12/03/2024
When one of our favorite 92ZEW listeners and community leaders highlights our news director Kelly Finley, that’s a ! Thanks Lynn Henderson Oldshue Our Southern Souls.
airs weekdays at 8:40A, 4:35P & 6:20P on the ZEW!
“I was eight the first time I told my mom I wanted to be on TV. She said, ‘That sounds good. How are you going to make it happen?’ She believed in me and taught me to believe in myself. Mom put herself through law school when I was a baby and read her law books to me. Her strong sense of giving became part of my very breath to help people.
I'm the oldest of four girls. My cousins are girls, too. But I was a huge tomboy. Still am. It was not about what sports to play, it was how many. I ran track, played basketball and softball, and was a competitive ice skater. My parents wouldn’t buy me a car when I was in high school, so I rollerbladed to basketball practice–two miles there, then two miles back. I was in the best shape of my life.
I grew up in Detroit, but my parents divorced when I was in third grade. My mom remarried, and we moved to nearby Oakland County. I grew up in a melting pot. Michigan has the largest Arab population in the US. These were my friends and neighbors. We also had our Asian, Hispanic, Black, and white brothers and sisters. I was raised to love all people. So what if they come from a different culture? Then 9-11 happened. I realized many people weren’t exposed to the same diversity.
We didn't have a lot, but time was a gift my mother gave us. She’s so smart and relatable; I watched and joined her as a young person. She was an attorney at Kmart Corporation, then vice president of governmental affairs at Wayne State University, my alma mater. She became President and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, revitalizing the walkway that separates downtown Detroit from Windsor, Canada, making it a place people want to go again. You can see yoga classes, people walking pets, and kids riding the merry-go-round. Mom then became vice president of DTE, our Alabama Power. She said she was retiring–that lasted about three months–then joined the Kellogg Foundation, where she gave away billions of dollars.
When I go back to visit, people ask me if I have met Faye Nelson–my mom. I say, ‘Yes, she's the greatest person ever.’ My kids call Mom the Kelly Finley of Detroit.
Because of my mom’s example and encouragement, I always knew who I was and my direction: news and community. I had ACL knee surgery in high school, was on crutches, and still participated in a walk raising money for the homeless. I made a beeline for the reporter doing interviews. Even then, I knew that a microphone elevates messaging for all people.
I started my TV career in Yuma, Arizona, then went to Billings, San Diego, Kansas City, and Mobile. I also worked for the U.S. Marine Corps and lived and worked in Tirana, Albania, and Brussels, Belgium. I also had two kids. I birthed them and breastfed them, but I was working so much that their dad did everything else. He taught them how to walk and read. I didn’t know their favorite food or favorite color. I was left out of one of the first pictures they drew of our family. I asked, ‘Where's mommy?’ They said, ‘You're always at work.’ A few months passed and they drew another family picture. This time I was in the corner, holding four phones. We were living in San Diego. I was working for a TV station and the U.S. Marine Corps, with different phones for everything. At least I was in the picture. Their father and I later divorced, thrusting me into motherhood.
I made a lot of money on paper, but much of that went to childcare. I left for work at three in the morning, paying my babysitters three times the rate to have someone I trusted come into my home when my children were sleeping and take them to school. I didn't have any family living in the same state. Each morning, I put my hand above their heads, praying over them before I left. It was hard concentrating on doing the news, knowing that somebody else was taking care of my most precious gifts. But you do what you have to do.
I had never planned on having kids. I dreamed of doing international news and then rounding my career out in my hometown; my parents could watch me, and I could be closer to them. But God knows what you need before you need it–like a Mom. I needed my kids more than they needed me.
I was approaching the end of my three years as a morning anchor at Local 15 in Mobile. The station wanted to re-sign me and pay me more money. I wanted to stay but asked for a different shift. Weekends? Evenings? Anything after 7 AM? My children were getting older and just knew me as Kelly Jones on TV. God blessed me with the greatest kids, and I wanted to raise them. The station said no. We couldn’t come to terms, so I left.
I had to figure out what was next. We had moved every three years for my job. But my kids were ten and eleven and said, ‘Mommy, we want to stay here.’ I looked at them like, ‘Wait. What do you mean? No.’ My kids knew the drill: don't unpack boxes or make friends because we're moving. But I told them to give me three reasons why we should stay. They said, ‘We've made friends, we were baptized at church, and we want to go to college in-state and save you money.’
It hit me: I can't keep moving them like this. I had thought of myself as a career woman and mother, but I became a mother who is a career woman. That changed the game when I remembered my why. I explained that I would be more hands-on with them but wouldn’t make the same money. They didn’t care; they wanted to stay.
I had saved as much as I could, but the bills kept billing. I was under a lot of stress and pressure and leaned on my parents as I figured this out. But I took my kids to school for the first time. Became a carpool mom with the windows down and music playing, yelling ‘I love you and have a great day’ as they got out of the car. My children are my walking hearts.
We're a faith-driven family. A few weeks after we decided to stay on the Gulf Coast, I met Karlos Finley. It was like God had waited for me to put a bow on my situation so that I could receive the greatest human adult gift. Karlos was raising his son and giving back to his community; our worlds converged in the most beautiful of ways. We became the Fab Five.
I’m now the news director at 92 Zew, WNSP, The SOUL, and The CRAB, keeping communities informed and helping nonprofits and individuals tell their stories. I used to be known as Kelly Jones, the news lady. Then, I became Karrington’s mom, Stephen's mom, Karlos' wife, and Brik's bonus mom. Now I'm the ‘Tell Me Something Good’ lady. I take my platform to heart, honoring what I get to do.
I have 1000% clarity on the power of being present: for my kids, profession, and family. We didn't have much for a while, but I emphasized the power of our time. Something only we can give and never get back–use it wisely and know how precious it is.
Once I remarried, being present made my victories that much sweeter. Some days, I’m more present in one role than the other, but that counts as a good day, too. Giving myself the grace that was extended to me by God is something I cherish and remind others to do for themselves. I once promised God that I would give it all back every day and make the world a better place. If I'm not exhausted, at the end of the day, I didn't do enough.”
Kelly
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Kelly Finley’s story kicks off The Weavers series. Stories about the people who stitch together the fabric of society while so many forces pull it apart. Who are the folks who make life a little better in your community? Send me their names and a little about them, and I’ll try to talk with them.
Lynn
