The following announcement was posted on the National Inclusion Project website late Tuesday afternoon:

Champions Gala Update

Update on Special Guests: Please note that due to scheduling conflicts, Dee Snider will not be available to participate in our 2012 Champions Gala. Dee, we will miss you and all the best!

Fans of  Clay Aiken and the National Inclusion Project were understandably disappointed.  However, most understood that Dee had a great career opportunity presented to him and feel sure he would be at the Gala if he could.  Other fans mentioned that they thought that Clay and Dee must be disappointed too.

Dee has always been very supportive of Clay and his fans.  I feel sure this was a difficult decision for Dee.

I found an interesting article about Dee Snyder yesterday.  It was written by someone named Naughty Mickie in 2004.  The following is a short part of his history:

Snider grew up inLong Island,New York.

“I can remember the day I decided to be a rock star,” Snider recalls. “That was the day after the Beatles appeared on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show’ and my father had banned TV in our house at that time so I didn’t see it, but I remember going to the bus stop, everybody was buzzing. It was ’64, so I was nine, I guess fourth grade. Everybody was buzzing and I said, What’s going on?’ They said, ‘Did you see it? The Beatles last night?’ I said, ‘What’s that?’ ‘It’s a rock band.’ I said, ‘Oh, yeah?’ ‘Yeah, everybody was screamin’.’ ‘Everybody was screaming?’ I said, ‘That’s what I want to be.’ They were like, ‘What?’ I said, ‘I want to be a Beatle.’ I didn’t even know what that was. I knew what rock music was. From that point on I decided I wanted to be a performer and, not obviously going to be a Beatle, but I wanted to be a rock star. Every day I was, ‘I want to be a rock star, I want to be a rock star, I want to be a rock star.'”

Snider has sung all his life; he was in the choir in church and is a classically trained counter-tenor.

“My mom sang in the church choir, my ancestors did, so that part was in my blood.” Snider says, “In the early days I used to play a little guitar, but my singing was better than my guitar playing by far. I could be in a lot better band if I would just put the guitar down, so I stopped playing the guitar.”

Snider attended one year of college, as his parents wanted him to have a safety net in case music didn’t work out.

“I dropped out because if you have a safety net, you’ll use it. The only way is up and if you have to survive, you have a better chance at living, so I went for it,” Snider states.

Snider has worked since he was 12. He did the usual– paper routes, mowing lawns, but his worse job was cleaning bathrooms at seaside resorts for two summers.

“It makes you hate the beach,” Snider chuckles.

If you would like to read the entire article, you can find it at DEESNIDER

It is just about 3 weeks until the National Inclusion Project Champions Gala will be held in Washington D.C.   Although I am disappointed that Dee will not be there, I know that the evening is about The National Inclusion Project.  It is impressive to see all the work that they have done.  Last year, the Gala was very special.  I have no doubt that this year will be another night to remember.

Do you remember these pictures of Clay and Dee from Celebrity Apprentice?