Most people start a business based on their expertise. Howard Bailey was the opposite. When he was 24, he started building a house and was amazed how much he didn’t know. So, he started a construction company. “I had no expertise. I had to learn on the job. I hired two young guys and the next five or six houses I built we framed and trimmed the house. I got some basic knowledge on construction. The rest is history,” he said. It was 1972 and he started The Bailey Company. Today, the company has built more than 1,000 homes, specializing in custom builds. At one point, his wife and children all worked together. Today, Matt Bailey and Angie Blevins, their children, run the company.
Linda Bailey
Linda was an accountant by trade. By the time she was in her early 20s, she had 60 employees under her. When her children were born, Linda decided to stay home. It wasn’t an easy decision because she was good at what she did, but she wanted to devote time to her family. When the kids were about 10 years old, she returned to the workforce joining her husband’s business helping with the books. It didn’t take long for her to gravitate toward interior design. Linda was artistic and loved design. Always a bright smile in the room, clients loved her. And they respected her opinion. “A lot of her custom home clients didn’t even hire designers, they trusted her,” said Angie Blevins. “They’d even fly her to different states to pick out furniture. She had the eye; she knew what she was doing.” Linda guided them through the design process from start to finish. “We worked together side by side,” said Howard. “She had an office right beside my office. We worked very close together. She was instrumental in our business. I wouldn’t be where I am if she hadn’t been there beside me.” Their son Matt graduated from MSU with a degree in construction management and joined the family business. Their daughter Angie initially pursued a different path but eventually worked with her parents. “It’s a lot of togetherness. Some people don’t see their parents every day and I got to do that,” she said. Outside of work, Angie and Linda loved to do the same things they did at work but without the stress. They’d drive around and look at houses, venture to furniture and art stores. Linda took up painting later in life. They had many good times together. Matt and Angie took over the business in 2005. Howard and Linda were also real estate developers and had a passion for travel. Linda passed away on Oct. 27, 2021. The Baileys were married for 54 years.
Giving back
About seven years ago, the Baileys established the Bailey Family Construction Management Scholarship in the College of Business. “We are so short of labor and qualified people in construction. It is very important we have people going through the education system that want to get into construction,” said Howard. Matt Bailey has also supported Greenwood Laboratory School for years. The Bailey family has generous hearts. They constructed Isabel’s House-Crisis Nursery of the Ozarks, and then turned around and donated the profits from the job back to the nonprofit. After Linda passed away, in lieu of flowers, the family asked people to donate to the scholarship in COB. “The amount of people who donated to it blew our minds,” Angie said. After Linda’s death, Howard learned there was an opportunity to name a new experiential learning space for interior design majors in Glass Hall and thought it was a natural fit. “This is a good way to have a remembrance of her,” he said. The Linda Bailey Interior Design Studio is outfitted with software that students will use in their careers. The future designers will benefit greatly from learning the ins and outs of computer-aided design. “The process of designing our built environment is becoming increasingly digital,” said technology and construction management department head, Dr. Richard Gebken. “The new lab space in Glass Hall will allow our interior design students to be prepared for successful industry careers.” Aside from the boost to students, it is a fitting tribute to a creative woman who left her mark on the community. “I think she would love it,” Howard said. “She would really appreciate it. That is why I did it. She’d think it’s an honor.”
New lab and changes to merchandising and fashion design
As part of the university’s realignment, the department of merchandising and fashion design (MFD) will merge with the department of technology and construction management in the College of Business, effective July 1, 2024. In the meantime, MFD and the interior design programs have been relocated from the Park Central office building downtown to labs, classrooms and offices in Glass Hall. MFD will deliver much of its course work in a new, modern and fully equipped 3D design lab in Glass 228. The new state-of-the-art lab will give students the opportunity to:
›› Learn and use the most up-to-date and innovative 3D software,
such as Browzwear, MockShop and Daz 3D.
›› Move with the fashion industry into a more sustainable, efficient and creative future.
These changes among others will help to synergize COB’s MFD program and ensure Missouri State remains the university of choice for students with a passion for merchandising and fashion design in the Midwest.