How my journey began

Heeellllooooo! I guess the first thing you should know about me is I’m wildly…Joyful.  No, seriously… when your first name IS Joy, you can only behave in a certain manner. For the past 40-something years being an overly positive, sparkly and energetic human has served me pretty well.  I should warn that I’m a bit sassy too… but not in a mean-girls way… more like I don’t let things stand in the way of achieving the goals I’ve set for myself.  So-to sum me up in three words—Sparkly, Sassy and Authentic. That’s what you get when you know Joy.  But let me tell you how I got here.

I am literally just a small-town girl.  I grew up on a dairy farm in Gerry, NY… home of the oldest running consecutive Rodeo east of the Mississippi.  We’re very proud of our annual Rodeo – the community comes together to volunteer, and it is magical. Small town living at its finest.  You should check it out if you ever find yourself in Western New York in August… totally worth it.

Gerry is about an hour south of Buffalo and I’m a proud member of Bills Mafia.  That’s right.  My blood runs Blue and Red for the Buffalo Bills.  Yes, yes… I know we went to 4 Superbowl’s and didn’t win any of them – trust me, I’ve heard all the jokes. Doesn’t matter.  Besides…have you SEEN Josh Allen??  Let’s just all sit back and watch the next great football dynasty arrive, shall we?  Go Bills!

While I loved growing up in Gerry, I knew I needed to see more of the world… so after I graduated from high school, and found out that any funding I thought I had secured to go to college fell thru, I joined the Air Force!  Yeah, it was a bit impulsive and the general feeling was that I was a little too “Private Benjamin” to make it in such a structured, sterile environment…but, 24.5 years of service later, I’d say I was successful. 

The Air Force was where I found myself. It helped amplify the values I brought from my small town, farm girl upbringing, and helped me grow into a strong, independent leader. I spent my career in public affairs—and mostly as a radio and television broadcaster. (The Department of Defense has its own military radio and tv network with stations overseas to provide news and entertainment to servicemembers serving in foreign lands.)  My job was epic.  I enjoyed ALL of it but LOVED being on the radio.  I loved being in a booth, playing music and just talking to people.  It never felt like work.

Of course, as I continued to advance in my career, I was pulled away from the studio and put to work doing more leadership-oriented things… which was wonderful in a different way.  But I never lost my love for “performing” on-air.

Which brings me to this… side hustle of mine. 

I “retired” from the great Air Force back in 2017.  And promptly got started on my secondary career—still working in public affairs and now back in the federal government as a civilian.  In 2018, I experienced my first government shutdown.  For 34 days I didn’t have a job…and I didn’t like how that felt.  Yes, I am certainly in a better place than many with a military retirement check coming in… but still… living in the D.C. area and not having the income, it wasn’t great.  But, from that experience my own determination to generate a side hustle grew.

It took a little while for me to find my way back to voice work. But, one day I was perusing one of those adult college class flyers from my local community college and I came across a voice over class. I thought – “Why Not?” I was super curious about it so, I signed up. Part of the class had us in a group acting out a commercial script. It was that moment when I felt again what I felt as a young Airmen in front of my radio mic…pure, unadulterated Joy. 

I love using my voice.  It’s not a job to me in the way my typical 9-5 is.  It’s fun.  It’s fresh and exciting.  Each script allowing me to challenge myself in different ways vocally.  It took me some time to get back to it… but now that I’m here—there’s no getting rid of me.  In fact, while I keep referring to this as my “side hustle” – I have a three-year plan to make this my full-time gig.  I mean, what’s better than doing what you love, in a location you love all while being able to work full time in your pjs??  It’s my American dream 😊 well… that and that the Buffalo Bills will win ALL the Superbowls.  Go Bills.  

Joy