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| January 9, 2004 |
 MORNING SENTINAL |
| Peggy Quick and Dee Ann Schnautz pass on to young people the benefits of knowledge in their roles as educators. They pass on to people of all ages the benefits of faith in Jesus Christ in their roles as two members of the country gospel singing group, "Higher Ground." |
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| MEDIA KIT |
| Dee Ann Schnautz’s media press kit is available for download by contacting Spur Us On Ministires. |
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In The Press |
Jan. 9, 2004 Morning Sentinel
By David Belcher
Mt. Vernon Lifestyles Editor
Peggy Quick and Dee Ann Schnautz pass on to young people the benefits of knowledge in their roles as educators. They pass on to people of all ages the benefits of faith in Jesus Christ in their roles as two members of the country gospel singing group, "Higher Ground."
"We want to give you comfort and peace," Schnautz, a vocalist who teaches seventh-grade at Casey Middle School, said at the beginning of a recent Sunday evening concert at Woodlawn Christian Church. Quick, a vocalist and keyboardist who is the Rome Grade School principal, and Schnautz join vocalist and bass guitarist Madonna Imel, vice president of First Bank & Trust of Paris, and her son, Ryan Imel, of Paris, to perform an average of two concerts a month.
Due to travel distance (Quick and Schnautz live in Dix), Quick said the musicians only practice "two or three times" a year. The ladies have been performing together for 15 years to perfect their sound. Their repertoire includes such standard gospel tunes as "How Great Thou Art" and "I'll Fly Away" as well as "Is There a Christian in The House," "Broken Chains," "Let Me Live," "Temporary Home" and "Sold Out."
"Some of you may have hurts," Schnautz said. She reminded her audience that "no matter what you've done, God loves you. Jesus Christ came and broke those chains of sin and freed us."
The singers came to the group with distinct backgrounds. Quick's background is classical music Â- she has bachelor's and master's degrees in music from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Imel's background is country and Schnautz is gospel.
Years ago, Quick and Imel, an Enfield native, met up in the local country music world and were members of the band "Jackson Junction." Quick's husband, Bart, passed away in 1988. "After he died, I decided to play gospel," she said. "My faith in God has always sustained and comforted me. Especially when my husband died," she said.
Quick already knew Schnautz since they both attended Antioch Christian Church in Texico, where Schnautz's husband, Jonathan, is pastor. Schnautz and Imel met when Schnautz sang at her future bandmate's wedding.
"We were friends, we both lived in Dix," Quick said. "I recruited Dee Ann to sing at Madonna's wedding. They never met."
"Higher Ground" is a family affair for the Imels. Mother and son form half the band, and Madonna's husband, Scott Imel, operates the sound equipment.
"Praising the Lord and having fun" is what Quick said she enjoys about performing with "Higher Ground."
Imel said the group "enjoys getting together and using what little talent we have to share our faith."
Schnautz said she thinks God has given her the gift of music, and I like to work to develop it to encourage people. I love seeing new faces."
The group does not write their own material. When choosing material, Schnautz said group members listen to the song and consider such factors as "the message, the melody, the way it is put together."
Just because Schnautz is not allowed to "preach" to her charges at Casey does not mean she is not influenced by her faith on the job. "It gives me patience," she said. "Sometimes when I get aggravated with a student who is not doing his work or is not acting like I feel he should, I remember that God loves him and that helps me remember patience."
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