Julie Groce, President

Julie Groce is a consulting historian living in Macon, Georgia. A native Atlantan, she graduated from Agnes Scott College in 1982. Mrs. Groce has just finished a corporate history for ComSouth, a middle Georgia telecommunications corporation. In 2008, she completed Monroe County Bank: The First Hundred Years, a history commissioned by the bank for its centennial celebration, and was a guest curator for "Gullah Geechee: An Enduring Culture," an exhibit featured at Macon's Museum of Arts and Sciences. She was a contributor to The Diocese of Atlanta: Centennial Celebration 1907-2007, and she was the chief writer for Energizing Georgia: The History of Georgia Power 1883-2004, a corporate history of one of the south's largest and oldest public utilities.

For more than twenty-five years, Julie has consulted with historical organizations and museums to document historic resources, curate exhibitions, and develop interpretive programs. She served as Executive Director of two historic house museums, and as Preservation Coordinator for the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, where she supervised research and restoration activities for the Johnston-Felton-Hay House. In this capacity, she was featured in an episode of A&E Network's America's Castles called "The Railroad Barons." Her professional research has been published in books, regional journals and exhibition catalogs.

Julie assumed the Presidency of Macon's Federated Garden Clubs in February 2009. She has been a member of the Vineville Garden Club for two years. Julie first became interested in historic gardens more than twenty-five years ago when she was Executive Director of Bulloch Hall in Roswell, Georgia. There, she initiated the recreation of historic landscape elements and researched appropriate plant materials. Since then, Julie has incorporated heirloom and native plant materials into the landscape of her personal home, a restored 1880 Victorian cottage in downtown Macon, that she shares with husband Philip and son Harry. Their residence has been featured in historic garden and house tours offered by Hay House and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and by Intown Macon Neighborhood Association. As a member of the Federation, Julie has assisted in developing educational programs, including an emphasis on Georgia architect Neel Reid, who designed the Federation's historic 1910 headquarters and established a reputation for integrating garden elements into his architectural commissions. Toward that goal, in 2009, she completed a new driving tour of Macon's historic Neel Reid buildings, which originates at the Garden Center on College Street. Under her leadership, the Federation is currently developing an interpretive exhibit on Neel Reid for the Garden Center.

Julie has served on the boards of Hay House, Middle Georgia Historical Society, Georgia Children's Museum, Booker T. Washington Community Center, and the Intown Macon Neighborhood Association. She also served one term as Home and School Association President for St. Joseph's School and as an ex officio member of that school's board of directors. She served for six years on Macon's Design Review Board, and she served two terms as president of the Intown Macon Neighborhood Association. Julie has been married to husband Philip, a New Orleans native, for more than nineteen years, and they have a wonderful teenage son, Harry. They are active members of Christ Church, where she is the acolyte coordinator and a member of the Vestry.