Avon Calling

If you live near Moorpark High School, you’ve probably seen Judy Waters smiling as she goes door to door with her Avon bags and Avon catalogues in tow.

Waters became a Moorpark Avon representative about 18 years ago, only two years after she and her family had first moved here.

“I used to buy Avon products when I lived in Canoga Park and made sure to find someone here to buy them from,” she said. “About two years in, she stopped selling and convinced me to take over. It wasn’t hard work so it didn’t take that much convincing, actually. I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Sales seemed to fit naturally with Waters’ outgoing and cheerful personality.

“I like the job because I get to know people,” she said.

Not only that, but Water’s goes into each day with the same motto in mind: “Look for the good in people. Don’t be a downer. Praise somebody for something good they’ve done. Try to be up and try to be happy. Spread that!” 

Waters’ work with Avon is a huge career shift from her days working with a giant computer in the 1970s.

“One of my first jobs was in a computer room, and I mean this ginormous computer took up the whole room! I started as a key card puncher for the computer; that’s how they read information at the time,” Waters said.  “I used to be so good. I could even program that computer! I loved it and knew it inside and out.”

Unfortunately today’s computers aren’t quite as simple.

“Thank goodness I have my kids to help me out,” Waters said, “because if I need to do anything beyond writing e-mails or taking care of the finances, I have no idea.”

Waters has three children, the youngest, still at home, is 18.
Her kids and family are two of the things that Waters is proudest of.

“Luckily, our lives have been on the steady track,” she said. “We bought the house we live in and have managed to pay it off. My husband and I are retired, our kids are good, and everyone is nice and healthy.”

And Waters is happy with the lack of drama.

“Our adventures include the new cooking kick I’m on. Between the internet and watching Rachel Ray, I have piles of new recipes to try, and my family members are the guinea pigs.”

For real adventures, Waters likes to go on cruises and trips with her husband, Terry.

“We just came back from a cruise down to Mexico, and Terry and I would love to go on a month-long road trip across the country one day. We just have to wait until none of the kids are living at home anymore,” she said.

For now, Waters is content to relax with her grown children and husband and be thankful that the only bumps in the road have been, in her words, mere hiccups.