Over the past 20 years, Kent French has become a familiar face in Major League sports in Orange County, serving as a broadcast journalist for both the Ducks and Angels.
The San Clemente resident worked in a series of sports programs on radio and cable TV before having the good fortune to cover the Angels in the 2002 World Series and the Stanley Cup Final a year later.
French produced the broadcast in front of a live audience at the Disney-owned sports-themed restaurant ESPN Zone, where he was flanked by his own Kent French Orchestra and created the NHL’s first webcast, “Ducks TV.” produced and managed the event, and covered the team’s final victory. Cup match in 2007.
Kent French (right) on the ice with former Ducks hockey player Max Jones (center) at the Honda Center.
(Courtesy of Michelle French)
He eventually moved to Bally Sports (formerly Fox Sports West) where he regularly hosted pre- and postgame shows for the Ducks and Angels. Despite the obvious perks, the duties required him to cover 78 Ducks games and 80 Angels games each season, at one point involving up to 150 days on the road per year.
In addition to his official duties, the married father of one young daughter regularly appears and emcees charity events and auctions.
“It’s a dream job, that’s true. This is what I wanted to do,” French, 55, said in an interview Wednesday. “You work all weekends and holidays. When you’re out, you don’t necessarily work every day, but you’re out every day, so there’s no break.”
Until now. French made his final broadcast on September 28th, wishing viewers a fond farewell as he and his wife Michelle and 7-year-old daughter Everly embark on a year-long journey around the world.
The couple packed up their home and rented it in August, temporarily staying with their French parents in Costa Mesa while they finalized plans for the first phase of their world travel adventure, from LAX to New York City to Portugal. I slept there. Greece and Croatia before arriving in Malta by Christmas.
Kent French (left) and commentators and former MLB players Tim Salmon and Mark Gubicza on the field at Angel Stadium.
(Courtesy of Michelle French)
The French will spend several weeks at each stop, hoping to have enough time to get a feel for the people, culture and daily rhythms of life.
Whatever they learn from their travels will be documented on the family’s new web platform, Frenchitivity, which will feature travel blogs, photos, and video interviews with people they meet along the way.
“It’s going to be like a travel guide in a way, with each different spot… It will be a celebration of our culture and community.” Video editing and platform building.
Rather than just Instagram fodder, the end result they’re seeing now will be a tableau of experiences, interviews, and insights from the places they’ve visited, the activities they’ve participated in, and the people they’ve met.
Kent French, a sports broadcaster for the Ducks and Angels, spent a year traveling the world with his wife Michelle and 7-year-old daughter Everly, documenting their adventures online at Frenchitivity.com.
(Courtesy of Michelle French)
“We want to have an adventure, have a great family time, and put it together to be of value to others,” Michelle said. “Our guiding north star is to deliver value.”
The overarching idea, the couple says, is to try to find a new way of living outside of the days spent in daily tasks and routines that become almost engraved into one’s DNA over time.
What started as a casual conversation about traveling and learning together as a family while taking time out of their busy schedules turned into planning, planning, and planning after Michelle ended her event planning business, Sunday Sol Events, in 2022. Saving has become a more formal process.
Angels and Ducks anchor Kent French, his wife Michelle, and their 7-year-old daughter Everly are part of a documentary project on Frenchitivity.com, a website aimed at inspiring others. As such, he embarked on a one-year overseas trip.
(Don Leach/Staff Photographer)
After taking a necessary pause while earning her yoga certification, Michelle decided to take the plunge and embark on a journey big enough to make a real difference in her life, and spoke with Kent about applying her natural talents and skills to the process. I started. Intuition and curiosity guide you in equal proportions.
They put a large world map on Michelle’s office wall and the family began researching places of interest. The move included notifying a lot of people, figuring out how to pack up and rent a house in San Clemente, and finding a solid homeschool program for Everly. But they thought, if not now, then when?
“It’s kind of cheating,” Kent said. “This is like sitting around a fire with a glass of wine and saying, ‘If I could ever dream of traveling, this would be it.’ And here we go.”
Not all family vacation destinations are fully booked, but this is by design. If a chance encounter leads them to a new destination or group of people, they want to create a space for it.
A French family recently traveled to London. The trio has been traveling around the world and plans to document their adventures online.
(Courtesy of Michelle French)
Everly has already visited several destinations in the United States as well as London with her mom and dad, and helped plan the trip. New York City, for example, was her idea.
“I wanted to see the Statue of Liberty,” the 7-year-old boy explained.
Other travel goals include petting an elephant for her birthday in February, and maybe, just maybe, Huamei, the panda she adopted, when the family plans to spend time in Asia early next year. This includes considering a trip to China so you can visit directly. through a nonprofit earlier this year.
Everly wants to share photos of the cuisines from around the world she encounters during her travels in a corner about Frenchness called “French Fries,” a nickname coined by a friend.
For the French family, the sky is the limit and they only have one goal for the coming year.
“I hope that we come back better and stronger as individuals and as a family and with a greater appreciation of what’s important in life,” Kent said. “That’s the biggest thing. No matter what, we’re going to come back in a better place.”
“I totally agree with that,” Michelle agreed. “We are on a journey back to home, to ourselves, to who we really are and who we want to be in this world.”
Follow their journey at Frenchitivity.com.
Angels announcer Kent French, his wife Michelle, and their 7-year-old daughter Everly watch a game at Angel Stadium.
(Courtesy of Michelle French)
