By Paige Gurgainers

What began as a wet and stormy weekend turned into a shining example of community resilience and generosity, as the annual Minden St. Jude Diamond Open in memory of Stanton Haynes raised a record-breaking amount — despite the event being rained out halfway through. 

Organizers were forced to cancel the final rounds of the highly-anticipated weekend tournament for the boys hosted at the Minden Recreation Center after severe thunderstorms swept through the area on Saturday afternoon. But the setback didn’t dampen the spirit or purpose of the event: raising money for childhood cancer research and support programs. 

The girls’ tournament held at Cantrell Fields in Shreveport was able to finish playing and was described by Stanton’s dad and event organizer Jeff Haynes as a “huge success.”  

“Thanks to Shreveport for hosting the girls. They did an excellent job,” said Haynes. “We rained out on the first day but still had a good weekend for St Jude thanks to my title sponsor ‘Town and Country Health and Rehab.’ We had the girls’ softball held in Shreveport and were able to finish the girls yesterday which was a good turn-out This is the first year we added softball to the Stanton Haynes St Jude tournament.” 

The money raised from the tournament will be announced during the 2026 Minden St. Jude Auction as it is every year.  

Plans are already underway for next year’s tournament, with organizers pledging to build on this year’s success — rain or shine.