Since Visit Ventura doesn’t do soulless press releases, we will tell you that Julie Madsen is caring, smart, talented, dynamic, and yes, a University of California, Berkeley graduate with an honors degree in Media Studies. She is also a Ventura native, making her perfect for Visit Ventura’s Communications and Publication Relations Coordinator position.

“We don’t hire our employees based entirely on resumes, because no resume completely encompasses the traits that make everyone on the Visit Ventura team unique,” says Marlyss Auster, Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau President & CEO. “If anything you could say our overwhelming requirement is that you carry Ventura in your heart, and then have the skills to convey that love. Julie has those special attributes and the skills to match. And we look forward to discovering more of her special qualities as her career here unfolds.”

Visit Ventura’s Communications and Publication Relations Coordinator has a wide range of job responsibilities (other than carrying Ventura in their heart). Communicating means writing blogs, press releases, newsletters, and website text. It also means organizing visits for journalists and influencers and working closely (and warmheartedly) with them; all with the intent of shedding a positive tourism light on Ventura. The Communications and Publication Relations Coordinator also works closely – and with a wide smile – with everyone from Ventura businesses to global tourism organizations like Visit California.

“I am honored and grateful to join the Visit Ventura team. I’ve been welcomed with open arms and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to land,” says Madsen, who grew up in Ventura, attending Elmhurst Elementary, Anacapa Middle School and Buena High School. “I’m excited to jump into this role and have the opportunity to share with others why Ventura and its people are so special and unique.”

Anyone who wishes to give Julie a warm Ventura welcome (you don’t have to be from Ventura to understand the happy power of a warm welcome) can reach Julie at [email protected]; 805-641-1400.

And so Visit Ventura continues on the mission it always follows. To do the next right thing for the town they love.

“Julie is perfect for Visit Ventura and Ventura, because the two are one and the same,” says Visit Ventura Director of Marketing Mike Laan. “We’re so very happy she’s here. Because all we want is Ventura to be the best it can be. And now our Visit Ventura team will continue to do everything they can do to help make that so.”

Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) is one of 55 entities to receive a 2022 AHEAD grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco for projects that will boost economic development activity and promote financial stability. Community West Bank partnered with FHLBank San Francisco to award a 2022 AHEAD grant totaling $27,500 for the WEV Advancing Economic Empowerment through Entrepreneurship initiative.

AHEAD economic development grants enable FHLBank San Francisco member financial institutions including Community West Bank to fund economic development projects that target pressing community needs and bring greater opportunity to underserved populations. The 2022 AHEAD program awarded a total of $1.5 million in communities throughout Arizona, California, and Nevada. A full list of 2022 AHEAD grants are available on the Bank’s website.

WEV programs provide entrepreneurs with targeted training, consulting, and capital to increase their business management skills, financial acumen, and confidence to create and sustain viable businesses, promote long-term business resiliency, and improve economic security for them and their families.

WEV CEO Kathy Odell says, “This grant Award helps fund our work supporting business growth and the financial health of disadvantaged entrepreneurs.” Odell added that, “in the last two years, we have significantly expanded outreach to business owners of color – particularly Spanish-speakers – by adding bilingual staff and coaches, as well as developing new Spanish-language training programs and resources such as our free mentoring program.”

Since 1991, WEV has provided business training and small business advisory services to more than 28,000 people throughout Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. WEV has made more than $6.9 million in small business loans and helped nearly 5,300 local businesses start or expand, generating an estimated $873 million in annual sales and creating over 12,400 local jobs. WEV is a U.S. Small Business Administration’s Women’s Business Center and Microlender, as well as a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).

To support WEV’s work, please visit www.wevonline.org/support.

On Saturday, October 15th the Assistance League® of Ventura County will be hosting an Author’s Luncheon at the Four Points by Sheraton Ventura Harbor. This fundraiser features three amazing authors, each representing a different genre (non-fiction, fiction, and children’s books). Each of the writers will be discussing their work, diving into how they weave together the stories that grace the pages of their books. The event includes a three-course luncheon, silent auction, and more, with all proceeds benefitting the philanthropic programs of Assistance League® of Ventura County. Below are some details about each author and their books.

Betsy Blanchard Chess is the local non-fiction writer of Daughter of the Land: Growing Up in the Citrus Capitol of the World, which tells the story of a free-spirited child of privilege sheltered amongst the lemon and orange groves of the Santa Clara Valley. This tale weaves both family legacy and how the author fits into the story of her pioneering ancestors.

Award-winning author Sheila Lowe writes stories of psychological suspense that puts ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. Like her fictional character Claudia Rose in the award-winning Forensic Handwriting series, Sheila is a real-life forensic handwriting examiner who is recognized as an expert in the court system. She also writes the Beyond the Veil paranormal suspense series and nonfiction books about handwriting and personality.

Children’s author Sarah Lynn Scheerger is a school-based counselor and the author of eight books, ranging from picture books to middle-grade novels to young adult novels. Her debut middle-grade novel, Operation Frog Effect, was nominated for four 2020-2021 regional lists (Sunshine State Young Readers List Selection, Maryland Black-Eyed Susan, Surrey Schools Book of The Year selection, VA READS) and nominated for three 2021-2022 lists (Young Hoosier Book Award, Land of Enchantment Book Award, Louisiana Young Reader’s Choice Award).

Tickets to this event cost $65, and can be purchased on their website noted below. The doors open at 9AM, with the event running to 10AM-1PM. For more information, please contact the organization at 805.643.2458 or [email protected]. You can find them at www.assistanceleagueventuracounty.org as well as on Facebook and Instagram.

by Mary Olson

Ventura County Library has announced this year’s One County, One Book selection: Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen.

One County, One Book is a program which aims to unite the Ventura County community around a common narrative, spreading interest in and facilitating discussions about the selected book.

Taste Makers is Sen’s book debut and was published in November of 2021. In it he explores America’s modern culinary history through the lives of seven pathbreaking chefs and food writers. Stretching from World War II to the present, the deeply researched stories of China’s Chao Yang Buwei, Mexico’s Elena Zelayeta, France’s Madeleine Kamman, Italy’s Marcella Hazan, India’s Julie Sahni, Iran’s Najmieh Batmanglij, Jamaica’s Norma Shirley, and an interlude about Julia Child, weave together histories of food, immigration and gender.

Mayukh Sen is a James Beard and IACP Award–winning writer whose work has been anthologized in three editions of The Best American Food Writing. He teaches food writing at Columbia University’s Creative Writing program.

Copies of the book will be available to borrow from all Ventura County Library branches. Discussions and related events will run through the month of October.

Cal Lutheran will present a panel of professors and alums to talk about the role of food (like chocolate) in American history and culture with Dr. Sam Claussen, Chef Antonio Sessa (’15), and Dr. Michaela Reaves at Cal Lutheran’s Lundring Event Center (130 Overton Ct, Thousand Oaks) on Thursday, October 20, 7:00 to 8:30 pm. For more information about the panel, contact Michaela Reaves at [email protected]

The Hill Road Library Book Club will discuss the One County One Book selection at their October meeting, Tuesday, October 25 at 5 pm.

One County, One Book culminates with a special author event with Mayukh Sen at 2 pm on Saturday, November 12 at California State University, Channel Islands’ Grand Salon.

Registration for the Author Talk with Mayukh Sen is free but required.

To offset the travel and venue expenses of the free author event, the Ventura County Library Foundation is hosting Passports, a lively discussion with local food influencers followed by small bites representative of the food cultures in Ventura County. Passports will begin at noon in the Grand Salon. Topics ranging from County food trends to local and worldwide food issues will be led by CAPS Media Executive Director Patrick Davidson. Guests will include local restaurateur Chef Tim Kilcoyne, recently returned from Lviv, Ukraine where he served as Director of Chef Operations for World Central Kitchen, to Monica White, CEO and Executive Director of Ventura’s Food Share. Tami Chu, editor of Edible Ojai & Ventura County and Chef Adam Hart of Oxnard College’s culinary program will weigh in on local farm-to-table practices. Ukraine-raised Masha Rumer will round out the discussion on how family traditions are shared through generations of recipes and how they morph from country to country.

Tickets for both events are available starting September 20 at www.vclibraryfoundation.org, free for the author event and $75 for Passports.

Sponsors of the One County, One Book program are Premier America Credit Union, the Ventura County Community College District, the Ventura County Star, Conejo Valley Lifestyle Magazine, Mustang Marketing, Montecito Bank & Trust, the Ventura Friends of the Library, and the Ventura County Library Foundation.

by Kylee Brown

The Ventura County Fair has long been a much-anticipated staple in Ventura’s beach community, bringing family, friends and visitors together. Like most events, it had some adjustments during the pandemic, including being canceled altogether in 2020 and 2021. In August of 2021, however, there was a smaller event called the Summerfest Carnival that was held at part of the fairgrounds by a separate organization, which was warmly welcomed by a community that had been missing a fair-like experience.

The official county fair returned this year with the theme “Country Fair with Ocean Air”, and also commemorated its 147th year. Locals were excited to welcome it back, and shared their thoughts about the ways the event has evolved since the pandemic.

Carrie Cocain, a 14-year-old Ventura native, has been going to the fair for as long as she can remember. She shared that this year was also really special because of the connections made with friends. “I’m glad that this year the fair is back and we got to see all the exhibits and animals again,” Cocain said.

Some folks were hesitant to even visit any event due to concerns about safety in crowds and the pandemic, but Alma Dearas, from Oxnard decided to give it a try nonetheless. “We were iffy about coming to the fair even at the end of the pandemic, but I had just had my baby and wanted to go as a family,” said Dearas. She appreciated that the fair once again encapsulated the entire fairground area as in former years.

One special thing about being a Ventura County local for many is growing up going to the fair every summer. High school sophomores Tristan Sommars and Alanna Bowen have been in attendance since elementary school. When asked if the 2022 fair has changed for the better, Sommars explained that there are now more things to do and because of that, it seems like a bigger demographic of people travel to the fair from other areas.

by Ross Williams

After almost two years, the gates of Juanamaria Elementary are finally open to parents. I’ve had the pleasure of walking my children to the doors of their classrooms. I’ve seen the hooks lined with colorful backpacks in the halls and the happy children running to the playground as we parents all said our goodbyes. My wife and I were even able to sit at our daughter’s desks during Back to School night and have a quick chat with their teachers. School is back to normal and it’s fantastic.

The first few chaotic days of school are done and everyone has settled into the rhythm of the new school year. But there is a part of the school community that has been hard at work for months. The PTA/PTO Parent Teacher partnerships at our schools have been busy preparing all summer long. These hopeful parents are excited to be a part of their children’s academic lives and happily volunteer their time, energy, resources and patience.

I didn’t understand the amount of time and real focus that the parents who volunteer regularly put in. It truly is a “80-20 rule” relationship with a small percentage of the parents doing most of the heavy lifting. The PTA is run as an all-volunteer community program and these parents put in time and energy in exchange for their children to be able to participate in core memory, building fun activities and programs.

A field trip? A dance? A fun hula hoop assembly? All put together by the PTA and funded by programs such as the Sport A Thon, sales of T-shirts and candy, dining out collaborations with local restaurants and so much more. Each activity is made possible by the school children and their families. The work that they put in and the money that they collect make every single event possible.

With the PTA at the forefront, this is a community at its finest. All coming together for the good of their school and their children. And it’s hard work. There’s insurance and taxes, logistics and scheduling. Not to mention the long hours and hard labor involved in the design and decor.

I’ve always felt a little awkward hawking candy at Christmas for my kids and pushing for financial contributions for various school activities. My wonderful wife, a dedicated PTA volunteer and Girl Scout Troop Leader never had such qualms. Because she’s seen how the sausage is made. That every wonderful activity throughout the school year is made possible by our donated dollars and the wonderful people that roll up their sleeves.

We should all be so proud of our communities’ programs. They are all made possible by us as a whole. They are the definition of community.