Rising Stars: Meet Missy Spears

Today we’d like to introduce you to Missy Spears.  

Hi Missy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I am a 43-year-old queer woman in the Cincinnati area that has built a life and career around using humor to encourage civic and community engagement. I grew up a good, conservative girl in West Chester, Ohio, until at age four a rogue library book turned me queer. To my parent’s dismay, I went on to play softball, wear a lot of flannel, and remain a virgin until an uncomfortable age. 

Since 2000 I have lived in the Cincinnati urban core and started volunteering as a way to make friends in 2012. In 2014, after a night of playing bar trivia, I stumbled home and wrote a grant to spay and neuter 40 feral cats in my community. I didn’t want to put my name on the grant, so I used my bar trivia name, “Keep Your Shirt on Covington,” and titled the project “Cut Your Balls Off Covington.” I received full funding for the grant as well as media attention. I was able to take advantage of the attention and sold mugs and shirts that said “Cut Your Balls Off Covington” to raise additional funds to build winter shelters for the cats. The project was a big success; we got 40 cats fixed, 11 rehomed, 15 shelters created and dispersed, and recruited 9 volunteers (7 first-time volunteers). A year later, while caring for a disabled family member, I needed to find a way to work from home quickly, so I expanded the brand KYSOC to create merchandise to sell. I created 6 unofficial expansions for the popular game Cards Against Humanity that referenced local and statewide people, places, and things, and I sold those packs at local craft markets. I also organized community events (adult scavenger hunts mixed with a bar crawl) to show off the new shops, bars, and hotels popping up across my city. (“The Bill and Ted Scavenger Hunt,” “The Bill Murray Streetcar Crawl,” and “The Cov Abides Big Lebowski Scavenger Crawl.”) I ran with that brand until 2017. 

In 2018 I ran for local City Commission. I knew I was going to lose and run again in 2020, so this was my attempt to get free media attention to help raise my name ID. I ran a satirical campaign based on Trump’s 2016 campaign, whereas a pink hair-queer candidate, I tried to build a wall between two neighboring cities to keep drugs out. My campaign video got a lot of attention throughout the region, and it springboarded me to numerous speaking engagements and community opportunities. I did run again in 2020 as a serious candidate, but due to Covid dropped out before holding a single event or spending a single dollar. Even so, I almost won, placing only a point and a half from winning the fourth council seat. 

Keep Your Shirt On Covington, and my wall-building political campaign allowed me to have a community platform, and the past 4 years have been spent using that platform to call attention to important community issues, causes, and candidates. Professionally I’ve worked with community-oriented small businesses like Lil’s Kitchen to run events for marginalized communities, such as Queer Soup Night, Drag Trivia Night, and more. I’ve also worked for nonprofits Action Tank (public policy and local government focused) and Concerted (encouraging volunteerism through free live event tickets) to make civic and community engagement fun and enticing. In 2021, I launched a community refrigerator program (the COVunity Fridge) with a partner. The Fridge is open 24/7, has a full fridge/freezer/and pantry, and also a microwave and hot/cold water dispenser so folks can prepare some of the ready-to-eat meals on site. 

In my personal time, I have served on several boards championing voter and civic engagement, thrown fun community parties that have raised tens of thousands of dollars for a variety of causes, and a few months ago participated in the local Dancing With the Stars “Dance With Your Heart Charity Gala.” I also do some grassroots advocacy and go head-to-head with local white supremacists in my community (Patriot Front and the American Identity Movement). They like to put up stickers in our neighborhood advertising their groups, and I’ve organized my neighbors to identify, take down, and cover up their imagery. I also printed cover-up stickers that got on the news that we put up to mock them “Just Covering Up Another Racist Sticker Put Up By Another Insecure White Guy.” When the hate preachers roll into town, I like to put on ridiculous costumes, stand next to them, and loudly yell jokes making fun of them while they try to stay on message. 

I do a lot of speaking engagements and media appearances, including print media, live tv, radio (including Cincinnati NPR), podcast appearances, professional panels, presenting to college and professional development classes, National Conventions, political fundraisers, and even receiving a standing ovation for body fluid jokes told at a high dollar awards dinner attended by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. (He was not a fan.) Over the past year, I have been honored with being a finalist for the Cincinnati Holocaust and Humanity Center’s Upstander Award, being designated a Kentucky Colonel, received recognition from the Human Rights Commission Cincinnati, receiving a Citation (the good kind) from the State House of Representatives, made the Best of Cincinnati Top 10 Activists list, and received a Community Hero trophy. 

My current projects include working with nonprofit Concerted to increase their name ID in Cincinnati, launching a second community refrigerator (set to open late summer 2023), and creating a fun digital series, “Sip or Spill Cincy,” where I interview local celebrities over shots of Malort. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
So many struggles. When I was caring for my disabled former spouse, I lived in poverty and had to use food stamps. I was so embarrassed as a woman in her 30s to not be able to care for our basic needs. Being able to use humor and satire to find a new way to make money while also being able to be a caretaker was life-changing for me. That experience was a big reason why I opened a community refrigerator program ten years later. Another struggle is the bullseye that being a loud and proud shit-talker to white supremacists has put on my back. Their groups have shared my addresses and threatened me. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m known for being an asshole for a good cause. I will challenge local leaders, candidates, and powerful individuals when they put others at risk. It makes people uncomfortable, but I feel like it’s important to not sit silently. Silence equals acceptance. 

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Being honest, being upfront, and being funny. (Plus checking my facts.) 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://msha.ke/missyspears
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missy.spears/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/missyspears/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@missyspears2196