Editor’s note: This is the second of a five-part series on the five local women who will be inducted into the Highland County Women’s Hall of Fame at the annual recognition dinner on Tuesday, Aug. 16. The event starts at 6 p.m. at the Southern State Community College Atrium in Hillsboro. Tickets are $16 each and can be purchased at The Times-Gazette.
Paige Juillerat is a household name, particularly around Leesburg. Paige has been a servant and devout leader in her community. Her contributions to her community and her amazing poise through personal turmoil have provided others with comfort, hope, and spiritual strength.
She has donated many benefits to several families, and provided donations to many community agencies to provide services through her salon. She has supported and helped with the head start teacher’s banquet and Leesburg teacher luncheon. She has encouraged and collected needed items to provide to the local homeless shelter.
For the past three years she has donated time and services to the Alternatives to Violence Center during their annual Tea for Tweens, Teens, and Queens Event which promotes awarenss of domesitc violence. She has also sponsored and donated to their annual Trivia Night fundraiser. She is currently hosting a fundraising effort for Community Christmas throughout Highland County Community Action.
She is the newest member of the Hillsboro Junior Women’s Club. The motto is, “Let our lives be such as to help the lives of others.” The motto could be Paige’s personal tagline. She is truly a supporter of her community. She has personally affected my family when she sponsored, donated, planned and accomplished an event in effort to raise money to help my family fund IVF treatments. The event was held in downtown Leesburg, complete with a yard sale, baked goods and pizza sale, live DJ, bounce house, and a cut-a-thon. She was able to pull an entire community together to give something to our family that can never be repaid.
Monetarily, she raised thousands of dollars. The lengths that she went to help a family transplanted into Leesburg by chance for only a few years at that point, known only by a couple of neighbors was immeasurable. The coming together of a community orchestrated by Paige ultimately led to a piece of my heart.
Aubrey was born February 2015, and is lovingly known around town as “Baby-Leesburg,” and “the baby Mane Street made.” Paige opened a hair salon, “Mane Street” in April of 2012. Many could say her shop has doubled as her donation collection center! It’s not unlikely while waiting for one’s hair to dry one can find totes tucked away in corners full of hygiene items awaiting to be delivered to local shelters.
When speaking to friends and family about her accomplishments in regard to this nomination, her commitment to generosity and compassion are even more verified. Her anonymous random acts of kindness coupled with donations to people she has never met is highlighted and echoed by many. Family members jokingly may say she is “a pain,” however, it’s likely because they know she’ll be asking for them to help out a good cause. Her mother lovingly says she started giving to others as early as first grade. She realized then that not every little child was taken care of like she was. Her mother states Paige would pray for those children.
This past New Year’s Eve Paige faced a parent’s worst nightmare. Her infant son, Lincoln, passed away at the tender age of 4 months old. As a parent I grieved for her. I, along with countless others cried outwardly in pain and heartbreak. An amazingly beautiful and seemingly healthy child taken so soon.
I attended the funeral of young Lincoln and witnessed a community pulled together by great tragedy. Within the first few minutes of friends calling a line formed outside the doors, winding around the inside of the beautiful structured building. With each person that approached the service line, Paige stood strong with her head high and held others as they wept. At a time when one would expect her to be the weakest, she held others and comforted them in the heartache.
In this digital age Facebook is commonplace. Hundreds of people reach out to Paige during this time, to which she replied, “I just want to tell everyone thank you for your prayers and kind words. Lincoln James was an amazing sweet boy. I an rest easy knowing that my baby boy went to sleep last night and woke up to the face of our Lord. That’s what I hold on to, that’s all any of us can do. Kiss my girls goodnight and be in my husband’s arms and dream of my son’s new life with Jesus.”
Through everything, Paige held onto faith and encouraged others to do the same. Her unrelenting devotion reminded so many the importance of God, and encouraged many, including myself, that people can and should find comfort in their place of worship.
Paige is an amazing person. She has a singing voice that would take your breath away, and a spirit about her that makes one joyous to be a part of her life. Through strife she preservers and provides comfort and strength to others. She is a person one wants to aspire to be, and holds values that one longs to instill in their children. Paige is a prime example of giving back to our community. She is a giving, selfless soul who undoubtedly deserves to be included in the Highland County Women’s Hall of Fame.
Submitted by the Highland County Women’s Hall of Fame.
