ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — Chelsea Pickett doesn’t let the thought of a project being too big in to tackle it. A case in point is the concert in Gulf Shores that will feature the likes of Jimmy Buffett, Kenney Chesney and many other stars from the world of music.

“When it became obvious the crude oil, which is rushing into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the oil rig accident, was going to affect not only our beach, but the livelihoods of those in the fishing and tourism business, I tried to think of ways that I could help,” she said.

Pickett, a 2009 graduate of Robertsdale High, and a current student at the University of Alabama’s College of Communications, said she still planned on going through the course that trains workers in the proper procedures to clean a beach.

“I wanted to do more,” she said, “so I got with Carlee Griffin, a girl I work with at Gulf Shores Marina, who also lives in Gulf Shores, and decided to use my talents to communicate our needs on the Coast to as many people as possible.”

What Pickett and Griffin did was to create a Facebook page, “Gulf Coast Oil Spill Benefit Concert,” that had 13,000 hits the first week, and is currently up to 55,000 hits.

“I approached Huka Entertainment in Mobile and showed them how many people wanted such a concert,” she said.

Huka Entertainment was already familiar with how to stage an event at the beach as they put together “The Hangout Music Festival” back in May.

“The girl with Huka said they had been thinking about doing something like this,” Pickett said. “When I sent her a link that showed over 50,000 people wanting a concert they got the ball rolling by contacting Jimmy Buffett’s agent, in addition to those of other entertainers. They also contacted Country Music Television (CMT) about bringing the show into the living rooms of people from across the nation.”

For those who aren’t familiar with Facebook, it’s an on-line site that people can go to in order to create their own pages.

“The pages might give some biographical information, however,” she said, “that attraction is that you can find ‘friends’ that you may not have communicated with since childhood through their Facebook page.”

Another attraction is the ability to post photographs of you, your friends or family events.

“You can even join organizations of people, whether it’s high school or university alumni groups, or for various causes, such as the one we created to help the fishermen, tourism officials, and others,” she said.

Jimmy Buffett grew up in Baldwin County, plus his sister, Lulu, runs a restaurant that could be affected by the spill. Pickett said she was glad he was chosen as a headliner as he was a natural for such an event.

“Tickets were free,” Pickett said. “When they were placed on-line through Ticketmaster the show ran out in a matter of minutes, as people from all over the United States clamored for them.”

Pickett said she hated it that locals seem to have been boxed out of being able to see the show.

“I guess a lot of us will be watching the Country Music Television (CMT) broadcast,” she said, “but at least the concert will bring a lot of people to Gulf Shores. In fact, booking a condo unit is one of the few ways you can still get tickets.”

That translates to money being spent in the community on meals, condo units, and other things for people to plan a quick vacation around.

Thinking big is something Pickett has done since grade school as she finished her high school career at Robertsdale president of her senior class. While at RHS Pickett was a member of the Golden Bear Marching Band, swim team, Teen Republicans and the school’s Model United Nations team.

“Shortly after I entered the University of Alabama I joined the crew team,” she said. “Talk about exercise, but rowing those sculls on the Black Warrior River as a coxswain pounds out a tempo, is some of the hardest work I’ve ever done.”

Due to a shoulder injury her crew career was cut short, however, she still has plenty to keep her occupied. As a member of UA’s Honors College, where she maintains a 4.0 grade point average, she writes for the Crimson White, holding down one of the most coveted jobs on campus; that of sports writer and photographer covering Crimson Tide athletics.

“Needless to say, I’m really looking forward to the start of football season,” she said.

Pickett is also a member of the Public Relations Society of Alabama and the Public Relations Students Society of America. She was recently elected to the College of Communications Executive Council.

“Later this summer I get to go on a mission to Honduras through our church, the Loxley Church of God,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to doing some traveling, both while I’m in school and after graduation.”

On Monday it was announced that because of the threat of a hurricane in the Gulf, the concert has been postponed to Sunday, July 11.