Events

Korinne Bell oversees Ventura County's Department of Agriculture and the Division of Weights and Measures.  During her tenure, she has worked in and overseen a wide range of programs, including Pesticide Use Enforcement, Pest Exclusion, Certified Farmers’ Markets, Organic Certification, Standardization, the Pierce’s Disease Control Program, Agricultural Disaster Assessment, and the publication of the annual Ventura County Crop & Livestock Report.

https://awm.venturacounty.gov/meet-the-commissioner/

Often among our favorite programs, Get Acquainted Talks are an opportunity for club members to get to know each other. We typically split the talk between a new member and a veteran of the club. 

Lifelong learning doesn't end with retirement — it often begins a new chapter. Join us as we welcome representatives from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at CSU Channel Islands, who will introduce a vibrant educational program created for adults age 50 and better. OLLI offers university-level courses, lectures, and discussions with no exams or grades — just the opportunity to keep your mind active, explore new subjects, and connect with fellow lifelong learners.

For many Rotarians, the mission of OLLI is a natural fit. Rotary's commitment to service, curiosity, and personal growth extends well beyond our professional lives, and OLLI provides an engaging way to continue learning while building community. Whether you're interested in history, science, literature, current events, or the arts, you'll discover how this remarkable local resource can enrich your life long after your formal education has ended.

On June 27, 2023, Reed Christy’s life changed in an instant when he was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle. The crash left him with catastrophic injuries, including the loss of his right leg above the knee, and began a long and difficult road of surgeries, rehabilitation and recovery.

But Reed’s story is ultimately less about what happened to him than about how he chose to live afterward. A longtime health, fitness and human-performance professional, Reed now speaks about resilience, gratitude and the discipline of being fully present — lessons forged not in theory, but through an experience that forced him to reconsider what truly deserves our attention.

Join the Rotary Club of Ojai on Friday, September 25, for an inspiring and deeply personal conversation about surviving sudden change, rebuilding a life and discovering how much of that life can be found simply by paying attention to the moment we’re in.

Please join us as we welcome District 5240 Governor Margarida Eidson for one of the most important Rotary meetings of the year.

A member of the Rotary Club of Ventura East since 2017, Margarida has quickly distinguished herself as a dynamic leader at both the club and district levels. She served as Club President in 2020–2021 and again during the final quarter of 2023 before taking on a series of key district leadership roles: Youth Services Director (2021–2022), Assistant Governor (2022–2023), Chief of Staff (2023–2024), and now District Governor for the 2026–2027 Rotary year.

Professionally, Margarida is president of Eidson Management, Inc., providing bookkeeping, financial analysis, marketing, and human resources services to a diverse portfolio of clients. Her company also manages the Poinsettia Pavilion, Ventura's well-known nonprofit community event center. Beyond Rotary, she serves as Treasurer of the Ventura Police Community Foundation and has dedicated countless hours to community service throughout Ventura County.

Originally from Portugal, Margarida is also a former professional ballet dancer, the proud mother of four sons, and someone who believes service should be balanced with family, fun, and creativity.

Five Things You May Not Know About Margarida

• 🇵🇹 She was born and raised in Portugal.
• 🩰 She was a professional ballet dancer.
• 🌊 Every summer, she and her four sons celebrate the end of Junior Lifeguards by swimming around the Ventura Pier together.
• 🧶 She enjoys knitting and crocheting to relax.
• ⛺ During her sons' Boy Scout years, she spent many summers camping alongside them at Scout camps.

Come hear District Governor Margarida Eidson share her vision for Rotary, celebrate the accomplishments of our district, and inspire us for the year ahead. This is a meeting every Rotarian will want to attend.

Jordan Kear is an expert on the Ojai groundwater basin and among other duties is a consultant to the City of Ojai.  He will give us an update on from where our water comes, where it is stored and where it goes.. 

https://www.keargroundwater.com/

November is Rotary Foundation Month and here's what your International Service Committee is able to do by leveraging your contributions to TRF.

“Each of us has a unique experience and relationship with California,” said California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick. “It is a place of bounty of innovation, opportunity, and progress, as well as difficulty and violence, challenges, and areas of need. Poetry can be a bridge to personal and societal change, and it can show us new ways of seeing ourselves and the world around us.”

Almost a decade ago a box of letters  was received at your Ojai Valley Museum that chronicles the coorespondence between a husband and wife who both grew up in the Ojai Valley but were often apart.  The story of two restless families spaning roughly 1870 to 1920 and ranging from New England to Mexico to Southern California can now be told through the words of this couple, their multcultural parents and their progeny as a publication and as an exhibit at the Ojai Valley Museum.

John Krist is a Ventura County journalist and author who now travels the Western U.S. and beyond chronicling the natjural history of the area and those who have peopled it.  He will be speaking on two of the main routes of the great migration to our western shores: The Santa Fe Trail and the Oregon Trail.  More of his travels and family lore can be found at:  https://johnkrist.substack.com/