Boxing's most successful female ring announcer was born on a chilly November morning on the Detroit River at Wyandotte General hospital. only a few short miles from the Motor City, pre-mature and as stubborn as I am now I battled the croup and jaundice. From the beginning I was more than a hand-full! Mom says I wouldn't eat which is not a problem now. I weighed in at a scrappy 5 lbs. I was so little my dad put me in a shoe box.

I love my parents and I would be lying if I said their lives didn't influence me. My dad taught me to be strong and get back up. Mom taught me to have guts. I don't think two people worked harder in their lives. They worked hard so I wouldn't have to. I'm so proud of what they did and where they came from. You see my entire family is from Eastern Kentucky where I had the absolute delight of spending most of my childhood years growing up there. I couldn't wait to get in the creek bed, lug coal into one of the coal burning stoves, or hear my dad tell me stories about when he was a little boy. Think "Stand by me" the movie. For the record my dad is among the best story tellers of all time! I loved my hillbilly upbringing with the character and texture of our family history.

Really though, they left the hills of Kentucky and moved to Detroit all on their own. They got in line and interviewed to work at General Motors Corporation. My dad Morris retired at the age of 50 after 30 years of dedication as the Union Chairman for Saturn Corporation's World Headquarters in Troy, Michigan. My mom Freda worked long and hard hours sewing car seats. They put themselves in the path of opportunity and never quit even when things where really rough. I want my dad to know how proud I am of his accomplishments. In his thirty years at GM he never lost an election. I hope that that fact about him tells you something about me! He stood for something! He is what the Union is suppose to be. A balance between the rights of the workers and the Corporation. He taught me that your word is all you have and that integrity and character are everything.

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