Posted Wednesday, February 28, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

For the 16th year, Bert Weiss of Q100 and his Bert's Big Adventure charity sent 13 children with chronic and terminal illnesses to Walt Disney World along with their families on a charter flight to Orlando.

I attend the kickoff party every year, first at The Renaissance Concourse Airport Hotel, then at the hangar where the flight takes off. He gives each of the kids surprise gifts. This year, Bert bestowed various kids a donated customized treehouse, a VIP experience at an Atlanta United game and a special trip to Raleigh, N.C. for Monster Jam.

This is the first year the organization is without Stacey Weiss, Bert's ex wife. They divorced in 2015. Stacey was an integral part of the organization but chose to step down last year to pursue a real estate career full time.

It's an impressive operation that requires a lot of donated cash and services including Endeavor Air providing a free flight. There are also programs throughout the year for the kids and a Fairy Godmother program to visit kids in hospitals. Its most recent publicly available 990 form from 2015 shows revenues of $763,521.

And with Brian Moote having just left the Bert Show for a gig in Los Angeles, that opened up a slot for assistant producer Davi Crimmins to go on the trip for the first time.

 Davi Crimmins, assistant producer for the Bert Show, gets to go on Bert's Big Adventure in Disney for the first time. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Link Hargrove would love to take over Brian Moote's job. He's already hijacked Kristin Klingshirn's mic. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Link Hargrove with his dad Gordon before the trip begins. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Alanna Milner (left) plays a "Descendants" character with "Pocahantos" Laura Alice Lopez. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Luis Escobar and his family are greeted at the hangar before leaving for Orlando. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Max, the therapy dog, greets Mateo Escobar, whose brother Luis Escobar is one of Bert's Big Adventure kids who has a germ cell brain tumor. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Balloon artist Avan Kroy with Bert's Big Adventure participant Zy Fagin, who has had a brain aneurysm. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Zy Fagin goofs around with Bert Weiss. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Khairi Brown, who has leukemia, is greeted at the hangar by "Star Wars" characters. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Yuli with Spiderman. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Not sure who's child this was but he was adorable. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Bert Weiss on the red carpet leading up to the plane. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Bert Show members Kristin Klingshirn and Cassie Young. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Nikki Williams (right) has been playing TinkerBell for years at the kickoff event. She appreciated the relative warm weather this year. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Davi moments before leaving for Disney. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 Cassie Young, social media director, with Bert Weiss. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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 My artsy shot of Tommy Owen videotaping the proceedings before entering the plane. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

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