Everything Nac

Tickets are still available for a performance of Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats whose rockabilly show is coming to Stephen F. Austin State University at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in W.M. Turner Auditorium as part of the College of Fine Arts University Series.

Attending the high-energy show fronted by Rocker, with his signature upright bass, is a great way to kick off a full weekend of homecoming fun at SFA, according to Scott Shattuck, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and director of the series.

“He’s gonna ‘Rock This Town,’, no doubt about that,” Shattuck promised. “Lee Rocker is just coming off a huge anniversary tour with his Stray Cats band mates. His set list includes all of their top hits, and his show is full of other favorite rock classics that are sure to please.”

Rocker made his mark singing, playing, standing on, spinning and rocking his giant upright bass as a founding (and current) member, along with Brian Setzer and Slim Jim Phantom, of the Grammy-nominated rockabilly group the Stray Cats, which sold more than 10 million albums and garnered 23 gold- and platinum-certified records worldwide. Rocker and his band are headed to Nacogdoches to perform Stray Cats hits like “Sexy and Seventeen,” “Stray Cat Strut” and “Rock This Town,” plus many other rock-era songs he has performed post-Stray Cats with music legends from Ringo Starr and George Harrison to John Fogerty and The Rolling Stones. The performance is sponsored in part by Lehmann Eye Center.

Prior to the Rocker performance, Dr. J.D. Salas, associate professor in the SFA School of Music and a professional jazz-blues bassist, will present an informative talk at 7 p.m. in Griffith Gallery. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium, which is inside the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the performers and recognize Dr. Robert Lehmann and his staff as the corporate sponsor.

Thursday night’s University Series concert is followed by a full slate of official homecoming activities sponsored by the SFA Alumni Association and other campus organizations on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The annual homecoming game features the SFA Lumberjacks taking on the McNeese State Cowboys at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, in Homer Bryce Stadium. Visit www.sfaalumni.com for a full schedule of events.

Single event ticket prices for the University Series are $30 for adults, $24 for seniors, $15 for SFA faculty and staff and $12 for non-SFA students/youth. Tickets for SFA students are $3. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

Students in the sports business program at Stephen F. Austin State University prevailed in an annual competition against their counterparts at Sam Houston State University to sell tickets to the annual Battle of the Piney Woods football game.

The group of students, under the guidance of Dr. Jason Reese, sports business program director and assistant professor at SFA, sold tickets by phone, online and in person for several weeks leading up to the rivalry game between the two teams on Oct. 5 at NRG Stadium in Houston.

The competition between the two groups started in 2018 as a friendly venture designed to teach marketable skills to students that will help them throughout their careers. Reese partnered with SFA Athletics, which provided the students with access to better resources and customer relationship management software.

“The competition goal is to sell the most tickets,” Reese said. “The real goal from an educational standpoint is to provide students with real world sales training. We can talk about sales methodologies and theories all day in the classroom, but students can better understand those things if they are able to actually do it.”

Students involved in the competition learned the skills necessary to conduct a sale, namely making an introduction, asking questions, presenting product solutions, overcoming a prospect’s objections and obtaining a commitment, Reese said. They will continue to hone these skills while working to sell tickets to SFA basketball, baseball and softball games throughout the year.

“Selling is a very important skill in business and something everyone should get experience in,” said Brett Holland, an SFA junior involved in the competition. “Getting real hands-on sales practice showed me that communication skills are very useful.”

The competition was an initiative of Lone Star Sports and Entertainment group, a third-party event marketing company in partnership with the Houston Texans.

For more information about the sports business program, contact Reese at reesejd1@sfasu.edu or visit sfasu.edu/business.

By Kevin Meyer, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs will host the fourth annual Homecoming Step Show, which will feature guest host Darren Brand, a comedian, writer, producer and actor.

Dance groups will compete for a $1,000 grand prize and $500 second place prize. The show will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom.

Tickets cost $3 for SFA students and $6 for faculty, staff and community members. Instead of purchasing a ticket, SFA students can bring three nonexpired canned goods to the OMA, Room 3.101 in the student center.

Described by past participants as “eye opening” and “extremely important,” Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs will host the 12th annual Tunnel of Oppression next month in partnership with the Lumberjack Cultural Association.

“The purpose of the Tunnel of Oppression is to shed light on forms of oppression marginalized groups face daily,” said Elda Echeverry, LCA president. “Our goal is to educate the SFA community about injustices. Our goal has always remained the same, but the topics and delivery have changed yearly based on relevance.”

First held in 2007, the Tunnel of Oppression seeks to expand the public’s understanding of what it means to be oppressed, whether economically, mentally, culturally or in any other sense.

“We encourage everyone to come because these discussions need to take place, and there are not many opportunities like this in Nacogdoches,” Echeverry said. “Participants should expect to engage in an interactive theatre-type setting to learn about a variety of social and political issues, such as rape culture, the food crisis in Venezuela, racial slurs and even modern-day genocide.”

This year’s Tunnel of Oppression will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 4 and 5. Registration will be held in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Theater.

“LCA, OMA-sponsored organizations and others have been working hard on this event all semester to make this an eye-opening experience,” Echeverry added. “We cannot wait to share this with the SFA and local communities.”

The event is free and open to the public. However, due to the seriousness of some of the topics, children younger than 13 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

By Christine Broussard, marketing communications coordinator at Stephen F. Austin State University.