Relay For Life of Charlotte

Picture: Left to Right (John & Kelly DeMario, Julie Grosse)

Hi! Meet Julie Grosse of Relay for Life of Charlotte. I have to say I absolutely love happy people. People that give off an energy when they talk about anything. It gets me so freaking pumped. This is Julie. Whether she’s talking about her story, RFL, family, friends, Charlotte … anything. There’s a fire in her. I’m completely inspired. She’s awesome. Her big event for RFL is actually tomorrow! Find out more here.

Fun Fact: The Duke Energy building will be lit of purple this Saturday in support of RFL. Pretty awesome.

What is your passion?

My passion is helping people in whatever capacity that is. I love to be around people and learn what makes them tick. If there’s something I can do that makes a difference in someones life that makes me happy. It makes me feel great to make a difference.

If you could go back and give yourself advice 15 years ago what would it be?

Have a better plan before you pack up and move across the country. I moved from California and was up for an internship with NASCAR. It was my senior year of college at UCLA. I was one of less than 5 finalists for the position and they told me they didn’t pick me because I lived so far away. I thought well I’ll pack my stuff up, move to Charlotte and they’ll hire me because I’m awesome. I have a degree from UCLA. That’s a big deal, right? Turns out that was the wrong attitude. No one was impressed. It was tough.

What is your greatest indulgence?

Music. Life just doesn’t exist unless there’s music. I listen to just about anything. I went to see New Kids on the Block last night. I work in a country bar. I love Poison, Motley Crue and all the 80’s hair bands. The spectrum is large.

What frustrates you?

Probably what frustrates me most with working with nonprofits is the lack of … I don’t want to say attention. It’s just there’s so much going on in Charlotte. It’s really hard to get people’s attention. We feel like we worked so hard on this event and I feel like it could be so much bigger in a city the size of Charlotte and it’s frustrating that it doesn’t get more attention than it gets.

Sara Beth wants to know why you love Charlotte?

My favorite thing about Charlotte is the skyline. I love to walk around uptown at night. It’s so pretty. I like that I live 15 minutes out of uptown but I’m in a nice quiet suburban neighborhood. I’m not super far from uptown but feel like in most cities I’d have to go much further out to get the amount of peace and quiet that I have.

Corley May asked if you had to sing a song for your supper what song would you sing?

Is is everyone I’m singing to quite drunk cause I’m not singing unless they are. Hmm… When I get bribed into singing karaoke at the bar I usually sing “Back in the Saddle” by Matraca Berg. She’s a song writer.

Emily Rester asked if you could combine any two animals what would they be?

How about a dog and a monkey? Dogs are so happy, fun loving and there to help. Monkeys are really smart and able to learn advanced things. I can’t help but think if I could train my dog to be smart like a monkey I’d be in business.

You can meet Julie in Person tomorrow! Find out more information about the big event here.