10 Most-Beautiful Finalist: Connie Rush

Age: 43

Occupation: Real estate broker/realtor

Background: Connie lives in Bolivar, and her hometown is Dadeville. She says she’s been in 417-land all her life. She has a husband, Rick Rush, and son, Eric Hines.

Tell us why you love 417-land.

I absolutely love the people in our area. Most always, you receive a smile back when you offer one first. I meet new people daily, and I am so blessed to describe our area and our attractions to these prospective buyers in 417-land. They are always in awe of our beautiful scenery, our wonderful seasons and how friendly our people are. I sell to them with pride, knowing that the places we call home are second to none. We have so many wonderful people who are always willing to lend a hand and a smile when they know someone is in need, and I am proud of the many accomplishments and attractions we have to offer. I often tell people that we take for granted how fortunate we are to live where in our area and have such easy access to so many beautiful lakes and parks, our wonderful Branson attractions, so close to larger cities such as Kansas City and St. Louis, our exciting sports teams and so much more. I absolutely would not want to live anywhere else.

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.)

I have always been involved in our local schools, supporting them in every way I can. I love to volunteer my time reading to the younger classes, offering my time to the computer labs and doing whatever I can to assist the teachers. I feel that I can offer some one-on-one time with some of the children who are in need of some time and attention, and I am always thrilled to see a huge smile on a face of one of the young children when they have realized they are special and deserving. I have done this as much as time allows for the past 10 years. When my son started kindergarten, I saw the need for some one-on-one time with some of the children in his class.

I also have a large family, and I have 10 nieces and nephews and most important, my son—all of them are very active in school, sports and music. My husband and I try to play an active role in all of their lives, attending as many games as possible, attending as many school functions as we can and always donating time and money to their fundraisers and charities.

I am a member of the Springfield Board of Realtors and have been for the past six years. I spend a lot of time during the Christmas holidays for Share Your Christmas, helping as many families as we are able in hopes of making their Christmas a little better. I try to provide clothes, toys and meals to families during this time of year.

I am a member of the First Baptist Church in Bolivar. I am a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and I enjoy representing our city and what we have to offer. Basically, most of my time and volunteering goes to my family, which I would not change for anything in the world. My brother and sisters are so wonderful, and I am so proud to be a part of their children’s lives.

I try to visit as many people who are in the hospital as time will allow. I am always amazed at the number of people who are hospitalized and have no one to visit them, and they always seem to appreciate just a few minutes of my time. My parents have always instilled in us how important it is to visit our friends and family in the hospitals and nursing homes, and it makes me sad to see how many are alone. Just a few minutes goes a long way with them.

What makes your community involvement worthwhile?

Always when I volunteer at the schools, I am blessed to see a child read and learn. To see them smile and to receive a hug says it all.

I am always so proud to see my son, my niece and my nephews—who all attend different schools—excel in sports, academics and music. I get so much from watching them play for their school and to see them grow in to young adults. My husband is so gracious to them and is always willing to go where ever their activities takes us. Our son is so wonderful and to be a part of his school makes me so proud. He is an excellent student, receives A’s and is active in many sports. He is always proud to see me volunteering my time for the schools.

When visiting those in the hospital who don’t have many visitors or family, I leave feeling so good to have given just a few minutes of my time to someone who needs and enjoys it. We are blessed to have so many hospitals and wonderful doctors in our area. There is always a need for time, and it feels so good to be able to give a little of mine.

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

My favorite hobby is sports—most all of them. My favorites are basketball and golf. My son has always played basketball, and we would never miss a minute of his games. This year, he is a freshman and is on the golf team and it is the first year he can out-drive me. It is probably the last year me or my husband will be able to beat him. We love to play together, which is why it’s my favorite of the sports.

We have a lake house, and we cherish our time together there. We love to fish and ski. We have spent many days that I would not take anything for, at the lake laughing and just being together.

Are you involved in any professional organizations? (What are they, what’s your role, and how long have you been doing it?)

I so appreciate all of the people who are in professional organizations and everything they do. I fall short in this, as I don’t play a main role in any organization. I always do everything I can for most organizations when I am asked, but honestly, any and all of my time when I am not working real estate goes to my family and their activities. They have grown up so fast, and I hate to miss any of their activities as they are always asking if we will be there. I do know that in a few short years, they will all be grown up, and I can then devote my time and energy to working in different organizations. But for now, I truly feel that what I am doing is as important as any role in any organization I could be involved in. I do want to say that I am so thankful to the many people who carry these largely important roles and I know that some day, I will be better at doing my part.

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

I love to work—and work hard. I love to mow yards, to clean houses and to get in and tackle the jobs I am told I cannot do. I love to remodel houses, to do the painting and what it takes to see them improve. I am not afraid of hard, manual labor.
I grew up very poor and the one thing my parents taught us is to work hard and give it our all.

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