Valley Homes and Style - More to Kelly Wright than Mornings

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More to Kelly Wright than Mornings

The most moving story that Kelly Wright ever reported occurred in 2004, in Iraq. There, at a tiny church called St. George of Mesopotamia, Wright encountered believers who refused to give up, even in the face of unrelenting destruction and nearly insurmountable odds.

"It was a small, evangelical Anglican church in the middle of two bombed out buildings, the performing arts center and the Ministry of Information," said Wright, a television anchor on Fox News, as well as a Christian songwriter and vocalist.

"In the middle of this chaotic environment, I saw people strong in faith, mighty in love and a determined perseverance to remain standing," Wright said. When the congregation asked him to sing, he offered "Amazing Grace," and was astounded when congregants' voices joined his.

"They were singing it in Arabic," he said. "I was blown away."

Perhaps what contributed to the power of the story for Wright was the way it combined the influences meaningful to him: faith, storytelling, music and the military. Born in Hagerstown, Wright began working in television news while in the Army. He wrote, produced and anchored a daily five-minute newscast that aired beyond Fort Stewart in Georgia, through television station WJCL and more than 15 radio stations in Savannah.

But Wright's broadcasting career had begun years earlier, on radio in Hagerstown, where at the age of 16 he reported high school football games and hosted a local R&B music program. For college, Wright headed to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, at which mass communications and Christian ministry are leading courses of study.

And these days, as Wright achieves success in television, spreading the gospel also remains central to his personal mission in life.

A typical day for Wright begins at 3 a.m., 3:30 at the latest. He said if he leaves Hagerstown for the Fox studios on Capitol Hill any later than "4:30 a.m., I'm gonna be stuck in traffic."

The roads are full of people, "all doing this same thing that I do," he said. "More people are choosing to live out here."

Hagerstown has always been a sort of sanctuary for Wright. After moving the family to southeast Washington, D.C., when Wright was in the fourth grade, his mother returned them to Hagerstown quickly, one frightening day in 1968 when the capitol city was aflame.

Martin Luther King had been killed, and riots gripped Washington. "I remember my mother packing up the car," Wright said. "I remember passing by buildings that were engulfed in flame."

They fled "right down what is now Martin Luther King Avenue," Wright said, to his grandmother's in Hagerstown, to discover National Guard troops enforcing a curfew related to the unrest. Time passed, and Wright remained in Hagerstown through high school.

It's "a place I can call home," he said.

So, he's giving back. Earlier this year, Wright participated in an event to benefit San Mar, a home for girls at risk.

San Mar "reached out to me," Wright said. The idea was to raise at least $100,000 for the 125-year-old home, which began as the Washington County Orphans Home. Raffle tickets were sold at $100 apiece for a farmhouse and acreage near Boonsboro, Md., valued at $300,000. The idea was to pay off the house, then direct anything more to San Mar.

Hagerstown Realtor Cynthia Moler represented the property, and Dick Trump of MMGI Publishing released information about the raffle to international news wire services, which picked up the story. Ultimately, more than 6,000 tickets were sold, both nationwide and around the world, resulting in more than $200,000 for the children's home.

Wright was on hand to pull the winning raffle ticket. And to sing. His song, "Message to America," is now on YouTube.

Based on the Book of Matthew, which addresses the homeless, naked and hungry, "the song fits in the theology of taking care of each other," Wright said.

Wright's music has also carried him to the Dove Awards in Nashville, the Grammys of gospel and Christian music, where he recently moderated a symposium on "Christian music making a difference," he said. Wright is determined to give back.

"I've been active in every community I've lived in," he said.

Balancing community involvement with family needs and his work schedule isn't easy. "The sheer logistics of being in Washington and New York all in the same week," he said. "It's a crazy schedule."

On Mondays and Tuesdays, Wright is in Washington, D.C., for his morning anchor job at Fox and Friends. On weekends, it's New York, where he anchors America's Election Headquarters, an afternoon show. Then it's home again.

"When I'm here on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I'm just relaxing," he said.

Wright has had enough downtime to discover favorite activities and hangouts in Hagerstown.

Here are some:
- Favorite Light Bite: Cafe Del Sol. "I love their jazz music," he said.
- Favorite Crabcake: Barefoot Bernie's
- Favorite Chicken Wings: Stadium. "It's a little spot by Municipal Stadium that has great wings," he said.
- Favorite outdoor activity in Hagerstown: Bike Ride to City Park. "I walk the perimeter of the park as well," he said. "There are some great views."
- Last Book Read: a biography of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
- Favorite Guilty Pleasure: food
- Favorite Fox Network Program: American Idol