2017 Optimist Club Scholars Honored At Luncheon
Award Winners Share Their Accomplishment, Interests and Future Plans
CAMARILLO NOONTIME OPTIMIST CLUB Newsletter
June 30, 2017 Editor in training: Ron Klemann
By providing hope and positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in kids
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On June 5 the high school scholarship winners present were recognized and greeted by members and friends. Shown above (i-r) were: Alexander Li, ACHS; Kaleinani Nallira, Rio Mesa HS; Elias King, A.C.E. Charter HS; Kimberly Hernandez, Rio Mesa HS; and Mario Banuelos, Jr., Frontier HS. Not in attendance was Veronica Bruner, ACHS; and Mario Sandoval, Ventura Youth Correctional Facility.
Alexander Li, will be attending Stanford University and is considering majors in one of the following areas: Urban Studies, Civil/Environmental Engineering, Philosophy, and Environmental Science.
Kaleinani Nallira has a career goal of becoming a successful lawyer so she plans on majoring in pre-law or criminal justice. She plans to
attend one of three schools: Pepperdine, Occidental or the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Elias King plans to go to Ventura College to finish prerequisites for the nursing program with transferable credit to UC or CSU to specialize as a nurse practitioner. During his junior high school year Elias was an intern for the Channel Islands Urgent Care as a medical assistant.
Kimberly Hernandez is a bilingual student who will be going to the UC Santa Barbara in pursuit
of a degree in Biology or Public Health in order to become a pediatrician or a physician’s assistant. She hopes that her success will motivate the rest of her family to go to college as well.
Mario Banuelos is a musician who plays guitar, bass and the drums. His band has performed at many charity events in the community. After graduation for high school, he plans to attend Oxnard College and then transfer to the UC Santa Barbara. He would like to pursue a BA in education and become a history teacher. 2
The Camarillo Noontime Optimist Club had members attend all the local high school award presentations. Pictured above (l-r) are: Shanahan Europa, Joel McCrea Award Winner; Kimberly Hernandez, Scholarship Winner; Ron Klemann, Optimist Club presenter; and Kaleinani Nallira, Scholarship Winner. Photo courtesy of Kirk Raymond.
Remember, if you would like to read, research, retrieve, or print out any of the pictures, stories, guest speaker names, topics, summaries of speaker presentations, calendar events, fundraiser sponsors, upcoming activities, etc., you can go to our website—www.camarillooptimistclub.org—at anytime. Information may be retrieved as far back as August 2015. 3
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Welcome Aboard—Dr. Penelope DeLeon, Roger Adams, and Bob Taylor!
On May 22, the Camarillo Optimist Club officially inducted two new members to our roster. Dr. DeLeon, superintendent of the Oxnard Union High School District, and Roger Adams, principal of
Rancho Campana High School have been very familiar faces and helpful participants at club functions and special events this year and in the past. Both attended the Annual High School Awards Banquet in March as distinguished
guests. In April, Dr. DeLeon was our guest speaker sharing her goals and plans for the high school district.
Now we look forward to inviting them back so that we can get to know them better. Pictured above (l-r): Ada Lee Sullivan, past president, and Dr. Penelope DeLeon.
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On June 12, Bob Taylor rejoined the Camarillo Noontime Optimist Club as its newest member. Bob served as the club president a number of years ago and has been very active in business and community service in Camarillo for some time. He is pictured below with Frank Roth (left), board member, club auditor,
program coordinator, and much more. He and Bob have been good friends for many years.
June 12 - Roger Ransom shares memories of his father—John H. Ransom
A native of California, John Ransom grew up in Redondo Beach, served as a Navy radioman in 1918 and entered Throop College after his discharge. He was drawn by Dr. R. A. Millikan to the University of Chicago where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Physics. Here in physics class, he also met Louise Lambrecht. They married and raised three children. After some post graduate work and employment at Gaertner Scientific and some work in cancer treatment by radium therapy, he returned to Throop College—now California Institute of Technology—in order to work with R. A. Millikan.
In the late twenties and early thirties, he spent a year each teaching at the University of Hawaii and the university of Redlands, and he worked at the University of California Los Angeles. The depression had taken a grip on the country. Unable to find
a job, he created John H. Ransom Laboratories on April 1, 1932. Here he produced the first surface mirrors of evaporated aluminum. The motion picture business led John further into optics and pioneering work on television.
During WW II he designed and fabricated the “Attack Teacher,” a forerunner of today’s computer-driven simulators. It was installed aboard U.S. submarines and provided practice at the periscope when real targets were not available.
In the early fifties, at the request of was then the Naval Ordinance Test Station at Inyo Kern, he developed techniques for production of photo-etched reticles. His effort here was a significant factor in the success of the first Sidewinder missile and its many descendants.
During this same period he entered the field of large tracking camera objectives. These proceeded to various models that he gave the name Jonel—named after his oldest grandchild—as a sort of trademark. “Jonels” are still the work horses at missile tracking stations. Roger was told that the spectacular pictures of the Challenger explosion were captured by a Jonel lens and were the only photos of that accident giving sufficient detail for useful analysis.
Now the space program was making its optical needs heard. His contributions here were major. The optics fro Mariners III, IV, V, and VI were made in this lab and returned the first detailed photos of the surface of Mars. The large collector mirror as well as the quartz entrance window at the Jet Propulsion Lab’s 23-foot space simulator were produced under his direction. 6
When the main facility of John H. Ransom Laboratories moved to Camarillo in 1976, he chose t remain at his coating lab in Inglewood. In his last weeks there, he successfully produced graded reflectivity laser mirrors that many others declined to undertake. It was also there, on the weekend of May 1st, assisted by his second wife, Martha, that he made his final casting run, which he felt compelled to deliver before entering the the hospital for surgery the next day. Mercifully, his mind remained sharp as ever up to his final minutes when he was felled by an apparent heart attack.
Important as his technical achievements were, those who worked with him professionally will more likely remember him for personal traits: absolute integrity, dedication to solving the customer’s problem, fairness in employee relations and willingness to offer trust and encouragement to your people entering the optics field.
The telescope you see in the picture above was arranged for backyard stargazing. It is one of Roger’s most treasured possessions, not just for the fun he has using it, but because it is a link to his father. The image forming part was designed and built by his father in 1951.
June 26 - Roberto Martinez, President and CEO of the Camarillo Boys & Girls Club
Our guest speaker—Roberto Martinez pictured with Janna Visser—thanked the Camarillo Noontime Optimist Club for its support of the Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo
through its recent donation of $3,500. Members Larry Davis, Shig Yabu, and Howard Hoover were present for the 50th Anniversary Celebration, and were complimented along with many other donors.In his presentation,
Roberto singled out Shig Yabu for being the person who 50 years ago started the Boys & Girls Club and worked with many supports, donors, employees
and volunteers for decades building it into one of the finest community youth facilities anywhere.
Roberto noted that this summer the club will be jump starting the next 50 years with a full array of amazing and fun activities and programs! Summer can be difficult for working parents, but the club takes pride in being a safe, enjoyable and educational place that they can depend on. With planned field trips to the Santa Barbara Zoo, Sky High Jump, and MB2 to name a few, and programs including a science week, Olympic sports week, and a talent show the kids are sure to have a memorable summer. Of special importance is the transportation available to families to bring youth to the club and to safely deliver them to out of town events and venues, and back home. Many parents could not have a job and provide for their families without the help of the Boys and Girls Club.
For more information and a full picture of all the things the Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo does please view their website: www.bgccam.org.
Next week—July 6-8—Larry Davis will be attending the Optimist International Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as our club representative. With July being the Camarillo Optimist Club off month, we wish everyone a wonderful, enjoyable and memorable summer! Come back in August relaxed and refreshed with lots of good vacation stories and experiences to share.
The guest speakers for August will be posted as soon as we have them confirmed. Below is a peek at our long range calendar for 2017-2018. 8
2017-2018 OPTIMIST CLUB CALENDAR
SAVE THE DATE EVENTS:
Sep. 28, 2017—Optimist Club Community Service Awards and Installation Dinner at the Camarillo Boys & Girls Club
Nov. 20, 2017—Koeze Nut Holiday Fundraiser orders due
Dec. TBA, 2017—Christmas for Needy Families at Dos Caminos School
Feb. 3, 2018—Run/Walk for Youth Fundraiser at Arneill Ranch Park
Mar. TBA, 2018—Annual Youth Awards Banquet at Camarillo Community Center
May 18, 2018—Optimist Club Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser at Sterling Hills Golf Course
