K99.1 FM contest winner, son grateful for Keith Urban concert

Submitted Kimberly Blair won Keith Urban tickets for her and her son, Zach, a Marine who was severely injured in a car accident in February.

ENLARGE PHOTO

By Natalie Knoth, Staff Writer Updated 9:43 PM Monday, August 15, 2011

Kimberly Blair of Tipp City had been to hundreds of concerts, but the Keith Urban show in Cincinnati last Thursday struck a particularly emotional chord.

As the winner of WHKO-FM’s (K99.1) Backstage Experience contest, Blair sat in the second row with her son Zach, 21, an active-duty Marine who has been in a wheelchair since a car crash nearly took his life in February.

“When I had told him I entered, I said, ‘Don’t get excited, because your mom never wins anything,’” said Blair, a retired Marine. She was one of nearly 500 entries in the Cox Media Group Ohio-owned K99.1 FM contest.

Blair’s contest submission outlined her son’s accident and subsequent recovery in the Wounded Warrior Battalion in San Diego, Calif. He has been home since Aug. 5 on a two-week convalescent leave.

“My leg is starting to get better, so my mood is a bit better,” said Zach.

He has undergone intensive physical and occupational therapy since his car accident. His arm is now 90 percent healed, and a final bone graft to his left femur took place June 20. While it is uncertain whether he will walk again, he hopes to return to the Marine Corps.

Though the concert posed some difficulties, mainly with girls attempting to get closer to the stage — Blair reported that she and Zach had an “amazing” time and were in awe of Urban’s talent. Out of hundreds of concerts, it was among her top three favorites.

“He’s an absolute natural with the guitar ... It’s like an extension of his hands. It was just amazing,” Blair said of Urban. “We are eternally grateful for this experience.”

Contact this reporter at nknoth@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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