Using Their Voices for Victims of Tragedy

Francis & Sara Fontana
Houston, TX

When Primerica Regional Vice President Francis & Sara Fontana, who sing with the Bay Area Chorus of Greater Houston, learned their choral director envisioned holding a special concert for the victims of a school shooting on the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, the couple, who run their business in Houston, TX, worked hard to make that vision a reality.^* Director Milton Pullen proposed the chorus sing Dan Forrest’s 2014 arrangement of “Requiem for the Living,” a five-part series of prayers put to music, to offer healing to the community of Santa Fe, where 10 people were killed and many more injured in 2018. The shooting hit too close to home for Francis and Sara, who not only have friends and clients in Santa Fe, but whose grandkids attend school in a neighboring district.

The idea of performing a special concert for the victims struck a chord with the Fontanas, and over a series of rehearsals, the concert evolved to include victims still reeling over the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Although their personal property was spared during the storm, many of their clients who live in nearby Dickinson, TX, weren’t so lucky.

“It’s hard to wrap your mind around how devastating a hurricane can be,” explains Francis. “Here it is two years later and some people still haven’t recovered from the damage done to their homes.”

The concert was held Sunday, May 5, 2019, for a standing-room-only audience of about 750 people at Dickinson United Methodist Church. The Fontanas worked with the mayors of Dickinson and Santa Fe to bring their communities out for the event, which included a full 44-piece orchestra.

*Primerica representatives are independent contractors and are not employees of Primerica.

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