Born Francine Pruitt in Kings Mountain, NC in 1966 and raised in Jersey City, NJ to Billy Mac Pruitt and the late Barbara Newton she quickly knew at age 5 she wanted to act. Fran tried out for every play or modeling gig paying or non-paying that was happening around town.

 

After graduating from St. Aloysius High School she became a single mom and put her dream on hold to go to college for a better life for her child. Francine also known as Fran, Cham, or Champagne has been on her own since the age of seventeen (not without the support of family) she continued her studies and graduated from St. Aloysius High School.

 

Fran started writing letters to God which somehow saved her life from continuing down a dark path and eventually turned into poetry and journal writing by rhyme and divine reason. She has over 25 notebooks and journals with poems and daily life struggles growing up in the heart of Jersey City and how she survived through education and writing poetry. Her first introduction to writing was inspired by her father who is also a poet. 

 

Fran received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Community Health from New Jersey City University  in 1992 formally known as Jersey City State College. It took six years to complete her degree while raising a  son. She graduated college the same year her son graduated kindergarten.  Fran has earned a number of graduate credits from New Jersey City University and George Mason University. 

 

A hard working sister who takes nothing and no one for granted. Fran realized her gift with visual verses when she traveled with her then 13 year old son shopping in Harlem NY in January of 2002. He encouraged her to go to an open audition at the Apollo Theater.Four hours later she was given a standing ovation and thumbs up by the judges to return to compete. She took first place at Wednesday's Amateur Night Competition at the famous Apollo Theater for her signature poem, “The Blessings” her late mothers favorite piece.

 

Fran took a leap of faith in 1995 and left her job as a director  and started an in home day care center for friends and family, word of mouth spread and  in 1997 she had written and received a grant to expand the day care to a fully licensed facility titled Bottle’s & Books Child Development Center, serving 18 preschoolers. Since her doors opened there was always a waiting list. Closing the center in 2002 due to the Abbott Program, Fran moved with her two children to Northern Virginia.

 

Fran worked as a Day Care Director in VA but realized her chronic pain kept getting worse. She returned to Corporate America in Higher Education with DC Government. Fran became a Claims Specialist and later promoted to Grants Management Specialist for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) in Washington DC. for seven years, under the Direction of Deborah Gist and Dr. Cynthia Bell her mentor. She is a proud alumnus of Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP)  in Washington DC. and has received a number of certificates for leadership from OSSE, George Mason University as the Post Award Team Leader for The Office of Sponsored Programs and as a Grants Manager for Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine. Fran received a proclamation letter from the Mayor of Washington DC for participating in a reading program for employees using their lunch breaks to assist students in improving literacy skills.

 

Fran left her corporate career in 2013 after a failed back surgery left her with nerve compression and  Fibromyalgia,  a chronic disabling syndrome that can affects her muscles, movement, joints and nerves. She has become an advocate on the issue and volunteers with the Disability Law Center in providing research for data collection, attending finance meetings, and volunteering at local events in Virginia Beach to help others find resources. Fran practices yoga and meditation to channel her energy in positivism and light as her body stays in a state of awareness while living with chronic pain. She lives in Virginia Beach VA with her youngest who helps out tremendously when in Fibromyagia Flair.

 

“From Federal Prison To First Lady” is her first published work by Author Tamika Riley McReynolds. Fran will release her anticipated work of poetry titled Naturally Falling In Love” A Poetic Vibe copyright 2008, in March 2019.