LAURINBURG — Though he was not born here, you’d be hard pressed to find a bigger champion for Scotland County than Fred Fox, said WLNC news director Sandy Callan.
Fox, a radio broadcaster known as “the voice of Scotland County,” passed away of a heart attack on Saturday. He was 75.
A memorial service will be held today at 11 a.m. at Laurinburg Presbyterian Church with military honors.
The Columbia, S.C. native began his local broadcast career with WEWO in the 1970s and took over ownership of WLNC in 1989.
Fox could come off as abrasive if you didn’t really know him, according to Callan, who began working for the station the year before.
“Fred was a person that could make you mad when you first ran into him, but he was the kindest, most generous, and gentlest person you would ever want to meet,” Callan said. “He expected a lot of us, but we didn’t work as employee/ employer. It was a family, and all of us cared about this station.”
Fox was a leader on the job, nurturing young employees and part-time workers at the station to always be as professional as possible and what to look out for as far as local interests.
One example of that is illustrated by Fox’s support of an up-and-coming band.
“A group of kids who were high school buddies wanted to start a band. Fred let them used the back room,” Callan said.
Those kids were Chris Fore and Jim Quick — two of the original members of the Coastline band. Fox continued to support them and promote the band after it took off.
Of his musical knowledge, Callan said Fox could not be stumped. If someone played the opening of a song, Fox could identify it.
“You could take any oldies record, play one note of the beginning of that song, and he wouldn’t miss. Nobody could trip him up. I tried … everyone tried,” Callan said.
Fox was also a big promoter of the hometown radio mentality that the station still maintains though it is now under new ownership, Callan said.
Shortly after Callan joined the station in 1988, he began the news reporting department. When Fox took over, he supported Callan’s efforts and even went the extra mile to bring locals news at crucial times.
Callan recalls that during Hurricane Hugo and two other big storms residents requested the station stay on air. The threat of a power outage would hamper that effort, but Fox arranged for EMS to bring out a generator and WLNC was able to broadcast the local emergency response efforts and other local news stories during the storms.
“The power was out all over, but we stayed on air,” Callan said. “We were actually out driving and calling in live reports, and at one point we were even the contact between the sheriff’s office and dispatchers.”
Fox supported Scotland County in numerous other ways, according to Callan and others.
“It is doubtful if anyone was a more vocal and positive advocate for Laurinburg and Scotland County than Fred Fox,” Beacham McDougald said on Fox’s Facebook page. “His passing leaves us a legacy to remember and reflect upon.”
Fox was a big advocate of Laurinburg’s efforts to become a sister city to Oban. He worked with Tom Lawson with Oban FM to connect the two stations so that they could broadcast together at certain times. WLNC even live broadcasted the signing of the twinning proclamation.
Fox was also well known for his love of local sports from youth leagues to high school and of Scotland High School’s marching band.
“He would start with the kids and parks and rec and follow them. If there was a standout in high school, he could tell you all about that player up to high school,” Callan said.
Fox was an announcer for the Fighting Scots football games.
Jeff Maley said Scotland County has lost “an icon.”
“If you played sports in the era I grew up, he covered you with the local radio station WLNC,” Maley said. “If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard him say “Go Scots” I wouldn’t have to go to work.”
When Fox found out that the marching band’s original wool-argyle-knee socks from Scotland were in disrepair and could no longer be darned, he began a radio-thon and stayed on air until enough money was raised to replace them.
Fox was also a longtime member of the Optimist and Rotary Clubs and the Laurinburg Jaycees, a precursor to the Chamber of Commerce. Fox later became a member of the chamber and was awarded the 2014 Laurinburg-Scotland County Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year in 2014.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out for the family of our long time friend Fred Fox,” the chamber said in a statement. “Fred was Scotland County’s biggest fan and promoter. Fred, we love you and you will be missed.”
Fox was a retired Marine and die-hard supporter of military and veterans and a member of American Legion Post 50. He joined the United States Navy after high school and served as radarman on the USS Kitty Hawk.
“Every year on Nov. 10 he would call the duty officer at Camp Lejeune and find out what they were doing for the Marine Corps Ball that day, and he fully supported all veterans,” Callan said.
Fox recently served as grand marshal for the 2017 Laurinburg Christmas Parade.
He was born on Nov. 25, 1942, son of the late Fredrick Barnes Fox, Sr., and Grace Fox Pillsbury. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
