”

Jones has been known to be a very vocal critic of anything that could destroy the purity of traditional country music, which he has helped endear to fans across the US. As a matter of fact, Jones also had a few choice words for artists whom he thought were guilty of such acts. When fellow Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee Johnny Cash covered the Nine Inch nails song, “Hurt,” members of the media were sure to get a sound bite from Jones and that’s just what they had.

When the senior country artist was asked if he too would branch out in other musical genres such as heavy metal or rap, he retorted, “Rap? That’s tacky … how can you call that music? Now, I love music, too. I love all kinds. I really do. I’ve got Brook Benton. I like his singing.” He says, “Ray Charles. I’ve got an open mind. But now, you can’t call rap, talking stuff like that, music. No, no, no, you’ve got to have another name for that.”

Speaking about his own career and music, he says, “Only thing I would like to keep accomplishing is music for my fans and achieving some goals to keep them happy with what I record in the future.” When asked if he had plans of putting out more records in the future, he replied, “I’ve done just about everything else. The good Lord’s been good to me … I’m going to enjoy the rest of my life.”

Jones’ most recent effort is a CD called “A Collection of My Best Recollection,” which includes his all time most requested songs throughout a career that has spanned for almost six decades. This CD, exclusively available at Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, includes two unreleased songs as well as classic hits such as “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair” and “White Lightning.”