President Ruth Hemming received Ojai’s 2007 Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award

Ruth Hemming was recognized by the City of Ojail for her role in supporting the arts in Ojai. Ruth, a retired teacher and administrator has served as president of the Ojai Center for the Arts for three consecutive terms.
The Arts Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council that Hemming be selected as the recipient of the 2007 Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award. The award, founded in 1987, is a tribute to Ojai artists who have enhanced our understanding and appreciation for the arts.
“Dr. Ruth Hemming exemplifies the Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award,” wrote Kathy McCann, the City's Arts Commission liaison, in her City Council report. “As a result of Dr. Hemming’s leadership, community fundraising, and personal generosity, the Ojai Center for the Arts has received a new roof, heating and air-conditioning in the theater, storage shed, and plumbing upgrades. In 2004, she established an endowment fund in memory of her lifelong partner, Joan Raymund, providing the Center with a source of dedicated financial support. As President of the Ojai Center for the Arts, she continues to give her time and talent selflessly to one of Ojai’s most important art assets – the Ojai Center for the Arts.”
Hemming was born in Chicago where her father worked for the railroad and her mother cared for her and her two younger brothers. When the family moved to California, she attended Pasadena High School and later attended U.C. Berkeley receiving her degree in journalism.
Hemming went on to receive her M.A degree in English from Mount Holyoke College, and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of La Verne. She has since had a 40 year career in Ventura County education beginning as a journalism and English teacher at Ventura College and later as a founding faculty member at Oxnard College. In 2003, Hemming was elected to the Moorpark College Board of Directors and is a member of the President’s Circle and is a board member of the Ventura County College Foundation and the Ventura Rainbow Alliance.

Hemming moved to Ojai in 1986 with her life partner Joan Raymund and began an association with the Ojai Center for the Arts, initially serving as board secretary. Together, Raymund and Hemming shared a love of literature and theatre for over 35 years. Although she lost her lifetime partner several years ago, Hemming is still devoted to the Art Center.
“What I really enjoy about working with the Art Center is the energy and vitality of the place and its board members. It’s always an exciting place to be, often with many things happening simultaneously,” said Hemming.

The Art Center also received a city plaque in “honor of its role as the cultural center for the arts in Ojai” acknowledging its history as the oldest nonprofit multi-purpose art center in California. The Center was founded in 1936 by Dr. Charles Butler who envisioned it as a facility for all the arts including theater, music, art, dance and literary. It has served the valley for over six decades and now includes a photography branch.

Congradulations Ruth !!!