Stanfield to perform next Saturday in Farwell

PNT Staff Writer

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Jana Stanfield will bring her music with meaning to West Texas and Eastern New Mexico residents at 7 p.m. on Oct. 23 in Farwell, Texas, according to concert coordinators and sponsors.

Stanfield, an Eastern New Mexico University and Clovis High School graduate, will be singing her music of faith and conduct free workshops before the concert. There will be free workshops teaching songwriting, drama, theater and arts and crafts to area youth from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

“You can’t put her music into one genre,” Judy Hall, concert event coordinator, said. “Her music will entertain, inspire and encourage. It gives you a message of faith. It’s music for everybody and everybody can relate.”

Members of the Presbyterian Church in Portales are sponsoring the concert event. Rev. Clyde Davis of the Presbyterian Church said Stanfield lives in Nashville and they contact her each year so she can make the trip to the area. Stanfield is returning for her third annual youth rally and concert.

Davis said the last two years the rallies have taken place in Portales. However, they could not have it in Portales this year because the Portales High School auditorium is under construction. Instead the concert will take place in the Farwell High School auditorium.

Davis said money raised from the event will go to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Stanfield volunteers at MDA summer camps and performs annually on the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.

He said they received help from the Eastern New Mexico Universiy Zias’ softball team, which did a 50/50 raffle at the ENMU homecoming football game and has collected $365 for the event.

“We’re on a special mission,” Davis said. “Kevin Blaskowski (Zia coach) is a member of our church and he asked if they (Zias) would be interested in getting involved. They did a great job of helping us out.”

Blaskowski said the Zias’ softball team sold 740 tickets at the ENMU homecoming football game.

“We were looking for a community project and to give back to the community,” Blaskowski said. “We have 21 girls on the team from all over the country. Nine months can be a long time if you don’t know anybody from the community. We have a great group of girls. They are becoming a close family and they feel like they are a part of the community.”

Stanfield became a triple platinum recording artist and songwriter in the 90s when Reba McEntire recorded her song, “If I Had Only Known,” according to a press release from the MDA. The goal of the concert is to raise funds to help send area children with neuromuscular diseases to the annual MDA summer camp at Ceta Canyon, outside of Happy, Texas. The cost is $600 for each participant.

“MDA has been her real cause and she has been really involved,” Hall said. “She was at the MDA camp in Dallas last year. We decided this year to raise money to send a kid to this year’s camp in Ceta Canyon.”

Tickets for the concert are available for adults for $5 each and students for $3 each from the Southwest Books and More bookstore in Portales, at the door of the Farwell High School Auditorium before the concert or through the http://www.geocities.com/ayalamf/jana_concert.html Web site.

The MDA is a non-profit health service organization serving 35 counties in the tri-state area. For concert information, contact Hall at 760-1386.

“She loves coming home,” Hall said about Stanfield. “When she’s here, she has a real good time.”