Aids the Katy Build II that will help honor a military veteran
A Bossier City teen has organized a benefit concert to honor a hometown hero.
The Katy Build II benefit concert will feature Shreveport natives and reality show contestants Willie Jones and Dez Duron. Proceeds from the event will go directly to the Katy Build II project, which will give a new home to a local military veteran.
Madeline Pfanner wanted her senior project to be different and still make a difference in the community. That’s when she thought about Katy Watkins.
“Community service is important to me and I’m a strong believer in mission work,” Pfanner said. “It all fell into place because everything I wanted to do would benefit Katy Build II.”
The Katy Build project was created in memory of Katy Watkins, a Bossier City teen who was killed in an automobile accident in October 2006. The 16-year-old Airline High student had a humble presence and servant heart that Asbury United Methodist Church wants to carry on through the Katy Build project.
“I had a personal connection with Katy. I personally knew her and her sister, Emily, is one of the biggest inspirations in my life,” Pfanner said. “It always felt right for me to be part of something like this. It’s so Katy to have something so wonderful like this that would help someone in the community.”
Pfanner said it was an easy decision to select Jones, a contestant on X Factor, and Duron, a contestant on The Voice. Little did she know how willing the two would be to help out the cause.
“I’m a huge fan,” Pfanner said. “To me, it’s cool that they have put everything into this benefit concert. I haven’t officially met them, but I’m really excited about it.”
Jones will take the stage first, followed by Duron, at 7 p.m. in the Airline High School auditorium. Pfanner said the concert wouldn’t be possible without help from her sponsors – Airline High School, Asbury United Methodist Church, Bob Woodruff Foundation, Evangel Christian Academy, Fuller Center for Housing of Northwest Louisiana, Garden of Angels Scholarship Fund, Good Eats Market and Cafe, Innovative Office Systems, Oasis Printing, Inc. and Shreveport Community Church.
The Katy Build II benefit concert will be held Saturday, Nov. 2, at Airline High School. Doors to the auditorium will open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased ahead of time at Asbury United Methodist Church, Good Eats and Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport.
Pfanner said she will also be selling t-shirts for $10 as well as meet and greet opportunities after the show for an additional $5. All proceeds from the event will go to the Katy Build II project.
Katy Build II will sit next to Katy Build I on Nina Street, giving Charles and Vernita Brown of Bossier City a new neighbor once the home is completed. A construction date has not been set, but it is being built in partnership with Asbury United Methodist Church, Fuller Center for Housing, and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
“It’s important to me that we continue Katy’s legacy of helping others,” Pfanner said. “This concert is something we all can be part of to remember her and give back to the community.”
