"I grew up in a double-wide trailer in Amarillo, Texas. I have a high school diploma and the American Dream in my back pocket. That's all I need," multi-platinum selling country music superstar John Rich said. "I couldn't imagine how college would get me to the Grand Ole Opry and that's where I wanted to go."

Rich was "uplifting, inspiring, impressive," a man sitting at my table from Texas said after the self-made country music legend gave the Keynote Speaker/Performance at the 14th Annual Steamboat Institute Freedom Conference at the end of August. Held in Beaver Creek, Colorado, this conference is organized by 1975 Burlington High School graduate Jennifer Schubert-Akin who is co-founder and CEO of the Steamboat Institute. This reporter, a 1979 BHS graduate is Schubert-Akin's sister and attended the event.

In his signature black hat and unique mustache, the heartthrob held a glistening black guitar emblazoned with "American" across the neck. He opened playing the Johnny Cash favorite "Ring of Fire" for which he received thunderous applause.

Rich told the crowd his dream was to stand on a stage, perform and have people clap. "Here I am," he said of living his American Dream. "My dad was a minister – it was his calling, his American dream. He wanted to talk to people about Jesus Christ." As a minister Rich said his dad hardly made any money. "So my dad mowed yards, slopped hogs, was a night watchman at a bank and sold used cars. He did this to support us four kids and his wife. We never missed a meal, never missed anything. We had a used car with a dent in it. But it was the shiniest used car with a dent in it because you take care of what you have!"

Rich said when he received his first check from a record company he still used his dad's address so the letter came to his house. "I had him open the letter from the record company. He said that amount can't be right! If this check is real, 33 percent of it goes in an account for the IRS and 10 percent of it is your tithe. "I said, yes sir." Someone from the crowd shouted, How much was the check? Rich wouldn't say but indicated it was a lot for his first number one single.

John Rich Praised His PawPaw and All Veterans

"I bought my grandparents a big house," Rich said. He remodeled the basement for himself and lived with them four years – "some of the best years of my life." He told proudly about his PawPaw, a World War II veteran who was a "tunnel rat" in the war and returned home with six purple hearts. "PawPaw was part of the Greatest Generation that saved the world from Hitler and Japan." He told how that coffee drinking, cigarette smoking man told him the greatest stories about the war. His grandma was working at a Dollar Store. Rich told her she no longer had to work. And for PawPaw, "No more flipping used cars unless you want."

"I've written over 2000 songs in my life. My regret is that I didn't write this one when the old man was still alive." At that point he had all the veterans in the crowd stand and thanked them for their "sacrifice and service." He performed that song he named "The Man," a tearjerker of a tune dedicated to PawPaw and all who've served to protect this nation.

"I just know I love my country," Rich said.

Back to his comment about not going to college. Rich said, "And we're gonna pay off all that student debt. I didn't have a student debt. You know how many college-educated people work with me out on the road? Zero. They all make a real good livin'. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in my life."

Introducing his newest song named "Progress," Rich said, "Progress means moving toward something. They are movin' toward something alright, I just don't like it." He said what progress means to him, "Leave me alone, let me work, let me fail, let me achieve, let me raise my family, just leave me alone."

Rich added, "They can stick their progress where the sun don't shine," which is part of the chorus of "Progress." Rich said, "They shut down our voices and by that I mean Twitter, Facebook, Youtube." He doesn't even work with a record company anymore – he released "Progress" on Rumble. "I wasn't looking for success with this song. I was looking to make a point."

"Within six hours of me hitting the button, it was the number one downloaded song in the world." "Progress" stayed at Number 1 for 12 days, he said.

Rich told the crowd, "I think one of the most dangerous elements in our country right now is not Democrats and liberals. It's Judas Republicans. For 30 pieces of silver Judas turned Jesus into the Romans to be crucified."

"Our country is at stake. We all feel it. We all know it. We go to sleep thinking about it and wake up with that first cup of coffee and that's what is on our minds. Am I right?" Rich asked the crowd.

To have a little fun, Rich performed one of the songs that's undoubtedly still one of his most popular played in his Nashville bar, the Redneck Riviera – "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy." In 2014 Rich launched his lifestyle brand, Redneck Riviera, offering apparel, a boot line, a jerky line and a spirits division. He hosts "The Pursuit! With John Rich" on FOX Nation. Along with his band, "Big and Rich" they continue to sell out concerts and score number one songs on Billboard and iTunes. All net proceeds to the songs benefit military charity Folds of Honor – an organization that provides a scholarship fund to children and spouses of fallen heroes.

In the final moments of his hour long performance. Rich said, "I wish I would have written this song. I consider this up there with the Star Spangled Banner." He sang the signature song of Lee Greenwood, "God Bless the U.S.A." The crowd stood and sang with him. Moved beyond words, the crowd remained on their feet giving him a standing ovation. As he concluded his performance Rich shouted "God Bless America."