By Carl Keith Greene / Staff Writer
She’s six years old, about three feet tall with eyes that sparkle and a grin that would light up the darkest room.
Corbin’s Nancy Jane Jackson has been chosen to sing the national anthem at the May 31 Lexington Legends baseball game.
It won’t be her first public performance — she’s sung solos, duets, trios with her family and with the children’s choirs at Immanuel Baptist Church.
She’s even sung The National Anthem at a Corbin football game.
And that made her father, Brent Jackson, a Corbin High football coach, think she might be chosen to sing for The Legends. He had seen information about it on Lexington television.
On Feb. 14 she auditioned at Fayette Mall with more than 300 others who wanted the chance to sing the anthem.
“We filled out an application and they gave me a call,” her mother, Jenni Lou, said. “We drove to Lexington and she auditioned. It was a big stage and she got up there and sang in front of the whole crowd in front of three judges. About a month later they contacted us that she had been chosen to sing.”
Of the children who also auditioned, Nancy Jane was probably one of the youngest, Jenni said.
But there were all ages from children, and even adults, groups and duets.
Nancy Jane said she had sung The National Anthem, “Only at the little places, not like the big places.”
“We’ve been practicing it since she was little. She sings it every day with the intercom at her school,” Jenni said. “She sings it every day with her class.”
“So that’s how I practice,” Nancy Jane said.
Asked why The National Anthem is sung, she answered, “It’s to give thanks to our country. We sing for our country and our freedom. And I think that’s all I know.”
And how does she feel about being chosen to sing for The Legends?
“I’m really excited and that I hope I do good,” Nancy Jane said. “It will just make me really happy after I do it. Before I tried (at the audition) I told my mommy that I wanted to go home. But then it was my turn right after I said that. So I just went up there and I tried my best, and I did it.”
She started in the children’s choir when she was five but has been singing at church since she was three.
“She’s sung with Mommy,” said Jenni. “We’ve done duets together.”
“The songs I mostly know are Jesus songs,” Nancy Jane said, and added, “I always wanted to play the piano really good and sing together, and that’s about it, I think.”
She started playing the piano when she was four.
Asked if she wants to be a professional singer when she grows up she said, “Yeah, I want to be a doctor and I want to be a lot of things when I grow up.”
And how does she plan to rehearse for her performance in May?
“I’m going to keep doing it with my school and going to practice with Mommy and my family and I’ll just try my best when it comes, and that’s it,” she said.
* * *
Anyone interested in attending the Sunday afternoon, May 31, game as part of Nancy Jane’s group can contact Luke Kuboushek, Assistant General Manager, by phone at 859-422-7857 or by email at lkuboushek@lexingtonlegends.com at least 48 hours before game day. The Legends will be playing the Augusta Greenjackets at 2:05 p.m.
Local News
Corbin 6-year-old to sing anthem
Corbin girl to open May Legends game
- Local News
-
-
Police search for suspect in highway beating
It was called by some as “road rage,” but Barbourville Police say last Saturday evening’s fight at a city intersection was definitely an assault. And they are still looking for the man who police say threw the first punch.
-
Woman gets five years for drugs
In U.S. Federal Court Wednesday, Heather A. Collins, who was called by Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove as a “kind of leader for the group,” was sentenced to five years after using prescription forms to acquire various drugs.
-
Father, son rearraigned for meth charges
A son and father were rearraigned Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in London.
-
Hounds hold on
Corbin Coach Rob Ledington rolled the dice after his Redhounds took a 6-0 lead, but it paid off with an 8-7 win over Whitley County as Corbin advanced to the 50th District Championship tonight with an ace up their sleeve.
-
Drugs suspected in fatal Knox County crash
Drug use may have been a factor in a crash Monday in Knox County in which an 11-year-old boy was killed, according to Kentucky State Police Post-10 Harlan Public Affairs Officer Trooper Shane Jacobs and Sgt. Jimmy Young.
-
Marie Rader wins 89th Rep. District Primary
Republican Marie Rader won the primary election for the 89th District House of Representatives.
-
Barton wins another circuit court clerk term
Whitley County voters went with experience when it came to electing the next circuit court clerk, choosing incumbent Gary Barton, according to unofficial election results.
-
Bunch victor in 82nd House District
For incumbent State Representative Regina Petrey Bunch, the votes came in bunches Tuesday night.
-
Voter turnout higher than expected
The election day ran fairly smooth in Whitley, with the exception of several precincts losing power briefly and a few complaints regarding signs being too close to polling places.
-
Kenneth S. Stepp to face Hal Rogers in fall
Two Democrats, Kenneth S. Stepp, of Clay County, and Micheal Ackerman, of Rowan County, running for the Fifth Congressional District ran a heads-together race in the 30-county district.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Police search for suspect in highway beating




