Organizer hopes to inspire courage with Voices of Freedom event

CLOVIS — Celebrating American freedoms and inspiring courage is what an upcoming event is all about.

“Voices of Freedom” is set for 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Clovis Civic Center. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Organizer Stephen Powell said the event will pay tribute to veterans and law enforcement while celebrating American freedoms.

“I’ve never seen an event quite like this,” said Powell. “I wanted it to be a celebration of freedom, giving honor to a lot of people that don’t get the spotlight. We want to pay tribute where honor is due.”

Former Army Ranger Kris “Tanto” Paronto, who fought in the 2012 Benghazi attack, will speak at the event. U.S. Navy veteran and musician Dave Bray will also perform at the event.

“The whole point of this event is not to politicize some dude that was in a battle ... where it became very politicized,” Powell said. “The idea is to help encourage people as Americans to be strong, to never give up on their dreams and rally together and celebrate the freedoms that we have as Americans. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican. We’re not talking about politics.”

Paronto said it was a “no-brainer” speaking at the event.

“It’s a very patriotic event, a very good organization,” said Paronto.

With regards to Benghazi, anticipating trouble was part of the job as part of the U.S. government’s Global Response staff, Paronto said.

“All these places we go to as far as global response, they put us in high-threat areas. It’s a stressful job, but it’s a fun stressful job. We like the stress,” said Paronto.

Paronto said his first instinct was to act when he knew there was trouble at the Tunisian consulate.

“My emotions were we’ve got to go over there,” said Paronto. “You do have to have some composure when that stuff happens. When you start freaking out, you don’t make the right decisions.”

Paronto said he does motivational speaking as a way to continue public service, a rewarding part of being in the service.

“I hope this makes people aware of what veterans go through,” said Paronto. “Veterans give a lot of themselves. You never quit, never give up and always push through obstacles.”

He added he wants to inspire “courage, honor and sacrifice” to the audience and inspire them to be the best they can be.

“When you’re in any sort of situation, you never give up,” said Paronto. “You never quit ... and always push through obstacles.”

Tickets are available at the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce and at Patriot Outdoors, as well as online at:

eventbrite.com

General admission is $25. Preferred seating is available for $35.