Insider's Scoop
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Meet Sterling Silver Club Member Debe Fennell
November 14, 2024
From Coast to Coast
Debe was born in 1949 in the historical city of Elmira, New York. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) also lived in Elmira, which is where he got married, had children and wrote a few of his famous novels, including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In fact, Mark Twain was a friend of Debe’s great-grandfather, who migrated from Europe to build what used to be called The Elmira Hotel.
Debe and her family moved from Elmira to Kentucky in 1950, where they lived until Debe was 14. Debe grew up with three sisters and two brothers. Her family moved to Arkansas in 1964 and lived there until 1970. Debe graduated from Southside High School in 1964 and was part of the school’s first graduating class. After high school, Debe traveled to London with a group of missionaries to sing at the Lambeth Conference. When she returned, she went to the University of Arkansas - Little Rock for a couple of years before moving to Reno, Nevada in 1970.
Debe spent the next 15 years in Reno, enjoying life as a self-proclaimed ski bum and working at various jobs. Her first job in Reno was at the YMCA of the Sierra on Foster Drive, before Debe completed dealer school through Harrah’s Casino and became a high-limit blackjack dealer. In 1985, Debe moved from Reno to Nashville, where she began an exciting career in the music industry.
Making History in Music City
Debe’s first job in Nashville was working as a journalist for a music publication. Her other business ventures included being a talent coordinator for two nationally syndicated radio shows, and a national records promotion executive for Sony/BMG, Curb Records, Magnatone Records and Giant Records. She was one of very few female Vice Presidents in the music industry in Nashville at the time, and worked for many big names in country music, including Tim McGraw and Randy Travis.
Home Means Nevada
In 2000, Debe decided it was time for a change and made her make her way back to Reno, where her family had built strong ties with the community and with Renown Health. Debe worked for Dickson Realty, which her sister Fianna Dickson Combs founded more than 50 years ago. In 1987, Dickson Realty was acquired by Debe and Fianna’s brother, Harvey Fennell, and his wife, Nancy Fennell.
Fianna had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and while she was receiving treatment at Renown, Fianna shared Renown’s belief in the healing power of nature. She began working on a project to open a healing garden on campus to benefit patients, their families and caregivers before passing away in 2008.
Harvey worked with Fianna’s daughter, Rebecca Dickson, to help open Fianna’s Healing Garden at Renown Regional Medical Center in 2009. Harvey became a Renown Health board member in 2019 and helped complete an expansion of Fianna’s Healing Garden, which re-opened in 2020.
Fianna was passionate about community service and was devoted to making a positive impact in her community. After Fianna passed, Debe asked herself what she could do to follow in her sister’s footsteps and make a difference in the community. Over the last several years, Debe has made volunteering and community service one of her top priorities. With her love of gardening, she took it upon herself to clean up and enhance the gardens in downtown Reno on Riverside Drive. As a member of the Rotary Club of Reno, she worked with the City of Reno to create the Bicentennial Sculpture Park. Debe sat on a committee to choose sculptures as a volunteer for the City of Reno’s Arts & Culture committee for the Bicentennial Park Sculpture Garden and Riverside Drive Beautification Project, where she is a caretaker of the gardens. “For those who love gardening and nature, volunteer opportunities can be found through Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful,” said Debe. “Their website is ktmb.org.”
When Debe isn’t gardening on the Reno Riverwalk, she is focused on running her marketing consulting business, where she specializes in email marketing strategy and helps entrepreneur clients from all over the world. She has clients in Brazil, London, the Philippines, Los Angeles and other big cities.
As busy as Debe is, she finds a little time each day to enjoy one of her other biggest passions in life: singing. “I’m trained to sing classic tunes, but enjoy singing pop music too,” said Debe. “A couple of my favorite artists right now are Teddy Swims and Post Malone.”
Gratitude For Renown and Senior Care Plus
Debe joined Senior Care Plus right when she aged into Medicare and has been a member ever since. “I was paying high premiums for health insurance and was excited to become a Senior Care Plus member to save costs,” said Debe. “There are so many things I love about Senior Care Plus, such as the low copays, use of MyChart and access to Renown providers and services. I’m also a big fan of Renown Pharmacy, and the mail-order service that delivers my medications right to my front door. I have a lot of medical needs and Senior Care Plus and Renown help me with everything,” said Debe. “Senior Care Plus has great customer service and everyone I talk to is very helpful and responsive. It’s really gratifying to be able to have faith in a healthcare system.”