Uncorked! 2012

Competition Judges

Our "Captain" Judge:
Kelley Freeman, Owner, Carte Blanche Events

Kelley entered the special events industry fourteen years ago.  Spending several years with hotels, she then opened the Dave & Buster’s as a special events, marketing, and public relations coordinator for their 60,000 square foot complex located in North Bethesda.

From 1998 to 2003, Kelley served as the catering manager and wedding specialist for the historic Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC. During her tenure she created a wide range of special events, from intimate affairs for 30 guests to galas for 1000.  Kelley has hosted an entertained some of the world’s most famous people, including First Lady Laura Bush, the King and Queen of Sweden, foreign ambassadors to the United States, Fortune 500 company leaders and a host of well-known political figures.

For the past six years, Kelley has successfully directed and designed weddings, ceremonies and receptions for brides of all cultures and backgrounds, and has produced successful events for Washington’s most influential decision makers.

Kelley is the immediate past president of the National Association of Catering Executives and a member of their national board.  She is an active member of the International Special Events Society and the Women of Washington.

Since 1998, Kelley has donated her skills and time to produce successful fundraising events for Cystic fibrosis foundation. She remains active in a number of other philanthropic and charitable organizations.

Katie O'Malley, Maryland's First Lady and Judge

Katie O'Malley, First Lady of Maryland, has a long history of public service. In 1988, Judge Catherine Curran O’Malley (Katie) began her career in Law as a clerk in the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office. She attended Law school in the evenings at the University of Baltimore.

Work and school took up much of her time until 1990 when she married Martin O’Malley, who is currently the Governor of Maryland. In 1991, she and the Governor had their first child, Grace, while Katie was finishing her last semester of law school.

After graduating from law school and passing the bar exam, she was promoted to Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore County. She remained a prosecutor for ten more years and handled many domestic violence cases and child sexual and physical abuse cases.

During her years as a prosecutor, Judge O’Malley and Governor O’Malley had two more children, Tara and William and after being appointed to the bench in 2001 they had their fourth child, Jack.

The family lives in Government House, home to Maryland Governors and their families since 1870.

The First Lady has been a steadfast advocate for the rights of victims of domestic violence. For years, she has served in the fight to end domestic violence, participating in several House of Ruth functions and giving lectures both in Maryland and overseas.

In March 2009, Judge O’Malley spoke in Washington, DC as a guest of the U.S. State Department on women’s rights in America and domestic violence. Since 2007, she has traveled to Russia four times to speak on the effects of domestic violence on women internationally.

In Maryland, Judge O’Malley joined Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown to support and successfully pass legislation to remove firearms from the hands of domestic abusers. She continues to visit public and private schools, colleges and universities, and organizations around the state to promote domestic violence awareness for all families and children.

 
Julianne Smith, Editor, United With Love

Julianne Smith is a nationally recognized wedding accessory designer and media editor.

Julianne is the founder and editor of the Washington DC area’s top online magazine, United With Love. United With Love launched in 2010 as a blog to provide fresh and local inspiration for couples planning wedding in the DC area. It has quickly risen to be the region’s leading online wedding planning resource.

Julianne is the owner of The Garter Girl by Julianne Smith, a stylish wedding garter design company. Julianne began designing and hand creating simple, stylish wedding garters in 2005. Her couture creations are chic, modern and unique, causing brides to rethink the wedding garter tradition. 

Julianne’s stylish wedding garters have been featured on NBC’s Today Show, WeTV, Lifetime, Daily Candy, Martha Stewart, Brides.com, Glamour as well as many top wedding magazines and blogs. 

Prior to launching her wedding garter design company, Julianne was a political communications strategist. Julianne was a presidential appointee for then-President George W. Bush and the spokeswoman for the National Nuclear Security Administration. Julianne also worked on Capitol Hill serving as the communications director for a congressman.
 
Born Pennsylvania, Julianne currently lives with her husband and two children in Washington, D.C.

Rita St. Clair, FASID, Principal Designer, Rita St. Clair Associates

Rita St. Clair is an acclaimed interior designer and long-time supporter of this year’s beneficiary, Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland.  After studying interior design in New York and Paris, she eventually grew her business throughout Maryland, DC, and Virginia.  Her work has been featured in articles by more than fifteen local and national publications, and she has earned over a dozen awards including the Award for Design Excellence by the AIA Baltimore chapter, first place for the Designer Circle Awards competition, and many more.

In addition to serving on the board for Meals on Wheels, Rita is also involved in other community organizations such as the Family Tree, Design and Industry Foundation for AIDS, as well as the serving as an Interior Design Consultant for Maryland Institute College of Art. Additionally, Rita has traveled the globe, sharing her expertise during lectures and panel discussions for The Smithsonian Institute, DuPont Fibers Design Seminar, Scandinavian Furniture Fair, and several others.

This is Rita’s first year as a judge for the award-winning UNCORKED! event.  She has participated in the judging of the designer’s challenge for The Family Tree’s Great Chef’s Dinner, so the UNCORKED! committee is delighted to have her expertise on the panel.