10 Most-Beautiful Finalist: Judy Bilyeu

Age: 47

Occupation: Corporate marketing director at Metro Builders Supply

Background: Judy is from Sikeston, Missouri, and has been in 417-land about 35 years. She lives in Springfield with her husband, Rick. She has two kids, Madison and Brock, and two stepchildren, Brittany and Chase.

Tell us why you love 417-land.

I love being able to experience the beauty of all four seasons. I love the community events that are offered, such as Art Walk, Little Theatre, the Symphony, Hammons Hall. I love the willingness of the people here to lend a hand whether it’s reading to children during their lunch break, filling a backpack with food for the kids who may not have any other food over a weekend or cleaning up yards for others after a storm. I love that our community as a whole is a safe place to live and to raise children. Although 417-land is roughly a quarter of a million people, I love that when you are out and about, you can count on seeing a familiar face.

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.)

Although I’ve been volunteering in different capacities for years, my heart was forever changed four years ago when I first served on the Advisory Board of the Regional Girls Shelter. I had no idea of the horrific things that children in our community were experiencing. After serving on the board one year, I served two years as President where I led a major make-over project bringing in roughly $50,000 in goods and services to update the facility and helped develop other ongoing fundraising venues. I am also involved with Bridges for Youth, which operates five youth centers across the area. The program offers a safe, loving, Christian environment for almost 1,000 kids. (Volunteers are needed, hint, hint.) I’m also a proud supporter of Young Life and Campus Crusade.

What makes your community involvement worthwhile?

I’m involved because God has blessed my life abundantly with health, happiness, a wonderful family and a voice that He expects me to use. I have taken a 15-year-old girl shopping who had never owned a brand new piece of clothing, another who didn’t know what a “dressing room” was and another who was so excited that she was getting to buy a coat that she wanted to buy one three sizes too large so she wouldn’t outgrow it. You don’t hear a girl talking about being dressed up by her mom and sold for drug money every weekend, without being touched. My favorite quote is from Erma Bombeck who said when she got to heaven she wanted God to say “Good job. You used every talent I gave you.”

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

What’s a hobby? My time has recently been spent helping my daughter with wedding plans, cheering for my son who plays basketball, spending weekends relaxing with my husband at the lake or searching for the perfect home, as we plan to downsize in the next few years. And there’s a lot of time spent moving teenagers in and out of the house as the various stages of their lives evolve.

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

I have been a member of SE Rotary for three years and have served on various committees. I serve on the Associates Council for the Springfield Home Builders Association and am a member of the Springfield Design Association. I was thrilled to serve on the Chamber of Commerce’s Steering Committee for the Character Education Initiative. I am ending my third year term on the Missouri State University Alumni Association and am in my first year on the Family and Consumer Sciences Advisory Committee for Springfield Public Schools.

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

My original career choice was to go into television broadcasting. After finishing about half of the hours needed for the degree, a male professor said “Ladies, look around, broadcasting is a male-dominated field, and you’ll be lucky if even one of you finds a job.” That scared me enough that I changed my major to public relations.

And my closest friends love to tease me about my glory days as Miss Sweet Corn in Southeast Missouri many, many years ago.