Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to Southeast Iowa? After graduating from Iowa State University in the 1970’s, my husband Dave and I relocated to Iowa City. He took a veterinary position at the Lang & Kennedy Clinic while my art and home economics background led me to a teaching position in Tipton. Soon after moving to the area, we purchased our current (Moffitt) home in Iowa City. Coincidentally, we signed off on our very first home loan with Hills Bank’s former president, John Hughes. Little did we know that our small, historic, and quirky Moffitt home would one day reveal a secret under the uneven floorboards: A newspaper had been used to level a low spot under the old wall to wall carpeting and in that newspaper was a wedding photo of John and Karen Hughes! Over the years, as I have become more involved in local history and architectural preservation, I always enjoy sharing this serendipitous story. I have since come to love the area and the unique history of Iowa City. There is so much here to learn and preserve for future generations! How did you get involved in your volunteer roles originally? How did you get started? I guess I would blame my compulsive creativity and teaching gifts! It came naturally for me to plan events and create interesting or entertaining learning environments because of my interest in the work of these organizations. Some of my best memories are planning the children’s activity area at Mercy Hospital’s annual Festival of Trees and the seasonal pop-up museums I created for Friends of Historic Preservation. What organizations do you volunteer with? I have had the pleasure of volunteering in many areas in the Iowa City area, but currently I am actively volunteering with New Life Community Church, Melrose Meadows Retirement Community, Lucas Farms Neighborhood Association, and the Johnson County Historical Society. How long have you been involved with the Lucas Farms Neighborhood Association and the Johnson County Historical Society? Much of my free time the last ten years has been with leadership of Lucas Farms Neighborhood Association. Some other good neighbors did the groundwork to re-boot our association and then I became involved by planning special events and documenting our shared history. Our neighborhood sits on the land that once was owned by Iowa’s first territorial governor, Robert Lucas. Because of the annual history events I help plan for the neighborhood, I became more involved with the Johnson County Historic Society. I was delighted to help facilitate the Hills Bank Friends Club’s tour of the historic Lucas Farms Neighborhood and Gov. Robert Lucas’ Plum Grove home last summer.
Who in our community inspires you? There are so many people who work hard and serve others or accomplish important things in this area. At the moment, Lucy Murphy comes to mind - I guess you could say, “I love Lucy!” She is a 98 year old, long-time resident at Melrose Meadows Retirement Community and she still plays the piano for the weekly church services there and organizes special events with guest speakers to entertain and educate the Melrose residents. She does it all through the pain of severe arthritis. How do you see Hills Bank within our community? Being asked to reflect on how we view Hills Bank, it’s interesting to think back and realize that our bank has been a part of some of the biggest hurdles in our lives - from getting a home improvement loan for a major remodel, to a loan to expand or stabilize our business, to providing the central advisors to help us prepare for retirement, to enjoying traveling with the Hills Bank Friends Club tours! When we first moved to eastern Iowa, Dave’s boss recommended Hills Bank. John Hughes, the bank president at the time, and the staff at Hills Bank were very welcoming to Dave as a young veterinarian just getting acquainted with the Johnson County area. They also helped Dave when he took the next step to becoming a co- owner of the veterinary practice. The veterinary clinic, along with Hills Bank, were very closely tied to the agricultural life of rural Johnson County, supporting the County Fair, the Pork and Beef Producers, etc. In time, our practice re-focused to exclusively small animal veterinary medicine and Hills Bank helped with that transition as we added two more satellite clinics. They have always been family and community focused. We enjoyed the tradition of attending the Hills Bank BBQ held every year until it got too big and they had to go to other ways of showing appreciation to their customers. Thank you, Judy, for your commitment to the Iowa City area and for fostering community growth here in Southeast Iowa. A $250 donation has been made to the Lucas Farms Neighborhood Association to show our support for the work you do in our community.
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