No matter how many individuals appear in the pages of each edition of Keys Weekly, there are always so many more of our community members who deserve to be recognized. In an effort to shine a spotlight on more of the incredible individuals who live and work in these islands, Keys Weekly is proud to spotlight our Neighbor of the Week feature, dedicated to celebrating a community member with each issue.
This week’s neighbor has been a full-time resident of Islamorada since 1994. She spent nine years in the classroom at Key Largo School — an experience she remembers as wonderful. This fall will make her 11th year as a real estate agent. In between teaching and real estate, she spent a few years at home with her kids during their younger years.
CHRISTY HUGHES
Real estate agent, Coldwell Banker Schmitt
What’s one thing people don’t know about you? I can’t handle scary movies or spiders.
What can people find you doing when you’re not working? Playing tennis. I’m pretty much obsessed.
What would you do if you won the lottery? I’d buy a big boat with a Seakeeper, travel with my family and take a tennis lesson every day when not traveling.
If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be? Tom Petty.
What is the best and worst part of the Keys? Best: the community and the water. I love how small-town it is. People care for each other. It’s always true, but after Irma it felt especially palpable. I don’t have a “worst,” but I don’t love that it takes so long to get to the airport. If it was easier to get here, the Keys would be different, so even that I don’t mind too much.
If you could improve one thing in the Keys, what would it be? I wouldn’t mind a Trader Joe’s or buried power lines.
What is your spirit animal? Ever since I was little, I thought I’d like to be a river otter. They are active and seem to have a lot of fun.
The title of my autobiography would be? My senior yearbook quote was a line from a James Taylor song. It was, “The secret to life is enjoying the passage of time.” I think I’d steal from him again and go with, “Enjoying the Passage of Time” for my autobiography title. I don’t mean it’s okay to ‘let life happen to you,’ just that it’s good to make a point of enjoying all of it.
Your favorite movie: “The Blues Brothers.”
Favorite app on your phone? I use Instagram more than I should. … But my favorite is Tile. It works with little trackers and helps me find my wallet, my keys and my AirPods which I leave all over the house.
