Lake Wilson man up for title of Hottest Husband

LAKE WILSON -- With a seven-day vacation to Maui and a feature article in Redbook magazine on the line, Jodi Gillette is calling for anyone with a computer to log onto www.redbookmag.com and vote for her husband, Greg, in the magazine's annual "Redbook's Hottest Husband" contest.

Meanwhile, 30-year-old Greg is trying to go about his job as a UPS truck driver, growing ever-more embarrassed about being one of 18 nationwide finalists for the honor. The voting continues through March 9.

Jodi nominated her husband for the contest last October, after reading about it in her latest edition of Redbook.

"I always have people telling me how good looking Greg is, and he's just really a great dad," said Jodi of the man she's been married to for nearly a decade.

After writing a 500-word essay on why her husband is deserving of the title and submitting it -- along with a photo of Greg and their three daughters -- to Redbook, Jodi said she kind of forgot about it ... until the day before Valentine's Day.

"I got a call saying that he was one of 18 finalists, which was totally shocking," Jodi said.

In the weeks since, Jodi said many of the other finalists have appeared on television news segments and in major newspapers. The pressure was on for her to get the word out.

"I thought, 'Man, I'm never going to have a chance -- we live in such a small area,'" she added.

So, Jodi started calling her friends and family, and then went to the address book in her e-mail and began sending requests to everyone she could think of -- including to the teacher of her 9-year-old daughter, Madison. After Madison learned her teacher voted for Greg, she came home and told her mom, "I think you went a little overboard!"

Still, the girls think the whole contest is pretty funny, Jodi said. They would come home from school and tell their dad each time he received more votes from teachers in the school.

It seems everywhere the Gillettes go these days, people are talking about the hottest husband contest and offering encouragement for Greg and his family.

"That's one thing about living in a small town," Jodi said. "I go to the grocery store, and I get stopped every five seconds. Someone is always commenting about it."

All the attention is a bit too overwhelming for Greg, who said he was too embarrassed to talk about being a finalist.

"I think he felt silly at first, but everyone has said, 'Hey, that's cool,' and they've been supportive about it," Jodi said. "(Greg) said, 'I'm so glad I work nights and don't see anyone.'"

Greg, who has worked for UPS for the past four years, is currently a truck driver on the night shift. Jodi finally broke the news to him about the nomination after his finalist information was posted to Redbook's Web site.

"I didn't want to tell him until I could explain what it was about," Jodi said. What better way than to click on the Web site and show him.

"He woke up and just sat there looking at it (his photo and information on the Web site), and was like, 'What? Why is my picture on there?' He thought, 'I am going to get so much crap for this.'"

Jodi, however, has a completely different perspective on the contest. She said her husband, in addition to his good looks, is simply a nice guy.

A clipping from her 500-word essay posted on the Redbook site states: "He's ... a wonderful father to their three girls and spends his weekends taking them fishing or sledding. When their third daughter was born, everyone kept asking Greg when he was going to try for a boy; his response was, 'No way -- I love my girls!' Says Jodi: 'His love for his girls is one of the reasons I think he's perfect.'"

Jodi, a Lake Wilson native, and Greg, a native of Slayton, met in the 10th grade when their two school districts paired following the 1992 tornado that destroyed the Chandler High School. They dated all through high school and married in June 1997. In addition to Madison, their family includes 7-year-old Sydney and 2-year-old Ella.

"Some of the finalists have been married for like a year and have no kids," Jodi said. "I thought that didn't even count. You should have to be married for like 10 years and have three kids and still think you have a hot husband, you know?"

If Greg wins the contest, they will receive a trip to Maui, and he will be featured in an upcoming edition of Redbook. But if he doesn't, Jodi said it's not a big deal.

"It's just kind of neat," she added. "Last year, I read there were well over 1,000 entries, so it's a pretty good honor just to get picked as a finalist."

Greg is the only finalist from Minnesota, much less the Midwest. His nearest competitors live in Michigan and Colorado. All 18 of the finalists can be viewed at www.redbookmag.com .