by Sheli Ellsworth
Local couple Kay and Jerry Rich never dreamed of a life in the theatre. Nor did they ever envision hobnobbing with thespian types . . . but sometimes life has plans of its own.
The Riches moved to Ventura from Santa Clarita in 2005. They had a beach home on Silver Strand and decided to make it their permanent one when they retired. Kay taught fourth grade and had always stayed busy raising her family and earning a master’s degree. “After retiring and moving to the beach, I wanted to connect and make new friends.”
Kay Rich started volunteering for Assistance League of Ventura County where she met Penny Barnds and Bill Brewer, meal coordinator for Habitat volunteers. “Penny encouraged me to become involved with the Rubicon Theatre’s Grandes Dames and the feeding of the cast and crew.” Since 2007 Kay Rich has been preparing meals for the theatre’s cast and crew. For a couple of years prior to that she helped feed the folks that built Homes for Habitat. “When there are matinees and evening performances, the crew must be fed in between. In addition, we (Grandes Dames) provide meals for the cast and crew’s Meet and Greet and two meals during Tech Week”. The labor of love amounts to a dozen or more meals per year. “When the production is large, like Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady and A Christmas Carol, there may be 40 people to feed.” Rich is not afraid to ask her friends for help and her husband has become a permanent part of the preparation, transport and set-up crew.
How does Rich do it? “I’m not a gourmet chef. I’m an industrial cook, specializing in comfort foods. Costco, Von’s and Ralph’s help me a lot.” Rich prepares the dishes at home keeping in mind gluten-free, non-dairy and vegetarian requirements. “There is always a green salad. After that I can prepare with happy abandon.” Rich says her vegetable soup, meat loaves, enchiladas, lasagnas, beef stew and chicken casseroles are very well received. The Riches then transport the meal and set it up buffet style, see that everyone is fed and then clean up. They receive no compensation or reimbursement for the cost of the food.
What keeps the Riches in love with Ventura (besides all that work)? “There is the fabulous weather . . . the attitude of the people living in Ventura and the surrounding area is relaxed, friendly and community oriented. We are lucky to have some many fields of berries and other produce to keep a sense of connection to the earth.”
If the feeding of the stars isn’t enough, Rich also volunteers for her other passion, the Assistance League of Ventura County, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of Ventura County’s youth. The Assistance League School helps three to five-year-olds with speech and language delays; their Operation School Bell provides new clothing for needy school age children; the Girls Club/Teen Club is an after-school enrichment program and the B.U.F.F.Y Bear program provides cuddly bears for children in crisis. Rich volunteers at least twice monthly at The Bargain Box an upscale thrift shop, and major fundraiser for the organization.
How does Rich find the energy for her volunteer activity? “I swim a mile at the Pierpont Racquet Club a couple of times a week and attend Sizzlin’ Seniors exercise classes.”
Kay Rich definitely sizzles.
