Honoring Julie Wrege

Overview

If you have been around Holiday Cove North over the past few decades, you probably know my mother, Julie Wrege. Julie - along with her husband, Doug - owned Unit 12 since the early 1980s after her mother passed it down to her. You may know Julie as a very sweet woman - or perhaps as Secretary of the Holiday Housing Association Board of Directors. She has given much to Holiday Cove North.

But I am here to introduce you to another side of my mom. So, without further ado, I give you a list of reasons why Julie Wrege should be considered a certified American badass.

Julie and Doug Wrege - Thanksgiving 2021

Top 10 Reasons Julie Wrege is a Badass

No. 10 - Julia Dallas Bouchelle Wrege. Yes - that Bouchelle.
While lineage is not a true indicator of badassitude, it is notable that Julie is the daughter of Dallas Bouchelle - with the Bouchelle name that is renowned in New Smyrna Beach. One of her relatives, Anderson Bouchelle, was a giant in Volusia County real estate - developing Bouchelle Island and Inlet Shores (among others) in New Smyrna Beach. How is Julie related to Anderson? I have no idea - you'll have to ask Julie the next time you see her.

No. 9 - National Tennis Champion
Julie was an amazing tennis player in her first few decades, and her signature championship came at age 18 when she won the singles title at the USTA Girls National Championship. That tournament continues to be the most prestigious junior event in United States tennis. Now that is bad ass.

No. 8 - Competed in the US Open
Julie received wildcard entry into the US Championships in Flushing Meadows - the tennis tournament now known as the US Open. Julie served her way to win her opening game before falling 6-1, 6-0. Her opponent? The legendary Althea Gibson, who went on to win that Grand Slam event. Bad. Ass.

No. 7 - Lived with the Family of the Georgia Tech Football Coach
When Julie arrived on campus as an incoming freshman at Georgia Tech in the late 1950s, she had been assigned to a men's dormitory. There weren't many women at Georgia Tech, and there were no dorm rooms available. As she sat, distraught, on campus, she was approached by a kind, middle-aged couple who worked for the university and had an extra room in their home next to the Tech campus. Julie took up the couple's offer - and ended up living with the family of legendary Georgia Tech football coach Bobby Dodd - whose name still graces the Georgia Tech football stadium in Atlanta.

No. 6 - First-ever Female Physics Major at Georgia Tech
Julie has always excelled at math and science, and her planned college major was physics. Little did she know, but in the late 1950s, women were not allowed to study physics at Georgia Tech. After a bunch of fights with the administration, the school acquiesced, and Julie became the first-ever woman to graduate with a physics degree from Tech - blazing the way for other women. That makes her an exemplar of badassedness.

No. 5 - No Women's Tennis Team? No Problem!
Like most colleges before Title IX, Georgia Tech didn't have much in the way of women's athletics. Julie continued playing tennis and befriended most of the guys on the Tech Men's Tennis Team - often practicing with them. Her senior year, Julie competed in men's doubles against the University of Tennessee - winning that match and enraging her opponents. Officially, Julie ended that season with a 3-0 record for the men's team - after doubles teams from the University of Alabama and Unversity of South Carolina defaulted rather than risk "losing to a girl". Total badass.

No. 4 - Rocket Scientist? Check.
People sometimes say, "It's hard, but it isn't rocket science." Because rocket science is really, really hard. Naturally, Julie Wrege was employed as a rocket scientist in the mid 1960s. Julie worked at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where she tested components for the Apollo program. If that isn't badassery, I don't know what is.

No. 3 - Tennis Legend
After marrying Doug in the late 1960s, Julie settled back into a life with tennis. In addition to competing, Julie contributed in tennis as an official (umpiring at the US Open in the 1970s), administrator (running the USTA Girls' 14 Nationals and Southern Boys' 16s Championships in Atlanta), coach (helping start the Georgia Tech women's tennis program and leading them from Division III competition to Division I and the ACC), volunteer (as the president of the Georgia Tennis Association), and entrepreneur (co-founding the TennisInformation.com and TennisRecruiting.net websites). Julie has been inducted into multiple Hall of Fame organizations - including the Georgia Tennis and Georgia Tech Athletics Halls of Fame. So Julie is a world-recognized badass.

No. 2 - Friends in High Places
Tennis and other activities have brought Julie into contact with many famous people, and she is good friends with (among others) NBA All-Star Mark Price, ESPN Basketball Analyst Dick Vitale, and Fox News Host Sean Hannity. Last time I saw Julie, all three of those people had been texting with Julie over the past week. If you ask me, it looks like she runs with a pack of bad asses.

And the No. 1 Reason Julie Wrege is a Bad Ass? Her Family.
Julie is the matriarch of a family that holds her dear - and a family that continues to be amazed by her accomplishments. Julie and Doug have two sons - Dallas (the better looking of the two) and Shannon. Dallas and Shannon (with a bit of help from their wives - Katie and Laura) have given Julie five wonderful grandchildren: Lindsay (born 1999), Kailey (2002), Sydney (2007), Jasper (2015), and Tucker (2017). You can see the entire crew below in a photo (taken by HCN's own John Hunter) at the Wrege Family Reunion in August 2021 right here by the West Pool at Holiday Cove North.

And so I put the question to you ... Bad Ass or No??? Pretty clear answer if you ask me! We love you, Julie/Mom/Grandma/JuJu!

Honoring Julie Wrege

Overview

Top 10 Reasons Julie Wrege is a Badass

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