Ticket sales for Neal Boyd, Kenny Rogers Sikeston concert going strong

SIKESTON, Mo. -- It's looking like the June 24 Kenny Rogers benefit concert may be the most successful to date.

Tom Nunnelee, co-chairman of the concert committee, said the number of sponsors is more than double that of any previous concert. "I was in hopes that we could get to a level such as this and we have," he said. "I am thrilled beyond words."

The concert is set for 7:30 p.m. June 24 at the Sikeston Field House. Opening the show will be Sikeston native Neal E. Boyd, who last year won NBC's "America's Got Talent." Proceeds are earmarked for an expansion of the Kenny Rogers Children's Center.

Tickets went on sale May 1, and as of Monday afternoon, 30 percent of the 3,500 seats were sold.

"I predict that between now and the concert week, perhaps earlier, they will be gone," Nunnelee said.

Ticket are available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com and by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Every concert Rogers has performed to benefit the center has generated a sold-out crowd. There have been several concerts in Sikeston since Rogers was an act at the 1977 Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, with the most recent in April 2001.

As in previous years, the center is in need of the funds to meet the demand.

"We've just continued to grow and grow," said Michelle Fayette, executive director. She and other members of the Kenny Rogers Children's Center board of directors plan to add 3,000 square feet to the 10,000-square-foot building.

"One thing we'd like to do is put up a large playground, but in a secure building with windows around the top," Fayette said. The windows would give the feel of an outdoor playground, but provide security to the area. "We'd also want a track around it, similar to the football field."

Fayette said that with all the equipment that's been brought into the center in recent years, there isn't room for activities such as walking or riding bikes. The playground area would allow that.

Another goal is to create office space for the therapy staff. The 12 therapists share one room as an office.

Fayette and other committee members are working to come up with sketches of their visions to show Rogers if all goes according to plan and he can visit the center while in Sikeston.

"I think that's important, so he can continue to see the growth, from just one small act of kindness" on his part, Fayette said. "The center was already here, but he really launched it to the level it is today."