Judy Hill, a member of the Springmoor Board of Directors
With a vested interest, Judy Hill was honored to be asked to join the Springmoor Board of Directors this fall. As a former member of the Endowment Committee, she is familiar with the community. More importantly, her vested interests live here. Barbara and Dick Volk, her parents, have been Springmoor residents for fifteen years. Judy and her family are here “all the time,” she says. They play games, eat dinner together and enjoy walks around the beautiful campus.
The Hill Family with Judy’s parents and Springmoor Residents, Barbara and Dick Volk
A Daughter
Judy describes Springmoor as a happy place to be. “There is so much fresh air, gorgeous grounds, lovely flowers and landscaping and lots of intellectual stimulation.” She laughs when she says she has to make an appointment with her parents to fit into their busy schedules. She says, “They are on the go all the time!” The two are season ticket holders to The Raleigh Little Theatre, the North Carolina Symphony and, until recently, the Durham Performing Arts Center. They play bridge several times a week on campus and with friends at their homes. Many at Springmoor know Dick for his jewelry making. He can often be found in the new Meraki Arts Center polishing his gemstones and designing and creating new bracelets, earrings and pendants.
Judy grew up working beside her dad in his soil science lab at North Carolina State University. She worked in the fields during the summer studying weed science. Her passion for math took her to UNC Chapel Hill as a college student. She continued to work through her college days as an assistant to her professors, grading and correcting calculus papers every night. At 8:00 each morning, she had to meet the professor with the corrected papers.
A happy time for the Hills as a new bride recently joined the family
A Volunteer
After college, she married and moved to the Washington, D.C. area. Filled with museums and tons of educational opportunities, she says this was the perfect place to raise their three sons. She loved being in the center of the world news. She volunteered with the Independent Women’s Forum, making connections across the United States. She was later asked by a friend in New York City to lead the Infant Care Project.
She coordinated the 9/11 Infant Care Project from her home in northern Virginia. Tasked with finding all of the expectant single mothers that lost a spouse during the tragedy, she made calls to over 480 companies that had offices in the World Trade Center. Without a spouse, the group realized that each family had lost a set of hands before their newborns arrived. Many families had other children to take care of as well. She helped hire night nurses and raise money for a baby shower for all of them. With generous donations, each of the 120 families received gifts worth $10,000. Her efforts to make life better for every individual are what drive her in her volunteer duties as well as in her business.
Judy and her husband have been very active in starting new Young Life programs in northern Virginia and North Carolina and new Fellows Programs in Charlotte and Raleigh. She has served on the boards of both. Her passion for the young students in her life also led her to be part of the team that created the North Carolina Study Center in Chapel Hill, a center that seeks to cultivate Christian life and thought at UNC. The center offers a comfortable place for students to study, enjoy a cup of coffee, have group meetings or participate in elective classes. It’s a warm and happy place, she says.
High Cotton was begun on Judy’s home sewing machine
A Businesswoman
When Judy’s oldest son was attending medical school, he told her that he was discouraged from wearing his silk ties to the hospital. They found this to be an easy way to spread germs from one patient to the next. As a seamstress (and problem solver), she decided she would make him a washable cotton bow tie instead. Combining her interest in crops, especially those from North Carolina, with her business interests, this idea led to the birth of her own company. High Cotton was begun! Her three sons worked by her side to take the business from her small sewing machine to a successful national men’s apparel brand headquartered in Raleigh.
The High Cotton line continues to expand with an assortment of cotton products
She still uses the knowledge she gained with from her dad as she searches for cotton suppliers and fabric vendors. She has tapped into the talent at North Carolina State University’s College of Design with a Paisley Pattern contest each year for their line of neckwear. All of their products are proudly made in the Carolinas. She loves knowing that she is helping someone do what they love to do – from growing cotton, manufacturing a quality men’s wear product, to assisting a wedding party with a fashionable ensemble for the big day. Her company keeps her active but she still continues to reach out to serve others.
Judy’s newest hobby is her backyard beehive
A Beekeeper
And in her spare time, if there is any part of her day that is not filled, Judy is a beekeeper. Her new hobby began only last year. She is learning from a mentor and is fascinated with the lives of the worker bees and their queen. Watching them work to build a successful hive filled with honey is amazing, she says. Judy will patiently wait until next year for her first harvest.
As with her business, her volunteer work and her family, she finds joy in helping everyone find their happy place to live and work. Judy’s vested interest at Springmoor, combined with her willingness to help others, will make her a wonderful addition to the Springmoor Board of Directors.
We would be happy to show you our beautiful grounds, the wonderful amenities and our many choices of houses, villas and apartments. Call (919-234-7626) or email to schedule your tour soon.
