MISS ILLINOIS
UNITED STATES 2009
Julie Kristine
Bornemann
Occupation: Fashion Designer
Previous Titles: Miss LA Galaxy 2008, Official spokesmodel for the Los Angeles Galaxy national
soccer team. (Club David Beckham came to America to play for.)
Platform: Supports Make-A-Wish
Foundation
Personal
Achievements:
Designed clothes for the Los Angeles Galaxy, Asahi Japanese Beer and the
Miss United States Organization.
Academic
Scholarship to St. Louis University
National Honor
Society – recognized nationally
Leadership
positions in over 15 clubs in her high school and Received 2000/01-03 Service
award for outstanding contributions to school activities
Captain of
Varsity cheerleading squad
Miss Illinois
USA 2005 pageant – "Best in Bikini" award winner
Miss Hawaiian
Tropic Finalist – St. Louis
Community:
Black-Tie St.
Louis – a nonprofit organization that has worked with over 300 charities in
just the St. Louis area. Attended over 50 charity events to either photograph
events or to help raise money for the non-profit organizations. Helped to
organize nationally recognized events, wrote reviews on the events for press
and single-handedly coordinated charity functions
American
Cancer Society –Volunteered to help raise money and awareness
Los Angeles
Homeless Services Coalition – Raised money to help rebuild existing shelters
and also to build new ones to get homes people off the streets of Los Angeles
Volunteered at
her church as a Sunday school teacher, handed out food to the homeless and
helped to provide for their shelters and baked food for the elderly
Spokeswoman
for CNN homeless show – traveled to West Virginia on Thanksgiving to help make
food for the homeless shelters
She also
frequently helped to coordinate charity functions by herself and through her
college sorority, Alpha Phi.
For her platform, Julie will support the
Make-A-Wish Foundation.
She says
she chose it because “It’s a cause dear to my heart. Years ago I knew this
young 12-year old girl named Hope who was ill with cancer and was already
involved with the Make-A-Wish foundation. When they came to her and asked her
what her wish was, she replied, “My wish is that every other kids wish comes
true.” That touched my heart and forever moved me. After she passed away the
Mayor of Charlotte (where she lived) named a day in honor of her, The Day Of
Hope, as he was just as moved as I by her caring, sweet soul.
I aspire to be like Hope in the sense of carrying out her wish and any other child’s I may have the privilege of meeting. I love children and I want to bring them joy and be a part of changing their lives in a positive light, as I know it will have an equal amount of impact on my own life as well. I believe experiences like this and helping people is what life is really all about. J”
To read more about Hope and her truly inspirational story,
Julie Kristine Bornemann was born July, 30 1986 in Edwardsville,
Illinois. She is the Daughter of Dan and Pam Bornemann and sister to three,
Kevin, Ryan and Kelly. She graduated from Edwardsville High School in Illinois
in 2004 and proceeded to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Julie’s
passion for fashion design led her interests to the Fashion Institute of Design
and Merchandising, a fashion school in Los Angeles, California.
Julie’s parents were reluctant to let her go out to LA all by herself at
the tender age of 18, but promising once she reached 20, she was able to go. An
ambitious Julie held on tight to that promise and on the day of her 20th
birthday, begin the three-day car ride with her mother to Los Angeles. Being a
Leo, it didn’t phase Julie that she had never even seen LA, nor would she know
anyone there. She says she viewed it as “an adventure”.
Shortly after arriving in LA, Julie became distracted with all the
vibrant city had to offer. She was still attending school, but her interests in
other activities grew greater everyday. She dabbled in independent films, blockbusters,
TV shows, reality shows, designing clothes for various companies, modeling and
pageants, getting crowned Miss LA Galaxy in 2008 and Miss Illinois United
States this 2009.
The experience of being crowned has opened Julie’s eyes to the endless possibilities
of having a title. She has said “prior to being crowned Miss Illinois United
States 2009, being crowned Miss LA Galaxy 2008 was the most exciting moment I’d
experienced since arriving in LA, and the year following it was just amazing,
making my hopes for this year as Miss Illinois, very high.”
“With this title, I hope to make a positive difference within the Miss
United States family, the Make-A-Wish organization, in the life’s of people I
will come in contact with and be a role model to, and in my own life as well.”
She also hopes to create a clothing line where a large amount of the
proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish foundation.
Julie was also a contestant in the Miss Illinois USA 2005 contest where
she won an award for “Best in Bikini”, but did not place as a finalist. She
said that “It was the first pageant I had ever been in, I was 18 years old
competing against 299 other girls, some around my age, but most much older and
more experienced than myself. I was so nervous on stage that I was shaking and
my smile was quivering so badly I was sure everyone could notice. Thinking back
to that night, I would have never dreamed that one day I would become Miss
Illinois! I am so grateful and proud to be representing my home state this year
and in the national competition.”
What’s next for Julie?
She will compete for the title Miss United States 2009 in Las Vegas,
Nevada July 16th!
To get information on the pageant and the host hotel, please visit:
http://www.unitedstatespageant.com/enter/hotel.php
To learn how you can help support Julie’s platform, the Make-A-Wish
foundation and help children’s wishes come true, please visit:
To help sponsor Julie as Miss Illinois United States 2009 to help cover
costs for the United States Nationals, you may donate to the link below:
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“Today is where your book begins~ and the rest is still unwritten.”
