Pastor’s wife finalist for Face of Fox 43

Published 9:38 am Friday, July 29, 2011

FRANKLIN—The wife of a Franklin pastor is a finalist for a one-year, $24,000 on-air contract with a Portsmouth television station.

Riddick

Jennell Riddick, whose husband, Dwight, is the minister at FIrst Baptist Church, could be the next Face of Fox 43.

“I’ve always wanted to host my own TV talk show,” Riddick said Thursday.

The 29-year-old mother of one whose signature color is hot pink was among 104 to enter the fourth annual contest, said Stephanie Cooke, executive director of “The Hampton Roads Show” and the Face of Fox 43.

As one of 10 finalists, Riddick, an ordained minister who lives in Suffolk and teaches religion classes at Paul D. Camp Community College, will appear on “The Hampton Roads Show” at 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 1, or Tuesday, Aug. 2.

“It’s pretty hard (to make it into the finals),” Cooke said. “They all had to enter a video that would capture the judges’ attention. The video is a resume for the job. You have to show that you can shoot a video, edit a video and have the personality that people want to see on TV over and over again.”

If chosen, Riddick will serve as Fox 43’s spokeswoman at media events, contests, promotions and appear weekly on “The Hampton Roads Show,” which airs 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. The winner also will update Face of FOX43 social media and do blogs, text messaging, chat room participation and any other publicity or public relations tasks.

A combination of online votes and votes from judges who work for the TV station will determine the winner. Online votes count for 25 percent of the total scoring.

As of Wednesday, the last time the tally was updated online, Riddick was in third place with 5,913 votes. Sarah “Birdy” Evans led with 8,518.

The finalists will be participating in various events until the winner is announced on Aug. 15 during “The Hampton Roads Show.” On Tuesday, they attended an advanced screening for the movie “Cowboys and Aliens” at Lynnhaven Mall. Before the movie, each contestant had one minute to introduce himself or herself to the crowd and tell them why he or she should be the next Face of Fox.

The finalists also will appear today, July 29, at Beach FamFest at 17th Street Park in Virginia Beach.

To vote for Riddick, go to www.jennellriddick.com. Unlimited voting will end at midnight Sunday, Aug. 7.