Julia Kozicki, A Force For Good

By: Tim Timmons

A casual observer might think Julia Kozicki is a woman who has it all. Born to a prominent family, she has found success at almost every stop in a life well lived. She grew up in a sleepy little community of 5,000 and describes Noblesville at that time as Camelot. She won a state championship in high school athletically and was on the BrainGame team (a precursor to her appearance and victory on Jeopardy). She was a sorority girl at IU before going to law school in Chicago. She clerked for a U.S. District Judge. She won elected office on her hometown school board (before it became controversial to serve on school boards) and ended up having the second-longest tenure in board history. Noblesville Schools honored her by naming her one of 25 Noble Millers at the school’s 150th anniversary. She is a district governor for the Lions organization and serves in several other community leadership positions, including the board of directors at Conner Prairie. She’s a wife to Jeff and mother to J.D. and Josh.

There’s more. Much more.

The casual observer would be right.

But Julia Kozicki is not a woman who woke up on third base and figured she hit a triple. Perhaps it’s her sports background. No one hands out state championships. They are earned. Perhaps it’s her upbringing, her schooling, her internal character . . . whatever the reason, there’s not much doubt that Kozicki is a woman deserving of every honor and every post she’s had. That’s why it was no surprise when Women in Noblesville, an affiliate of the Noblesville Chamber, chose her for the 2023 Woman of Impact Award.

Chamber CEO Bob DuBois shared this: “Julia Kozicki embodies the spirit of Noblesville. Her tireless efforts and dedication to the betterment of the community make her an inspiration to all. Her contributions are a shining example of the positive change that one individual can bring to a community.”

Amanda Rubeck, VP with Star Bank which is WIN’s annual sponsor, said that “Julia truly is passionate about Noblesville and as her nominator stated, Julia IS Noblesville. There is rarely an event where you will not be able to catch Julia. She is and has been active in many different organizations and has and is making a significant impact on our community.”

And co-chair Kathy Young, a VP with First Merchants in Noblesville, told The Times that of two dozen candidates, Julia stood out. “We are honored to recognize Julia as this year’s award recipient. The breadth of Julia’s engagement and involvement with so many organizations, in addition to career and family commitments, was a significant factor in elevating her nomination above others. Her passion and commitment for the Noblesville Community was very evident.”

The Woman of Impact winner was recently kind enough to sit down with a reporter and chat a bit about the award and a few other topics, including politics.

She is truly a nice person with a good head on her shoulders, and strong beliefs. Truth to tell, politics need her more than she probably needs politics.

A conversation won’t venture too far into that topic though. She waves it off.

“Maybe,” she says in answer to will she ever run for another office. She ran for mayor last time. “I don’t know. It’s not on the top of any list right now.”

Instead, she seems happier to talk about family, growing up here and the things that are more important in life. She doesn’t even talk much about her latest award and recognition.

“It’s humbling really,” she said of the WIN honor. “I just try to engage and help make things better in the organizations I’m involved with.”

She quickly transitions to the bigger picture.

“Community organizations are what make America great, what make America stronger,” she explained. “I’ve seen some really small towns that have really great (organizations) and those hold the town together.”

Kozicki, by trade, is an attorney and a partner at Church, Church, Hittle and Antrim. Her parents moved to Noblesville in 1966 and her father is a senior partner with the firm. Julia talks at length about Noblesville back then and the joy of growing up here.

“We lived at 317 N. 9th St.,” she smiled. “We’d ride our bikes around. Noblesville was just starting to grow.”

She went to Hinkle Creek and the junior high when it was on Field Drive.

Fast forward and she decided to go to law school in Chicago, but eventually, came back home.

“We live in a bubble in Hamilton County,” she said. “There are so many communities not growing, why would we not want to live here? It’s growing and people are engaged. We are just so fortunate to live (here). When you have the opportunity to go outside, it just reminds me every time how lucky we are to live in this place.”

-Two cents, which is about how much Timmons said his columns are worth, appears periodically in The Times. Timmons is the chief executive officer of Sagamore News Media, the company that owns The Noblesville Times. He is also a proud Noblesville High School graduate and can be contacted at ttimmons@thetimes24-7.com.