Missy Rodey at Hội An, Vietnam (photo by Glenn Rodey)
Diana Smith
If you have ever attended a SaddleBrooke Hiking Club (SBHC) picnic, you already know Missy Rodey, and Missy knows a thing or two about food! And organizing! She has spent the last five years planning and running the two annual SBHC events but stresses that her talented team makes the job easy.
Born in Memphis, Missy moved to the Pacific Northwest with her family and spent most of her formative years in Portland, Ore. She received an undergraduate degree from Whittier College in Southern California, majoring in chemistry and nutrition. She earned a master’s degree in public health nutrition from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
After graduation, Missy accepted a dietetic internship with the Public Health Service in Baltimore, Md. She moved to the Chicago area in 1969 where she had accepted a position teaching nutrition at Northwestern University School of Nursing. Missy later moved to Atlanta where she returned to clinical practice, specializing in kidney disease, dialysis, and organ transplantation. There, Missy met her husband Glenn, a transplant immunologist at Emory University.
Missy attended the Women’s Executive Management program in Massachusetts from 1990 to 1992. She then returned to Atlanta and resumed her career as the CEO of the National Kidney Foundation of Georgia—all this while somehow managing to raise their two sons. She also has three grandchildren, ranging in age from preschool to college.
During their time in Atlanta, Missy and Glenn had traveled to Durango, Colo., on a backpacking trip in the San Juan Mountains and decided this was the place they wanted to retire. They lived in Durango for 20 years, taking advantage of all the outdoor activities in the area, including lots of day hiking. The couple moved to SaddleBrooke in the Summer of 2019 to escape the cold, snow, and high elevation of the Colorado Rockies, returning to Durango every summer to visit old friends and neighbors.
Despite thinking there couldn’t possibly be any good hiking in the desert, she cites her experiences with SBHC for changing her mind and instilling her with a love of Arizona. She credits Frank Earnest with accepting her on her first SBHC hike. Since then, Missy has traveled on several club trips, including Silver City, N.M., and Page and Wilcox, Ariz. Missy and Glenn have traveled extensively, visiting numerous countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. She shared her experiences summiting Mount Kilimanjaro at an SBHC program last year.
Hiking is now her favorite exercise, and she hits the trails as often as possible. An avid runner, Missy has logged over 50,000 miles, competing as a Master’s runner, completing 20 marathons and four 50K races. In her spare time, she reads, swims, spins, plays Mah Jongg, and participates in the Computer and Photography Clubs.
Missy volunteers at the food bank in Mammoth, a good fit with her background in diet and nutrition. She loves to cook and was involved in gourmet groups wherever she lived for over 30 years. She is an adventurous eater while traveling, sampling chicken feet and tongues in China.