Julie Wrightsman is President of Maintenance Coatings Company which she owns with her Brother Jeff Schuldt. MCC is a pavement marking and traffic control company serving the road building industry in Northern Illinois. Julie is involved in both ATSSA Illinois (American Safety Services Association) as the past president and in IRTBA (Illinois Road and Transportation Association) as the Chair of the Equal Opportunity committee, a current board member and Chair Elect with her 2 year term commencing in January or 2022.
Q&A with Julie
How did you get into the road building industry?
My father owned Maintenance Coatings. Neither my siblings or I worked for MCC or in the industry growing up and had no intentions of doing so. When my father wanted to retire and his succession plan fell through, he turned to his offspring and said, “Have you ever considered striping roads for a living?”. A couple of us decided to give it a shot. My brother and I call ourselves “Plan B”.
What's your favorite game or sport?
I am a cyclist and am happiest on either my road bike away from civilization on country roads or on my mountain bike in the woods.
What makes you laugh?
Corny jokes! “Two peanuts walking down the street…… one was assaulted. 😊
What is your most memorable vacation?
My most memorable vacation was an 8-day trip through Tuscany on bikes with my now husband. Bikes & Wine, need I say more? Oh, and spending time with Lou was pretty of fun too!
If you came with a warning label, what would it say?
I am a spiller. It would say “Wear white at your own risk” (Trace Morse would attest to this).
What is the most interesting or unique fact about you?
When I was growing up there were not very many sports teams for girls. I was the only girl on my Little League team. I think playing on an almost all male sports team helped prepare me for my career in road construction.