10 Most-Beautiful Finalist: Julie Vanvig

Age: 36

Occupation: Morning show host on KTTS 94.7 FM

Background: Julie is a Springfield resident who has been in 417-land for 20 years. She says her hometowns are both Goodrich, North Dakota, and Ozark. Her husband’s name is Mike, and they have two children, Dylan and Jared.

Tell us why you love 417-land.

The four seasons allow for all kinds of great experiences. With the lakes and national forests all around, there are lots of great outdoor activities. We also have a wonderful arts and theatre community for an area of our size, and a good taste of culture. But what really make the Ozarks home are the people. 417-land is filled with friendly, genuine folks (both transplanted and homegrown) who still believe in hard work and basic values. People still get to know their neighbors and are proud to support their community and their country. It's a great place to live, work and raise a family!

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.)

In my 15-plus years of community service and broadcasting, I have lucky enough to be involved in efforts that have raised more than a million dollars to benefit our community. And I’ve personally been credited with more than a thousand hours of volunteer service. I’ve included a partial list of activities I’ve been involved with.

In 2001, along with our listeners and station crew, I began the KTTS Christmas Crusade, and I still coordinate it. This adopt-a-family program, which started with just 40 families, has served more than 1,000 families to date. What started as a project in the conference room of our building is now a project with 80-plus volunteers.

I also have served as coordinator of the St. Jude Radiothon for the last seven years, an event that raises more than $150,000 annually, and I’m a national guest speaker for the hospitals’ annual Country Cares Radio Seminar. I also serve on the steering committee for the St. Jude Dream Home project, and have co-hosted the giveaway project for the last three years. I emcee more than a dozen community events a year, and I was recently Head Judge of the Sertoma Men About Town fundraiser. I also am a frequent guest lecturer on civic journalism, media relations and volunteer motivation and recruitment. I have been nominated by the Country Music Association as Broadcast Personality of the Year (small market).
But my best volunteer jobs are 5th-grade home room mom, coaching my stepson’s 2nd-grade basketball team, and teaching crafts at vacation bible school.

2000:present Director of the KTTS Christmas Crusade
2005–2008: Host of the St. Jude Dream Home telethon
2007–2008: Pershing PTA
2007–2008: Coach–Upward Basketball 2nd Baptist
2005: present VBS teacher Messiah Lutheran Church
2008: Vice President–Greater Springfield Homebuilder’s Charitable foundation
2008: One of Springfield’s 20 Most Influential Women, as named by Springfield Business Journal
2007: HBA Charitable Foundation Volunteer of the Year
2007: St. Jude Dream Home Advisory committee member
2006: Nominee State of Missouri Carnahan Award for Lifetime Community Service
2007: Superintendent’s Committee on Vocational Education/Springfield Public Schools
2006: Gift of Time award judge
2005: Gift of Time Award/City of Springfield Volunteer of the Year 2005
2005: Missouri Broadcasters Association Public Service Campaign winner
2005: Greater Springfield Homebuilder Association Individual Member of the Year
2005: Greater Springfield Homebuilder's Association President’s Award for Outstanding Service
2005–present: Greater Springfield Homebuilders Association Charitable Foundation Board of Directors
2005–present: Emcee/Judge Sertoma Men about Town fundraiser
2005: Host, National Philanthropy Day Celebration
2001–2005: Reading Round-up Committee
2000–Present: Coordinator KTTS Country Cares Radio-thon benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
2005–present: Instructor Country Cares/Esperanza Radiothon national training sessions
2001–2007: Advisory board member of Crosslines/Council of Churches of the Ozarks
2001–2006: Advisory board member of Mid-America Transplant Services
2004: Springfield Business Journal 40 under 40 recipient
2003: National Association of Police Chiefs Award for Community Service
2002–2005: Planning Committee member American Cancer Society’ “Relay for Life” Christian County
2001–2004: Advisory board member of the Springfield Victory Mission Back to Scool program
2001–2004: Rotary Club Springfield Community Outreach Committee/Ethics in Business award committee
1999–2001: Big Brothers Big Sisters Volunteer Recruiting director
2001–2003: Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks Mentor
1999–2004: Community Outreach Officer for the Rotary Club of Springfield
1997–1999: Host “Volunteer 33 Segment” KSPR
1995–2004: Celebrity Rider at events benefiting the Good Samaritan Boys Ranch
Guest speaker for the Pew Institute for Civic Journalism, University of Chicago
Media Instructor, International Association of Arson Investigators, Missouri State Fire Chiefs Association

What makes your community involvement worthwhile?

Meeting new people, and helping to connect people with the amazing resources available in our community. By working in radio and television, I am fortunate to have a job where I can reach out to many people at once. It would be a crying shame not to use that platform to better our community. I believe most people have a deep-seeded desire to help others but often do not know where or how their help is needed. Trying to facilitate is a big motivator. By setting an example and sharing opportunities for others to get involved, I hope to inspire others to commit themselves to causes they believe in.

I have a special place in my heart for kids and believe no child should go hungry, cold or without attention in a country and community as blessed as ours. I try to support causes that will improve the world for those who come next. And certainly, no child should face death before they’ve had a chance to live. I have had the pleasure of attending a graduation ceremonies and weddings for local patients treated through St. Jude Children’s Hospital, and I hope that in some small way my efforts contributed to their recovery. And I have been to some funerals, too, which means there’s still much work to be done.

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

Meeting new people and traveling. I love woodworking, which I learned from my dad, and I actually asked for a table saw for Christmas. (Santa obliged.) Same with hunting for turkey and deer, and fishing. I have been horseback riding since I was able to walk (and was a buckle winner in cutting and team penning). Other loves: Antiquing, going to the lake, major landscape gardening, sewing, dressing up for dinner downtown with friends and hanging out with my husband and kids. We belong to a group of couples that have game night once a quarter, which is just an excuse for the girls to “whup” up on their hubbies! Just for fun, I just took up Egyptian belly dancing. I love musical theatre and really enjoyed performing in a show at Springfield Little Theatre. Although I gave up reporting for the “fun” side of broadcasting, I’m still fascinated with politics and current events. I am a trained storm spotter and still assist with the KTTS Storm Team. I love animals. We currently have three dogs, a cat, a veiled chameleon, a dove and a fish. I’ve also had a tarantula (rescued) and a whole menagerie of other animals.

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

Country Music Association 2000-present (Nominated for Broadcast Personality of the Year (Small Market) in 2003)
Greater Springfield HBA ( currently VP of Charitable foundation)
Country Cares (Radio fundraising association for St. Jude, instructor, 2000–present)
Academy of Country Music (voting member)
Society For Professional Journalists 1991–2000
RTNDA, 1991–2000
Rotary, 1997–2001

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

My first “real” broadcasting job was for KTTS. I was a freshman in college, and was hired as the Go-Patrol Girl and “other duties as assigned.” When I took the job at the ripe old age of 18, I didn’t realize what a loaded phrase that was. That is until I was assigned a special job at the Ozark Empire Fair. Not to cover the news, but rather to spend eight hours a night in a white sequined prom dress, à la Vanna White spinning the “Wheel of Meat.” People could win a package of hot dogs, bologna or a freezer of beef and cheese. Yup, and did I mention we were set up in the livestock exhibit barn, with no A/C in the hottest August on record? (It was at that moment I understood the real meaning of sweat equity.) And ever since, whether covering the visit of a President or Pope, or interviewing a Nashville star, all I have to do is reflect back on the “Wheel of Meat” to regain my perspective.

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