Like many Baldwin County residents, Lenise Ligon drives across I-10 every day to her job in Mobile. But unlike the rest of the commuters, thousands of people watch her work every night.

Ligon is an evening anchor at Fox 10 News, where she reports the news at 4, 5 and 9 p.m. But when she’s not at work, she’s busy enjoying her family and being involved in her community.

Originally from Detroit, Mich., Ligon said she never imagined herself living in the South, but she was immediately impressed by Baldwin County’s charm, the closeness of the community and the general warmth of the people in the area.

“As much as I love my city, you just don’t get that there,” she said. “Detroit is hard. It is rough. It is harsh—nothing I want to expose my 5-year-old son to.”

Ligon and her husband Dylan live in Malbis and are parents to Sidney. They are also expecting a baby girl Oct. 12. Ligon said she is grateful to be able to raise her children in Baldwin County.

“Sidney is so sweet, and part of me thinks that’s from being here,” she said. “You are such a product of your environment. Parenting is so important, but takes a village to raise a child. And that’s why when people ask me, ‘Are you going to stay here?’ I say yeah, because I want my children to have a good upbringing.”

Even though her job is demanding, Ligon said living on the Gulf Coast has allowed her to live life at a more leisurely pace.

She enjoys eating breakfast with her family at East Shore Café, shopping at Allegri Farm Market and loves being involved at Bayside Academy, where Sidney goes to school.

“There’s something about this atmosphere that forces you to slow down,” she said. “When you do that, you have time to be more connected to what you’re doing.”

And being connected to her community is important to Ligon.  

Since moving to the area in 2008, Ligon has become active in educating people in Mobile and Baldwin counties about preventing heart disease. She values healthful eating and exercise—she’s a marathon runner—and she hopes to help people in the area stay as healthy as possible.

“I lost my grandmother to heart disease, so any opportunity I get to try to teach people how to keep their hearts healthy, I jump at it,” Ligon said.

Ligon also has a passion for children and often visits local schools. Someday, she hopes to start a nonprofit organization that would allow underprivileged children to travel the world to learn about other cultures. Growing up in a diverse city like Detroit and being able to study abroad in college had a positive influence on her worldview, she said.

“I would like to ultimately have something where I could take kids around the world so they can see that,” Ligon said. “Just like I never thought I would enjoy living in the South because I am such a city person, but it takes experiencing something to know what you can learn from it, and I think that with all the different ethnicities and cultures out there, there is so much to be learned.”

Although helping people has always been a passion for her, Ligon didn’t always dream about becoming a journalist. When she entered college at Michigan State University, she hoped to pursue a career in psychiatry.

But after she realized she couldn’t separate herself from the pain other people were going through, Ligon started investigating other career paths.

At an arts festival near Detroit, she noticed a news anchor surrounded by a group of people. They were thanking her for a story she recently reported, telling her how it impacted them.

“I was just in awe of that power to be able to touch so many people’s lives just by communicating,” Ligon said. “I looked at my mom, and I said, ‘Wow, she’s really making a difference.’”

In the car on the way home, Ligon’s mother handed her news anchor Diana Lewis’ card and encouraged her to call and ask what it would take to pursue a career in broadcast journalism.

“Not knowing anything about the news cycle, I called her at 3:30 p.m., and she went on the air at 5 p.m. She talked to me for an hour and a half. So now, anytime I get a phone call or email asking for guidance or advice about this industry, I am quick to answer and am very generous with my time.”

Ligon said she hopes to make as much of an impact in the lives of others as Lewis has throughout her career.

“The only thing she made me promise her was that I would continue with the desire of making a difference,” Ligon said. “It’s so easy to become desensitized.”

In addition to her community service efforts, Ligon said she strives to make a difference just by doing her job to the best of her ability every night.

“I want to make sure I’m getting the facts out there accurately, but at the same time, I want to make sure you’re connecting to the emotion behind that story,” she said. “I’d like to think my impact as a journalist is not just being a journalist, but being a communicator.”