Volume 24 Issue 2, Spring 2019
by Kim Strader
Volunteer coordinator
The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy is fortunate to have many dedicated and passionate volunteers, so choosing one to honor as Volunteer of the Quarter can be difficult. This quarter was no exception, but one event and one person seemed to stand out — Wine for Wildlife and Julie Borneman!
Thanks to Julie’s calm, cool and collaborative leadership style, Wine for Wildlife was a smashing success. After the bills were paid, we raised slightly more than $11,000, making it one of our best Wine for Wildlife events. The venue was elegant, the food was excellent, the music was perfect, and the money was flowing. Everyone had a wonderful time and complimented everything from the food to the descriptions of the auction items. It was all possible thanks to Julie’s organization and oversight of the committee as well as her skills at gathering auction items, soliciting sponsors, creating programs, and the myriad of other things none of us know about.
While Wine for Wildlife stands out, Julie does so much more for Loudoun Wildlife. She serves as the vice president of the Board of Directors and the chair of the Fundraising and Marketing Oversight Committee. She is a science fair judge, Wild Shop organizer and merchandise procurer, and nature-based program teacher. Her business, Watermark Woods, supports Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy by donating plants for habitat restoration projects, giving discounts to our members, and serving as a vendor at our native plant sales.
In her spare time, Julie is a local pottery and welding artist and a member of the Loudoun Makersmiths. She also volunteers on the Loudoun County Rural Economic Development Committee.
Many thanks to Julie for sharing her time, energy, talent, experience, and knowledge with Loudoun Wildlife. She truly embodies our mission to inspire, motivate, and engage people to protect, preserve, and restore wildlife habitat. In all that Julie does, she brings our vision to life by creating a place where people and wildlife thrive together, living in harmony.