Find out why Trevor refers to Julie as “my Ferrari”.
Julie was born on 21/11/1964 in Launceston. Her birth name was Sally Ann, but her mother was unwedded, and she gave her daughter for adoption. Her adoptive family renamed her Julie, and gave her a wonderful upbringing. Her father was a minister in the Uniting Church, and her mother a school teacher. She had a brother and a sister.
Julie did make contact with her birth mother, but they not kept in contact, and she feels very lucky to have been adopted into her particular family.
She lived in church manses throughout Victoria – Lockington, Rochester, Bendigo and many suburbs of Melbourne.
Julie left school halfway through Year 12, at 17, to work for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in Melbourne. Her father recommended the Princess Mary Club in Lonsdale St as a safe residence for his fledgling daughter – it was, in fact, known as the club that saved Melbourne’s women from prostitution, so was quite an eye-opener for this daughter of the Uniting Church!
Julie returned to work in Bendigo with the Commonwealth Employment Service, then 3BO radio, and then on the Truth newspaper, where she was secretary to the owners and worked in the advertising department as well. She moved onto Mack Trucks, Drake Personnel, and a 15year stint at Shell, working her way up to managing Shell’s bitumen business projects in the Philipines and Indonesia. She chose to take a package when the Shell company changed hands.
She took an ill-advised job, managing the Paynesville Bendigo Bank despite a lack of mathematical skill, then moved on to her current management job at Nagle College.
Julie summarised the ups and downs in her life in a couple of lists.
“What life has thrown me along the way”.
- Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the late 90s
- Lost her mother to dementia when she was only 60 (and also her adoptive aunt – sometimes not having a genetic tie can be a positive thing)
- Lost her sister to suicide in 2016
- Has had multiple surgeries, most recently on her shoulder.
To counterbalance this list, “I am thankful for”
- Never wanted for anything
- Have a wonderful husband
- Fortunate to have had a fantastic career with no formal education
- Have a roof over my head and food to eat
- Have had the opportunity to travel, with work and personally
- An amazing group of friends
- Live in a beautiful party (sic!!!) of the world
- Welcomed into a fantastic Rotary club
- BRHS Board Member (since 2016)
- At 54, I decided to study and am completing a double diploma in Human Resources and Leadership and Management.
When Julie was struggling with her sister’s suicide, a wise counsellor suggested she “find a WOW moment in every day” – this is now a part of her life, and is a great way to keep a positive perspective.
Dick thanked Julie for her talk, and she is now the proud owner of one of our bamboo keep cups.