SERVICE ABOVE SELF Claremont Rotary Year 91 | Week 23 | June 5, 2020

Ken Johnson, Educator, Trauma Therapist, Artist, Author submitted by Lark Gerry

Susie Ilsley introduced her husband, Kendall (Ken) John- over the past twenty- son, a fourth generation Claremont resident and a third five years, many front generation Claremont native. Ken was raised on a lemon page headliners, that grove. His father Roger Johnson, was a philosopher, a Ki- stand out in the nation’s wanis club member, and his mother Patricia Johnson, was memory. From 1987 to a teacher, and both were artists. Ken’s father did land- 2012 Ken served as trau- scape design and his mother did water color painting. His matic stress consultant medical doctors at one point in his life happened to be Dr. to emergency service John Ilsley ( Susie’s dad ), a member of Claremont Rotary, agencies and the military in various settings, often in the and also Dr. Morrill Ilsley (Susie’s grandfather). field It is within the extremes of life experience that im- portant lessons can be learned, that character comes to Growing up in Claremont, Ken went to local schools. He the fore, and that human nature, for better and worse is has several advanced degrees including a doctorate in Clin- most clearly revealed. This is important background ical Psychology and is licensed by the state of California. that influenced Ken’s art. And now, Ken Johnson!! His specialty is psychological trauma. He has been an ad- junct faculty member at Mt. San Antonio College, and was Program begins on page 4 faculty at the International Critical Incident Foundation in Maryland and in that capacity lectured throughout the U.S. and abroad. He has consulted with Los Angeles Coun- ty Department of Mental Health, California Specialized En- gineers, Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Chan- cellor’s Office of the New York City schools. A psychother- apist in private practice, Ken has authored seven books on psychological trauma and recovery, and has served on the editorial advisory board for The International journal of Emergency Mental Health. In addition, Ken has authored four books of poetry, and served as Director at Gallery 57 Underground in Pomona. His most recent book Chaos and Ashes, Literary nonfiction, California interest essays will be released this summer by Pelekinesis. It records his views from the inside of some of the largest critical incidents

LAST WEEK’s MEETING ONLINE submitted by Cameron Troxell Inside Program p.1, 4, 5 Here is the link to the recording of the meeting of Friday, June 5. As always, Guests, Inspiration, Announcements p.2 thanks to those who participated, brought guests, and shared in virtual fel- Sergeant p.3 lowship. District Assembly p.5 Rotarian in Action: Francis Limbe p.6, 7 All are welcome! Zoom is almost like being there!! Events, Birthdays, Bits’ Thoughts p.8 The Clarifier Page 2 Rotary, the Zoom Meeting submitted by Harry Sparrow Cameron welcomed each member as we signed into our Zoom meeting. There was the usual banter. After a little bit of catching up and asides, Cameron said that based on the positive re- sponse to the breakout rooms last week, would definitely do it again and, based on a member request, the breakout groups would be a little smaller and he would let the sessions this week run a little bit longer (or so he said). We broke away for the sessions, but technology had a different idea as Cameron accidentally hit the wrong icon/button and inadvertently called us back in about 5 minutes instead of the promised 10. Nonetheless, the consensus was again that the breakouts are fun and a good simulation of the kind of table talk we have when meeting in person. Welcome Guests and Visiting Rotarians What Singing Club? Leah Zimmerman is now a familiar face. It was Mark Carson’s birthday and so the Can member induction be far behind? club serenaded him with Happy Birthday. Ian Sylvia Whitlock pointed out her guest Standley entered a comment in the chat box questioning the quality of the musical perfor- from Albany, New York, District Gover- mance; this led to an agreement that Mark’s nor Larry Jones. Sylvia was invited to be song would be the extent of the day’s sing- the keynoter for District 7190 the next ing. Mark said he awakened to balloons and a bottle of morning. Later, during the Sergeant ses- wine (for later) followed by a birthday hike in San Dimas sion, Larry talked about the area that he Canyon. Later in the day that there would be a nice dinner represents; he stressed that upstate with Kelly that would be followed by Zooming with friends. New York is significantly different from New York City. In a good way? Inspiration for the Day Announcements Cameron asked before we left for the breakouts wheth- th er anyone had been asked to provide the thought for the Anita Hughes said that since there will be no formal 4 of day, but if not, someone might volunteer a thought. Ron July celebration this year, the city is not charging for ban- Coleman immediately called out his thought: “I used to ners on the streetlights. Our club’s banner is on the north st be indecisive, but now I’m not so sure.” [Insert groan side of 1 street not far from the Economy Shop. Anita said here]. we should salute the banner whenever we drive past. After the breakout, Lark Gerry noted that she had IPP Ron Coleman is chairing the debunking committee for brought up an idea in her breakout session to bring to the debunking of President Cameron Troxell, scheduled on the club. Since restrictions on dining out have been July 1. If you would like to help, just let Ron know! The eased, it might be possible for us to find a venue for an next meeting is on zoom June 17 at 5:30pm. All but Cam- in-person meeting soon. We all agreed that while some eron are welcome! members likely would choose to be cautious and not Lucinda McDade announced the California Botanic Gar- attend, many of us would be interested as long as appro- den online auction / annual fundraiser being held instead priate social distancing and other precautions would be of the annual gala. It’s open now for bids! taken. A number of possible venues were mentioned The annual District Assembly training sessions will be (e.g. patios at Elvira’s, Nuno’s), and the consensus was offered free online on Thursday evenings from June 4-25. All that we should also see if we could use the courtyard at are scheduled from 6-7 pm. Ask Buff for more infor- the DoubleTree, which we’ve done before. Anita mation. You can register on Dacdb. Remaining sessions: Hughes will check this out with DoubleTree catering. Membership Session June 18 Consider: Would members enjoy meeting as small Foundation Session June 25 (at least two members) groups around special topics such as planning projects need to attend for Club to be eligible for Dist. Grants) for the Rotary year (with or without another virus out- The first (free and) virtual Rotary International Convention break), discussing Club priorities, Community needs, will be online June 20-26. etc.? If so, send a note to erstwhile Clarifier editor, Buff. https://www.riconvention.org/en Speaking of Zoom etiquette: Convention Breakout sessions (starting at 6 am PDT) remember that you’re always https://www.riconvention.org/en/honolulu/breakout- on screen unless you “mute” sessions-schedule your video. Or, don’t stand up!

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It’s a Fine Day he has bid on a number of items, and has been outbid So the sergeant must be John Tulac! John is on some. John said that one of the items is a piece by becoming a bit of a regular in this role be- our speaker, Ken Johnson, that John really wants. Out- cause he is just as comfortable on Zoom as bid John for a good cause! when we are all in the room. Actually, it is rumored that Next on John’s list was Zoe TeBeau. Zoe has been hold- John spends more time in Zoom meetings than he does ing estate sales online. As the state and in in-person conversations. county are easing stay at home re- John has always loved low hanging fruit and so he imme- strictions, she plans to stick with the diately fined Cameron for his “trigger finger” on closing online approach until she is confident the breakout sessions. Then out of the blue, John asked that it is safe to do otherwise. And she the name of Francis Scott Key’s brother. The answer is likes it! FINE! Francis “Off” Key, which was a precursor to another fine Nothing escapes John’s eye. He called out Jim Marchant for Cameron for the singing of the birthday song (which for having posted a thought for the day via the chat he disavowed). Mark Carson, of course, was fined for his box. Jim noted that he had lots of thoughts, but “since birthday. And John, for his joke. What goes around…. we aren’t supposed to talk politics here,” Jim’s thought Kelly Carson was fined for her excellent craft talk last was almost definitely apolitical: week. Kelly said that the talk had been good for her “Men who know little are often health: it was the most cardio activity she had all week. great talkers, while men who know She said her favorite part of the presentation was “the much say little.” Jim noted that he end of it.” Speaking of excellent craft talks, Barbara should revise the thought to remove Troxell was fined for her great talk as well. John asked gender from it. if Cameron had offered a post-presentation critique, John called out Francis Limbe for his probably hoping to fine Cameron again, but Barbara said eyeglasses. Francis said he was no, he had just said “good job.” working and needed them for read- Ian Standley was fined for using the ing. John said Francis should be chat box to be a music critic. Ian turned attending our meeting, not working the tables and said John should be fined and (to be nicer) asked if Francis was because Ian saw Elizabeth Tulac, John’s reading something interesting. (Likely so, look at the wife, at the Claremont demonstration story beginning on page 6.) march (with a mask?). John noted that it looked like John following the sergeant credo of “no good deed Jerry Tambe had again been should go unpunished” fined Susie Ilsley for arranging “dumped in the middle of no- for our speaker for this meeting, Susie’s husband Ken where.” (it was just a virtual Johnson. background) Jerry said it was Moab, Utah and talked about John asked Sean Gallagher to tell us his trip that included a 50-mile dirt road about activities at the California (née ride in a jeep to get to the site. At this Rancho Santa Ana) Botanic Garden. Sean point Cameron interjected that he said it’s a great place for a walk and he thought there was another reason to has been buying native plants “nonstop” fine Jerry. It seems Jerry has a “grand for his backyard. The plant shop is open online; you puppy” chocolate lab, recently named place your order online and then you receive infor- Fry (as in small fry) by son Patrick Tambe, who is back at mation as to where to pick up your order in the parking work. Who’s taking care of that puppy? lot. John used this as a foil to work in the fact that he had distributed a picture of a hamster wearing a mask. John asked Juli Minoves-Triquell (Segue?) Then to make that sound serious, he explained what he had been up to. Buff inter- tests had been run using groups of hamsters with and jected that based on his counte- without masks; the ones with the masks had fewer cases nance he has obviously been in of the virus. John quickly pivoted back to say that he quarantine. Juli said he had been thought the CBG had done a great job with the email an- grading papers for the several nouncing the reopening and the upcoming fundraiser. days. This then led to conversation about Juli’s virtual (see announcement with link to the auction) Sean noted background photo that showed an RV. (or is that the Trinity College library?) The Clarifier Page 4

Sergeant, continued My next project was Johnson’s pasture. In June of 2017, I gave Claremont The last target for John was Sean Harrison. Rotary an historical lec- The topic was Sean’s virtual background pho- ture and showed some to. Sean said that he felt it was better than photographs that in- “the toilet picture that I signed in with.” spired some paintings John handed the reins over to Cameron who launched the that ended up being ex- program for the day. A Fine Ending. hibited by California Bo- tanic Garden. I did the Johnson, cont’d show again at the gallery at Claremont Heritage, My 40 years of teaching included about 20 years teaching which published it as a high school art. Prior to completing college I worked in book. emergency and fire services and in the military. While working as a teacher, I gradually built a side gig doing psy- About 18 months ago, I did an exhibit at Sasse Muse- chotherapy with clinical trauma, a specialty. I published um of Art, showing my desert painting Melting on Air. several books in that area prior to retirement from teach- This eventually will be a ing. Retirement has been an amazing thing, and I really rec- book. It is something. I ommend that all of us retire immediately because it is such feel that we are turning fun. You get a chance to do what you want. Here’s how it into desert far more played out for me. quickly than we realize. The thought of being hap- I started painting. I had painted all along as an art teacher py wherever you are has but gradually took it more seriously and it became my focus to do with the way you in early retirement years. One day, after I had taken over look at where you are, the directorship of Gallery 57 of Pomona, without my and our attitudes toward deserts must change. In the knowledge, a reading group of past we’ve looked at deserts as being a wasteland and poets had been scheduled. I that’s just dead wrong. It’s a fascinating, wonderful had an exhibit up on the wall place; Melting on Air ex- with some fragments of writing plores that. At that exhibit I had done trying to recapture I got to lecture art students some memories that were lost on some 35 pieces of art on to amnesia. The poets said, display. this is interesting stuff. Would you mind getting up and reading this? Well, yeah, I mind- Last year, I received a call ed! I could lecture in front of 150 to 1000 people without a from Gene Sasse to consider writing a book. He said problem, but reading that very there were full resolution, beautiful photographs very personal stuff to a group of po- painstakingly taken of paintings by Van Gogh which of ets was terrifying, Oh my God, course are copyrighted. However, Gene had access to I thought I was going to col- them and wanted to collaborate in doing a virtual ex- lapse in the middle from a hibit for the Sasse Museum of Art. I agreed to do so heart attack, which I managed only if granted creative liberties with the material, not to do. that is, to write in such a way to allow the reader to engage personally in the work of Van Gogh. I agree My connection to writing was with John Brantingham, poet with David Hockney’s re- and writer, chosen as Sequoia and Kings Canyon National cent statement that how- Parks’ first Poet Laureate and one of Cameron’s colleagues ever important a figure at Mt. San Antonio College. John helped me with my Van Gogh is in the history writing, which has culminated in several books of poetry of 19th century art, he is and writing for Fragments that was eventually put into a very much a contemporary book, Fragments: An Archeology of Memory. On the basis painter. I didn’t feel that I of the book, I got asked to go up to Siskiyou county where could bring that out if I they were having a Veterans initiative to do an exhibit. made him sound dead. That was two years ago. The e-book Dear Vincent Continued, p. 5 The Clarifier Page 5

was written in a dialogic from, a conversation. It was pub- District Assembly General Session lished in January. You can read it free of charge on the Sasse website. Three elements describe my approach: Despite some technical difficulties, The District Assembly General Session June 4 was full of good information to 1. A basic introduction to the work stimulate our thinking about Rotary’s impact on the 2. A quote from Van Gogh himself, from his letters world. Watch video here. 3. A poem. An ekphrastic epistolary - a personal letter Johrita Solari, Rotary International Vice President and prompted by a piece of artwork. I used haibun; prose Director, talked about membership and the disruption of poetry followed by a Tanka verse of five lines. The COVID 19. Her passion is Polio Plus, and she noted her prose sets the context, the tanka version makes it more gratitude that the district has just sent $30,000 to the immediate. polio initiative, boosted by donations district wide to To illustrate, Ken read from the book about the painting Peppa the Pig. A 6x match turned our money into a total Mulberry tree, which is available to view in the Norton Si- of $180,000. mon Museum in Pasadena. RI Director Nominee Vicki Puliz spoke about the Rotary Chaos & Ash, one of two current projects, is a book of Action Plan, developed in consultation with Rotarians memoir pieces prompted by my work as a trauma consult- worldwide. It includes four priorities: Increase our Im- ant. A multi exposure of several of my photos taken in pact, expand our reach, enhance participant engage- the field, with other images such as photos of my ment and increase our ability to adapt, all to create lasting change and transform lives. She sited a diction- ary project that has provides thousands of dictionaries to children in African nations. Using that example, we need to be sure that we’re actually producing measurable re- sults...more graduates, etc. Brenda Cressey Trustee of The Foundation of RI Explained that the RI Foundation stepped up with disas- ter relief grants for COVID relief. No match was required for $25,000 grants, which went quickly to fill urgent needs. She also made a plea for more funding for Polio Plus. Our individual donations are matched 2x by the paintings. I’ve got a series of 16 pieces going on display at Gates Foundation. Even though immunizations are sus- the Maloof Museum. pended during COVID restrictions, they will start up My friend John Brantingham again asap, and we don’t want the gap to let us slip back. recently introduced me to The Public Relations Session of the District Assembly was the Mark Givens of Peleki- on Thursday, June 11 at 6 pm. Next week on Thursday nesis publishing. After June 18, the session will deal with membership, and the some discussions, Mark following Thursday, Foundation. All are welcome. agreed to publish a collec- tion of flash memoirs I’d been working on about Ken read passages from trauma consultation. The his writings. If you book comes out in August, would like to hear the and Nick Quackenbos has beautiful and profound asked me to return and do prose that accompanies a reading from that book. the paintings shown on page 7, tune in at about I am working on the second current project with Kate 1:15 on the recording, Flannery, an attorney in Claremont who grew up in the linked from page one. Pacific Northwest. In conversation, they realized that trees were important to their life stories. “Entering the Thank you Ken. We look Grove” will be a compilation of their works. forward to hearing more about your work in Au- gust. The Clarifier Page 6

Rotarian in Action Francis Limbe: Working to support group in the county. the Bari Community of South Sudan. The emergency relief and rehabilitation for Our colleague Francis Limbe is the Director of the non-profit the people of South Bari Community Global (BC Global), formed last fall to ad- Sudan requires sup- vocate for and spur the port for those affected Bari Community’s social, in the recent floods education, cultural, eco- and the fighting be- nomic and spiritual inter- tween the government and rebel forces. BC Global has ests of its members. The made appeals for support to the international commu- Bari are a tribe of about nity and the Bari diaspora in the USA, Australia, Cana- 500,000 people in South da, Finland, UK and Italy. Emergency relief and reha- Sudan along the Nile. bilitation support will be used for food, non-food items Francis is still working to (shelter, cooking utensils), medical etc for the dis- develop a qualified Board, and is challenged to develop re- placed persons in Lainya County. search tools for collecting data and meet the demands of the community. The community demands are high both do- In Juba county, the capital of South Sudan, BC Global is mestically and internationally. conducting interviews with a group of young Domestic gang members for a Over 3000 American citizens in the BC Global community case study to find and are scattered all over the United States. Every month, we employ an innovative conduct a telecon- program to advance ference meeting to peace and social cohe- address the eco- sion among the youth. nomic and social Strengths, Challenges, and Opportunities: challenges they are facing and meet Strengths: face to face locally. BC Global has demonstrated its ability and time volun- As the demand for tarily to serve the community. The group already has a help increases, BC proven capacity to secure small financial support Global is focusing on serving those in the west-coast states; through its members and has begun to develop good California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. Challenges they are relationships with the government, local communities, currently facing include layoffs, evictions, and food shortag- and other stakeholders. es. Also, five families in the city of San Diego have been in- fected with COVID 19; four have recovered, and one is still Challenges: in critical condition due to underlying illness. It is a challenge to meet the continuing demand for de- Overseas velopment projects, social and peace programs. Poor internet in South Sudan makes it difficult and costly to Service Area In South Sudan ( Region One): Currently, BC moderate meetings. High inflation in the country has Global focuses on the population projections by Payam. a negative impact on BC Global and partners’ budgets (A Payam is the second-lowest administrative division, be- when designing a project. low counties, in South Sudan. Payams are required to have a minimum population of 25,000). Data are broken down for The practice by some national or local leaders demand state level reporting by gender for the year 2020.) for “sitting allowances” for any meeting, affects pro- ject budgets. The current operations for emergency relief are in are- The lack of will in the young men to become communi- as of Lainya counties where ty volunteers to support their communities in positive more than 10,000 people activities that bring change is a long term challenge. have been displaced from Opportunities: their payams due to the fiery clashes between the Francis has found a lot of moral support and the government and a rebel growth of organizations both in the US and overseas. Continued, page 7 The Clarifier Page 7

Francis Limbe, Rotarian in Action, continued nal gangs. Charles Allen, Institute for Economics and Peace – presenting macro findings from the Global The other opportunities that BC Global will encounter in- Terrorism Index and Positive Peace as a framework for clude: community cohesion and resilience Phil Shepherd of Exchange programs among BC Global members to en- Active Leadership– Moderates this discussion from a hance their capacity through relevant trainings in the position of career experience in Preventing Violent Ex- respective thematic fields. tremism and Countering Violent Extremism. Positioning young men in running the affairs of BC Francis noted that because he took the Rotary training Global is pivotal to organizational growth in the future. first, he was able to enjoy the conference and under- stand the concepts of positive and negative peace and International partnership a key to BC Global that will how we can relate its principles in resolving national build up the organization very quickly so that it can ac- matters. As one who is promoting peace in communi- cess resources necessary for development. ties, its measurement and quantitative and qualitative Incidentally, Francis engaged his son, Wani Limbe, a stu- indicators, we know that no country on Earth is entire- dent of Vista Del Vale Elementary School in a program with ly at peace. rd children from Juba, South Sudan on 23 May designed to To hear the conference, visit BC Global podcasts and address issues relevant to students. Despite technical scroll to Learning About Hate: Creating Connected problems, the meeting was a good start, with students Communities. Visitwww.bcgfederation.org for more talking about how they are reacting to the COVID virus. information. Tune into the introductory meeting on the BCGlobal blog. Two of Ken Johnson’s paintings with an excerpt Peace Conferences and Training from his writing. Francis has decided to fully en- Up before light, I stepped into a dripping thick fog, I'd gage with the Rotary International planned to see Peace mission. He attended the District Peace Conference Mount Rainier. in November, and recently completed the online training And then the produced by the Rotary Action Group for Peace through its Nisqually glacier Rotary Peace Academy. from Panorama This is a resource availa- Point before the ble for all Rotarians. crowds got Congratulations to Fran- there, but that cis for taking this initia- hope faded into tive! the unexpected dark mist. I On May 28, Francis par- stepped out of the lodge into the unforeseen realm. The ticipated in an informative conference offered by the Vic- sweet smelling forest of hemlock, and four trees toria University of Melbourne Australia’s Institute for Eco- stretched upwards disappear muted and stately, tall can- nomics and Peace, "Learning about Hate, Creating Con- dles in this cloud bound solitary early morning sanctuary. nected Communities." Participants heard from experts in …… political extremism, social conflict, and social change—the Ken said that the painting below was why Susie decided discussion focuses on the impact of far-right extremism to spend time with him! (It isn’t for sale!) The story he and building connected and resilient communities. There summarized, were several excellent guest panelists: Associate Professor Sitka Spruce, is Debra Smith from Victoria University’s Institute for Sus- about a veteran tainable Industries & Livable Cities– talking to ethnograph- who spent time ic research on Australian far-right movements and her in Alaska. work in building resilient, inclusive communities. Robert Örell, of Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN), who has Ken can’t look the lived experience of “exiting” far-right extremists and at this painting without imagin- now consults with individuals, organizations, and multilat- ing himself back eral on disengagement from political extremism and crimi- in Alaska. Page 8

Z OOM P ROGRAMS & E VENTS

Changes in non-profit organizations, Cameron Troxell June 12 Claremont Rotary Becky Margiotta, the Billions Institute President President Devorah Lieberman, University of 2019-2020 June 19 LaVerne Aging Next: What’s your plan? June 26 Bea Kirkman, Aging Next Director Wednesday Debunking of President Troxell July 1 6 pm

My smile is not because it’s almost the end of the Rotary Year, it’s because I really en- joyed the depth of today’s program.

Could we auction one of his paintings for Polio Bacon Bits Plus? Let’s fill up the pig!

Sergeants committee usually meets every Friday at 11:30 AM in the Orchard Lounge at the DoubleTree Hotel. Three Cyprus by Ken Johnson In the interim, anyone with information to share is welcome to!! On line: June Birthdays Information about the club and back edi- Jenna Irish 6/3 Clarifier Committee tions of this newsletter are always available Mark Carson 6/5 Bill Burrows on DACdb and www.claremontRotary.org Zoe TeBeau 6/12 Mike DeWees Buff Wright and Francis Limbe 6/16 Lark Gerry Join us on Facebook: Bobby Hyde Mike DeWees 6/20 www.facebook.com/RotaryofClaremont Jim Lehman John Howland 6/23 Steve Schenck Club Bylaws and Policies are posted for Randy Prout 6/27 Chris Shaner member access on DACdb Harry Sparrow Peter Weinberger Buff Wright, editor Notes: Harry Sparrow (meeting), Lark Gerry (program); Steve Schenck (photos).

One day (tbd), the Claremont Rotary Club will resume meeting at the Claremont DoubleTree on Foothill at 12:10pm