Lynda Duffy

When blues singer/realtor Lynda Duffy read a December Register-Guard story about low-income people forced to live without electricity and water, she immediately phoned the Eugene Water and Electric Board. "She wanted to know about need in the community," says EWEB's Charles Dalton. "I let her know there was a ton of need out there." Duffy's brainstorm: a benefit concert. "I'm a marketing genius," she admits. "I learned it from my dad -- he truly cared about people." For a solid three months, Duffy dealt full-time with bureaucratic mazes and artists' and politicians' egos to coordinate Blues for HUES (Heat Up Eugene and Springfield). St Vincent de Paul agreed to dispense the money raised -- the Hilton donated space for the March 28 event. "It was an incredible learning experience," Duffy says. "Now my job description is 'everything.'" Featured performers included Curtis Salgado and Paul Delay, plus an all-star lineup of local blueswomen: Linda Hornbuckle, Deb Cleveland, Barbara Healy, Norma Fraser, and Duffy herself. "We got the biggest applause," she observes. "We raised $25,000 this time -- we plan to make it an annual event."

happening people photograph and story by Paul Neevel Eugene Weekly / 15 May 2003