Coworkers trying to help Jakers employee meet his idol, Shania Twain

By Kaitlyn Hart

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    IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (eastidahonews.com) — If you walk into Jakers Bar and Grill and notice the faint sounds of a Shania Twain song coming from a cell phone speaker, that probably means that Matt Cox is nearby.

Known affectionately as “Sneaky” by family and friends, Cox, who has special needs, has been working as a dishwasher at Jakers for the past two years. He captures the hearts of everyone he meets.

On his days off, you’ll sometimes find him sitting at a table at Jakers, watching Shania Twain’s documentary, “Not Just A Girl.” And if you hear his phone ring, you will start to hear the opening to his favorite song, “You’re Still the One.”

“He’s always very energetic and makes everybody else happy,” says Jeremy Lewis, a coworker and friend of Cox. “If someone is having a bad day, they talk to him, and they start smiling.”

Recently, the “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” singer announced her new “Queen of Me” tour, which is stopping in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.

Immediately, Cox’s coworkers knew what they had to do.

Cyndie Finn, Cox’s sister and Jakers general manager, says she came across someone selling their tickets to the concert online, and immediately showed it to Lewis.

“Jeremy and I had been talking about it for probably a year, that if she ever came anywhere close, that we would get tickets so we could take him,” says Finn. “We saw the opportunity so we jumped on it.”

Lewis, who Cox refers to as “more like a brother,” says he immediately began planning to take Cox to the concert, knowing that he was trying to make a dream come true.

Before they knew about the tour, Lewis says he was trying to plan out a way to take Cox to Las Vegas to see Twain’s residency.

“Out of nowhere, we were working, Cyndie showed me her phone, and it said, ‘I have two tickets to Shania Twain,’ and I said, ‘Get them right away,’” says Lewis. “We transferred some money, went and got the tickets, and here we are.”

Now they have the concert tickets, and thanks to helpful donations from employees, the trip is paid for.

But Cox’s ultimate dream? To meet the “Queen of Country Pop.”

Trying to raise some attention and help this dream come true, Lewis posted a video to Facebook showing Cox dancing to Twain, which has already amassed thousands of views.

Lewis also started a GoFundMe for Cox, to help him with his continued care and life expenses after the concert.

According to Lewis, Cox struggles to make ends meet, and desperately needs updates to his apartment and assistance with finances.

“We started an envelope here (at Jakers), so we have the money for the trip, it’s all paid for, but the GoFundMe is for his continued care. He gets SSI, but it’s only enough to pay rent and bills. His apartment is a little shabby, and it could use some updating,” says Lewis. “I just want to make sure we can get him some new things for his apartment, there wasn’t a lot of food in the fridge and stuff like that. We just want to make sure he’s fully taken care of.”

The donations can also go toward funding Cox’s continued passion for all things Shania Twain, as Lewis says he has been listening to her CDs on a broken CD player.

“He was playing his Shania Twain CD on this little CD player that would skip, and I was like ‘No, we can’t have that,’” says Lewis. “I want to get him a new stereo, and I want to get him all new Shania Twain CDs. Maybe we can get the whole discography-type thing. As long as the GoFundMe goes, every penny is just going to go for extra care for him.”

Though Cox and Lewis are unquestionably going to have a great time at the concert, Cox and Lewis have already planned what he would say to Twain if he got the opportunity to meet her in person:

“I know you’re married, but I’m still the one!”

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