Lowell Milken Center to host its first fundraiser

Friday, January 18, 2013

For the last six years, the Lowell Milken Center has worked to give history's unsung heroes a voice. On Saturday, Pittsburg band the Wayward Bettys will lend their soulful voices to that cause when they play a concert at Crooner's Lounge, next to the Liberty Theatre, to benefit the educational foundation.

The event, which will include a cocktail hour and a filet dinner followed by a performance from the band, has sold out. Tickets were $50, and for every one sold, an anonymous donor will contribute $100 to the center. There will also be a silent auction.

Program Director Megan Felt said this is the first fundraising concert the Lowell Milken Center has hosted, but the community response has been positive. "We are sold out," she said. "Between the great food at Crooner's and the fabulous Wayward Bettys, people are excited."

The Wayward Bettys include Melissa Anderson and Sarah Shank. Longtime friends, the two reunited last summer during an open mic night at Fat Daddies in Pittsburg and decided to form a group. Since then, the Bettys have been playing every Tuesday night at Bobby G's and at other venues across Southeast Kansas. The duo performs original songs, as well as covers that run the gamut from John Denver and Hank Williams to Belinda Carlisle and REM.

Anderson said she and Shank became aware of the center after meeting Executive Director Norm Conard. "We were practicing at Starbucks one afternoon, when a stranger came up to us and told us he enjoyed our music. That stranger was Norm Conard. We told him we were playing at Bobby G's and he actually came to our show," she said.

Not long after that, the Bettys visited Fort Scott to see the center. "Norm gave us a tour and we were touched by the work that he and his team were doing," Anderson said. "So when he asked us to sing for a benefit, to raise money for the center, we were definitely honored to be a part of it."

For more information about the concert or to see if tickets are available, contact the Lowell Milken Center at (620) 223-9991, or stop by 4 S. Main St.

Now in its sixth year, the Lowell Milken Center discovers, develops and communicates the stories of unsung heroes who have made a profound and positive difference on the course of history. Through student-driven project-based learning, people throughout America and the world learn that each of us has the responsibility and the power to take actions that "repair the world" by improving the lives of others.