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More than Morning News— Fanchon Stinger is 
Giving Back and Impacting Lives

A Keeping Family First Exclusive Interview
by Anita S. Lane  

Detroit's Fox 2 Morning News Anchor, Fanchon Stinger, is serious about more than the daily news.  She's committed her life to taking every opportunity to reach out, inspire and uplift.  It is her passion for positively impacting lives that drives her out of bed at 2:30 a.m. each morning with a smile and an encouraging word for the Metro Detroit community. 

In an exclusive interview with Keeping Family First Editor, Anita Lane, Fanchon shares her passion.

Fanchon, you have the type of job that many of us ladies dream of having  when we're a young girl.  It appears to be fun and glamorous. Now that we're adults, we're wise enough to know there's more to it.  What's the least glamorous part of the job? 
The least glamorous part of my job is the hours.  I go to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m., and I'm usually up between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m. We’re blessed to have the number one morning show—and with that comes a lot of responsibility.  Not only do I have to be to bed very early  but I also have all of my outside community commitments.  Sometimes my days can last from 3:00 in the morning to about five or six at night, and I'm literally just exhausted at the end of the day.

What is a typical day in the life of Fanchon Stinger …
I get up at 2:30, do the show until nine, then we have planning meetings for the next day. I am also the editor of the Fox 2 Honor Roll where we highlight positive young people in the community. I'm a firm believer in reinforcing the positive, especially with our young people, so I started that project. I also do a quarterly show called Front and Center with Fanchon Stinger, so after the meetings a lot of times I'm working on a story for that, or getting research, reading or writing stories for the Honor Roll.

Then there are appearances with schools. I have a speaking and personal development company, so I do a lot of speaking.  I do that in the afternoons, as well as try to return phone calls, e-mails and that type of thing. So it's nonstop— and if there's “breaking news,” we have to be ready at the drop of the hat. A lot of the stories and investigations that I do, I write and research on my own, so that's a lot of extra time outside of my regular work day as well.

On the Morning Show we do live interviews.  So a lot more planning and arrangement goes into the day before and the weeks ahead looking into the next week, so that takes a lot of time.

What's the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my job is going out and connecting with the community— especially connecting with the young people. I sit on the board for Think Detroit as well as Vista Maria, which is a rehabilitation program for teen girls who have been traumatized emotionally, physically, sexually or domestically.

A lot of these girls are out of their homes or been through the court system and this is the last chance they have for rehabilitation, and this is a campus in Dearborn Heights and they serve all of Wayne County. They get the most damaged young girls and they start to heal them from within, building their self-esteem. A lot of these girls come in not even going to school.  When they leave they’re getting straight A's and they have a plan for their future.  So those are the types of things that I'm able do—go out and really affect positive change. And that's where I get a lot of my energy—when people ask, “How do you do everything you’re doing?”

Really, what gives me the energy and the passion to keep going is the fact that I believe in reaching back and doing something to really touch people on a personal level.  Doing the news everyday— that's fine, but to me that’s just a vehicle to be able to reach people.  The most rewarding thing is to be able to see people's faces light up and they have hope and believe in themselves and say, "I can do this … I'm going to change this …"  

Fanchon's commitment to making a difference in people's lives goes beyond a community service event or a speaking engagement.  Fanchon shares with us the story of one gentleman whose life she was able to impact and who, as a result, changed her life forever as well.  CLICK HERE to read the insert below.

What is your passion?
My passion is really to affect people in a positive way.  And I’ve learned that it doesn’t come without one’s share of personal trials and challenges. Everyday we're growing and trying to get better and that's where I try and focus. It hasn't been easy and there's been a lot of ups and downs, but as long as you stay focused on your goal and what you believe your purpose is, I believe that everything will be okay. God will protect you and he will help you and he'll open doors. That's the whole story of my life, really.

How did you discover his passion?
I was fifteen. We had a project to do at school on the career of our choice.  I didn’t know what I wanted to do so I researched business, medicine and law. Then I was looking through a career book and what caught my attention was that it said a news reporter is someone who has close ties to the community and they help motivate people … and they're in a position to give back to their community and touch people.  So that's what interested me the most.

Wow.  At age fifteen? 
I attended Mercy High School.  They always stressed serving and giving back. That was always what the focus was in everything we were supposed to be doing.

Was there another news reporter who inspired you?
I used to watch Carmen Harlan and Mort Crim.

Who is your role model in your field?
I would say Mort Crim.

What’s the biggest hurdle you’ve had to overcome in pursuit of your passion?
People, negative influences … people trying to discourage you … there are always people saying I'm not mean enough, I'm not corrupt, I'm not hard enough, you know.   Or “you're too young to work in Detroit in a top end market …”  But I was always smart not to internalize any of that and to stay focused.

I turned it into positive motivation. I believed that I was doing what I was supposed to do.   My parents always said, “As long as you pray and stay focused and keep God in the center, you will be successful.”  I was always taught that “you can do what you want to do if you’re willing to work hard.” I just never really believed any of that stuff.

In the other sense too, I think I was a little naive because I never realized how far people would go to hurt other people or to tear people down.  Growing up, I guess I was never exposed to a lot of that. So a lot of those lessons I'm just now learning. Once you get out there, well gosh, not everyone has your best interest at heart even though they say they do. So that can be a hurtful thing--especially if you feel like those people are close to you.

People are willing to go to great lengths to hurt …?
Oh, yeah.

Who are there people who helped you get to where you are today?
Oh, my goodness I'm the result of so many people, that's why I can never take credit for any of the things that I've done, God's first, of course, but He always sent people in my path that were there at the right time to bring me along at the right time.  It started with my parents, my teachers, mentors in college, counselors, people helping me through in my career.

When I interned at Fox 2 the guy there took me under his wing, got me my first job and mentored me. It's so funny looking back how everything was ordered and right at the right time whatever I needed that person, whoever that person was supposed to be, was put there. So there's so many people, you know.  And a lot of people I've been able to go back to and say, “thank you,” because I'm now working in the city where I grew up.

So you're saying there were a lot of different people that played a role?
Yes, My first news director, second news director … so many people have put themselves in me and it has all come together.

What position have you enjoyed the most throughout your career?
I think what I'm doing now is what I'm enjoying the most.  Perhaps because I've had a chance to experience every aspect of this business.

Name some of those titles, for us …
Intern, video editor, writer, producer, reporter, investigator— there have been so many.

What tools or resources did you find particularly helpful that you would recommend to others pursuing a similar career?
Definitely internship and get to know people in the business who are willing to help you and willing to teach you.  That is the most important key. Make the decision that this is what you want to do for the right reasons and decide that once you start, you're not going to quit. 

Some people want to get into this business because they think it’s glamorous.  They think it's fun, but it's the complete opposite.  It's probably the most challenging and hardest work that you'll ever do because there's so many facets and people you have to deal with on a daily basis.  There are so many different circumstances, and when you're out there on location the last thing you're thinking about is your lipstick. Usually that's the last thing I'm thinking about.  It's not about that.  If you're doing it for those reasons, you'll be so unhappy because you'll quickly find out that there's no room for any of that and the minute you start thinking you're bigger than yourself, then something is wrong. 

This is a business where you're serving and you have to remember that that's what you do. You're serving a community. The community isn't supposed to serve you. To whom much is given much is required, so we have to work that much harder.

What does the future hold for Fanchon Stinger?
Well, right now I'm happy with what I'm doing. I just want to continue to grow and continue to be the best person that I can be and hopefully affect as many people as I can in a positive way.  Whatever my future challenge is, I accept that challenge, but I'm happy where I am right now.

Any parting words?
No matter what it is you do in life, stay focused, stay centered, pray, start, and never quit. That's the whole thing.

That's very sound advice. Pray, start and never quit. I like that. Never give up.
That’s right. Your dreams and your goals are the most precious assets that have been given to you and it's up to you to protect those assets because they will help you fulfill the destiny of why God put you here. You have to figure out what that is and you have to do it.

It sounds like you’re doing just that.  Fanchon, thank you for sharing your passion with us.

You’re welcome.

I recall seeing a segment you did about a homeless gentleman that you were able to positively impact over a period of years.  Can you tell our readers that story?
Yes … It was below zero—a freezing February night and my segment was to do a story on how cold it was. Because so many of us take being warm for granted, I got this idea that I wanted to approach this story from a different angle. I want to remind us of how lucky we are because there are so many people around us who are suffering and we don't even realize it.

You're right.
So this night we were driving on the streets of Pontiac .   I saw him walking, and I went up to him and said, “I don't want to exploit you. I don't want to intrude on your privacy” … (and I explained to him what I was doing and why I was doing it) and he just started talking to me and telling me his story. He had such a sweet spirit. There was something different about him.

I did not know it at the time, but he had been beaten up the night before over two dollars and a cigarette. While he was on the ground he said he knew he had to pretend to be dead in order for those people to stop beating him.  While he was on the ground he started praying to God, "Send me help. I promise I will change my life."

Oh, my God.
Yeah, so the next day I walk up behind him and tap him on the shoulder. I said, "Excuse me, sir …" and he said when I touched him he got a warm sensation through his body and before he even turned around he knew that whoever was standing there was the person that was supposed to help him.

God sent you to him.
I believe that now.  When I met him that night he was on his last leg.  He knew that night that he would probably die.  He took me to the alley and showed me where he planned to sleep—under a tree on the piece of cardboard— and he told me how his plan that night was to stay awake because he knew if he fell asleep he would freeze to death.

Wow…

Months later we got Ken (that was his name) into a rehabilitation program. He was drinking a gallon of Vodka a day. I became his surrogate sponsor and he would always call me and talk.  

He got off of alcohol and really got his life together.  He stayed at Grace Centers of Hope and ended up becoming a counselor there, helping other people.  He got saved, learned the Bible and did a complete 180.  He helped so many people.

All the while, Ken’s parents thought he was dead.  He had been estranged from them so long.  We were able to find his parents, and he was able to be reunited with them.

That is wonderful, Fanchon.

Ken and I met for lunch almost every month for seven years. Every year on the anniversary of when Ken stopped drinking he would send me flowers.  Ken was diagnosed with cancer. Although Grace Centers of Hope raised funds to get him treatment, he later died.

It was hard to lose him, but there is now a children’s center in Pontiac named in his honor.

That’s a tremendous story.

Yes …that has been my most rewarding experience. It's the type of story that epitomizes the power we have to positively affect people.  Because of that gentleman, so many hundreds of people’s lives have been changed because he reached back and helped them.

If I had heeded the negative feedback over the years, I would not have been there that day for Ken.  That's what gives me more strength to stay focused—because you never know how you're going to be used, you know.

This past February, Fanchon received a bouquet of flowers.   “We didn't want Ken's anniversary to go by without remembering you,” the note said.  The flowers were sent by Ken’s parents.

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