Written by Gia Miller and Kayla Schmidt
Julie returned to her passion for music and art several years ago after a decades-long successful career in healthcare. Today, she sells her hand-painted electric guitars and plays guitar in Reservoir Road Band and as a solo musician. Julie also serves as president of the Katonah Museum Artists’ Association and was recently featured in the film “Gimme More Guitar,” currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
Why did you want to return as a judge?
It was an honor to collaborate with others in the community and expand my relationships with local people and businesses last year, and I wanted to help keep the momentum going.
What stood out to you during the judging process this year?
The passion and overwhelming input from our community matched what we saw last year.
Did you take bribes? Be honest…
No! Come on, I would never take a bribe.
What was your judging philosophy for this year?
To be as objective and observational as possible and not be part of the herd mentality.
What’s harder: keeping the winners a secret or your personal opinions to yourself?
Keeping my personal opinions to myself. I am friends with some of the people who were nominated, which makes it hard to be objective because I want them to succeed. But I did take everyone else’s thoughts into account when making my decisions.
You’re going on the judge circuit. What type of contest would you rather judge?
Best dog costume or most delicious vegan chili?
Vegan chili! Are you kidding me? I love dogs, but I don’t care about dog costumes; I care about vegan chili. That’s important. And I really need a good vegan chili recipe.
Ugliest ugly sweater or preschool talent show?
Preschool talent show. I’d love to see what cool things kids are doing. I don’t care about what somebody’s wearing; for me, it’s about the experiences.
Dance battle or lip sync showdown?
Dance battle because of the movement. I carefully examine that, even when I watch football—that’s air ballet to me. I like watching that stuff.
Most soothing song created exclusively with cat sounds or best attempt at building an Ikea dresser without instructions?
The latter; I love doing that. And I’m not touching that cat thing. No way.
Funniest kid dressed up as Charlie Chaplin or most aerodynamic wheel of cheese that can roll down a hill?
The aerodynamic wheel of cheese to roll down a hill. I would like to see that. I would like to know everything about it. Why is it aerodynamic? What are the properties? I would want to know everything.
Best dance to “The Wheels on the Bus” or most stunning painting of a walrus?
Best dance to Wheels on the Bus, but with adults doing an interpretive dance to that song. I would never judge a kid for dancing to that song.
This article was published in the January/February 2026 edition of Connect to Northern Westchester.
To view all 2026 Connect to the Best winners, click here.
Gia Miller is an award-winning journalist and the editor-in-chief/co-publisher of Connect to Northern Westchester. She has a magazine journalism degree (yes, that's a real thing) from the University of Georgia and has written for countless national publications, ranging from SELF to The Washington Post. Gia desperately wishes schools still taught grammar. Also, she wants everyone to know they can delete the word "that" from about 90% of their sentences, and there's no such thing as "first annual." When she's not running her media empire, Gia enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, laughing at her crazy dog and listening to a good podcast. She thanks multiple alarms, fermented grapes and her amazing husband for helping her get through each day. Her love languages are food and humor.
Kayla Schmidt
Kayla Schmidt is a sophomore at Horace Greeley High School. She is part of the newspaper and the SADD club, and she is also the co-manager of the track team. In her free time, Kayla enjoys spending time with her friends, family, and dogs, along with reading (preferably on the beach).
