Julie should be congratulated on a very successful year of endeavour. I am in great debt to her for her contribution. She has an enormous heart and will, I am sure, continue to strive, seek, find and not yield.
Ken Hames, motivational speaker, television presenter
I have known Julie for several years now in my role as the Operations Officer for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Scotland.
As well as being a DofE Gold Award holder, Julie has been a great advocate of the work we do, actively promoting our activities with her own particular form of enthusiasm and zest.
The DofE is open to all young people aged 14-15 years of age and Julie has helped at several events to fully promote this ethos amongst practitioners, families and more importantly the young people.
She has proven to be very inspirational at these events and has continued to provide telephone and email support to many since meeting them.
On a personal level I truly admire her dedication and tenacity, I am continually in awe of the work that she does, both educationally and with her campaigning for disability rights. Her emotional reserves are immense – she continues to work, rest and play with equal enthusiasm and always at a very high pace.
I look forward to continuing our work together in the coming years.
Kevin Fawcett, Operations Officer, DofE Scotland
Julie is one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. I was fortunate to be introduced to her in 2009 and we have kept in close touch since. I always enjoy working with Julie as she has a superb sense of humour.
I have seen Julie present to a large audience and then been delighted with the feedback from attendees. Everyone feels she is a true inspiration as she works extra hard to overcome the physical difficulties she experiences.
On meeting Julie, I was immediately impressed by her intelligence, her zest for life and her warm humanity; those impressions have been reinforced since and are shared by all who come into contact with her. I believe Julie is a young woman with all the ability and personality to be a great success in whatever she does and to prove a motivation to others.
Bill Kidd MSP
Julie McElroy 