It all started when she saw a newspaper ad for a job as an insurance agent. She knew the hiring manager for the position, who explained how insurance agents work in collaborative environments to solve problems for their clients. From that moment, she was hooked.

Judy enjoys analyzing how different insurance products can work in different scenarios, then using that analysis to educate her clients. “I want them to understand what we’re discussing so that they know exactly how these products help them,” she says. “Even if a relationship doesn’t come from a meeting, I enjoy having the conversation and giving food for thought about options they have that they may not have considered and may not have known about.”

Judy is from Hopkinsville, Kentucky. In her mid-20s, she moved roughly 20 miles from her hometown to Clarksville, Tennessee, where she has lived ever since. She has been married for almost 30 years to her loving husband, Richard, who is an unbelievable chef. “He doesn’t do it professionally, but he could. We do a lot of entertaining, and we regularly have a lot of friends over who love when he cooks,” she says.

When she can find a few extra hours, Judy is an avid reader, churning through book after book. “I read at least a book a week, sometimes two if I have the time to do it,” she says. Judy has also done Pilates for years, and she loves horses. Though she doesn’t ride anymore, it’s her favorite way of spending time with her granddaughter Arya, who takes horseback-riding lessons. Traveling is also important to her, and some of her favorite places to visit include Peru, Mexico and her husband’s home country of England.

Judy has a daughter named Casey and a son named Mark, who is Arya’s proud father. She and Richard have a goldendoodle named Benjamin who might look full grown but still has all of the puppy traits, like the energy and the chewing. “We have to tire him out by taking him to the dog park every single day,” she says.

Faith is also important to her, as she teaches Sunday school classes and regularly attends church. In addition to practicing her own faith, it has guided her toward mentoring young girls who may not have had proper role models growing up. “I teach them the importance of respecting themselves, thinking before they act and education. I mentored one girl from the age of 8. She’s now in college, and we still go back and forth,” she says.

Her life philosophy is to laugh, smile and enjoy life as much as possible. Among all of her blessings, like her own firm, an adoring husband, two beautiful children, a lively granddaughter, a playful goldendoodle and her faith, she believes she has no reason not to smile.