10 Most-Beautiful Finalist: Brandi Roy-Kimble

Age: 29

Occupation: Parmaceutical sales representative

Background: Brandi was born in Germany and lived in a couple of cities but spent most of her childhood in Oklahoma. She lives in Springfield now and has been in 417-land for almost five years. Her family is her husband, Brent; parents Billy and Regina Roy and brothers Billy Craig Roy and Mark Roy.

Tell us why you love 417-land.

It’s just a really phenomenal place to live. You have all the beauty of the Ozarks with so many opportunities to really enjoy yourself, your family and your friends, whether it’s through bicycling, fishing, boating, golfing, hiking or exploring our outstanding parks (Silver Dollar City) or the Dickerson Park Zoo. Or simply enjoying some of the finest food from the most amazing restaurants Missouri has to offer. I especially love the small-town feel that Springfield has. It’s small enough to be friendly and personable but large enough to offer more than enough new and exciting experiences. It’s just a great place to get involved, whether it’s through charities, your church or local events.

Tell us about your community involvement and volunteering. (Please tell us what organizations you’re involved in, what you do to participate and how long you’ve been doing it.)

Mexico missions, organized by the Church of Christ: Volunteers donate their spring breaks and money and also raise money to go into underdeveloped Mexican cities in need of a place of worship, and they build churches. I’ve been a member of the Church of Christ since 1999, and I’ve spent three of my spring breaks in Mexico building churches.

DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution): It’s a “non-profit, non-political women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history and securing America’s future through better education for all children.” I’ve been a member since 2001.

United Way Campaign: This private charity works to improve the lives of people through community. The United Way works in a number of different ways, through programs to improve child education, programs that encourage community involvement, women’s leadership, rebuilding communities after hurricanes, tornadoes and floods and encouraging volunteerism. I’ve been a member since 2004.

American Diabetes Association: This non-profit organization provides diabetes information, research and advocacy. The ADA works to promote awareness of the disease within communities to prevent diabetes and cure those affected by diabetes. My husband and I will be riding in the Tour de Cure on June 7, which is a bicycle ride (5K to 100K) to raise money for diabetes research. The race starts and ends in Rogersville. I’m also attending the ADA Red Ball Gala in Springfield. I’ve been a member since 2007.

American Red Cross: An organization that provides care to victims of war and natural disasters and offers community services to those in need. I’ve been donating since 2005.

What makes your community involvement worthwhile?

It’s just something you do. You don’t think about it. You just do it. It’s the right things to do. To give back. To help people.

Hobbies (Go ahead; list them all! And tell us why you love them.)

I love getting involved in politics. I think educating yourself on what’s going on in the world is a starting point for making a difference.

I love being outside, hiking, riding a bike, playing sports or just walking. It just makes you feel good to be active.

I love decorating. I’m not exactly sure why, but it just makes me happy.

What’s something that might surprise us about you? (Or a story you love to tell.)

Well, it’s not very surprising for those who know me, but I’m very accident-prone. In one year, I had four consecutive, somewhat-serious accidents. It started with a broken leg before I even got on the slopes while skiing in Colorado. I had my ski boot on but not tightened, and I tripped while taking a group photo, so I didn’t get to ski that trip. I ended up with a makeshift cardboard cast for three to four days (my leg was too swollen for a cast yet) before we got back to Oklahoma, so I could get other medical attention. The next incident was about four months later on a float trip down the Illinois River in Oklahoma. A group of us decided to go cliff diving/jumping (into water), and let’s just say that I jumped and didn’t have the best of landings and ended up in the ER. Then about 5 months after that, I went on a girls’ road trip to Padre, Texas. We were there for 10 minutes when I got into the ocean and was stung by a stingray. Needless to say, I ended up going into shock from the pain and spent two days in the hospital in Brownsville, Texas. They had to open up my foot to remove the bone fragment left by the stingray, so that I wouldn’t get a bone or staph infection. Fun times. It’s really pretty funny when you think about the crazy incidents that have happened to me.