Pocatello woman makes history on Ted-X stage
If most people are lucky enough to have a cow walk into their school, chances are, it’s “udderly” Billie Johnson on a mission to make someone’s day a little brighter.
“I realized when I wear the cow suit, people just smile at me automatically, then I smile back, and it just continues from there,” Johnson said. “That describes the simple joys of life – something so seemingly silly are also the important things.”
Johnson is well-known throughout the Pocatello community, holding the esteem of several monakers including: the cow crusader for kindness, the cow-culator, and the woman who dons the cow suit to cheer-on runners and cyclists during big races.
In fact, it’s arguably more common for people to see her wearing the cow suit, than anything else – something her coworkers have embraced, dearly.
“At work now I’m the ‘cow-culator’ where we invite students in and learn about STEM careers.”
When Johnson’s not “cowing” she’s working as a physical design engineer at ON Semiconductor.
The vast contrast between the black and white answers she’s used to and the whimsical persona of the cow suit is something she says she loves.
“I love that there are answers and there are solutions, because in this world today, we don’t seem to have easy solutions,” she noted.
But Johnson’s “cow” career took-off 25 years ago when her Idaho State University volleyball teammates wanted to dress-up in bikini-based costumes for Halloween.
Johnson opted for something else as a joke – a cow suit.
But for $14.99 at KB Toys, that suit became so much more.
She says it was a way for her to step out of the seriousness of everyday life and to give others she meets common ground – embracing each other’s differences over something silly.
Johnson is now the first cow to take the Ted-X stage in Idaho Falls when she delivers her talk on the deep meaning behind the cow suit, and how it’s helped a community learn and grow, on March 9, 2019, at Thunder Ridge High School.
Get tickets and speaker information HERE.
