Healthwise summer/fall 2007 - Citrus Valley Health Foundation

� ART & SARAH LUDWICK
meetings at the house. Keep in mind that our club had more
than 50 members, so our family room was packed with
teenage kids. I can’t count the number of times we took over
the family room and patio, painting posters for all of the Key
Club events. My mom never got mad when we spilled paint
on her rug (that happened quite a few times). My parents
were by our side at all the activities, conventions, and service
projects we held, helping make the club a success.
But my parents supported more than just our activities in
school. Mom was very active in the anti-smoking program and
DARE. She also worked in the career center helping students
find colleges or career options. My mom was always around
school, and all of our friends and teachers knew her. She
knew that all of her volunteering would give her a chance to
keep an eye on us, and we all made sure not to do anything
to get us into trouble because she would find out about it.
Education was very important to my parents. They always
took time to help us out with our homework, and my mom
made it a priority to proofread every paper we wrote
throughout school. But my parents always looked to ways to
improve our education and prepare us for future technologies.
During junior high, I attended a summer school class on
BASIC computer programming that my dad had established
at Citrus College. At the time, Citrus was the only school in
the Glendora area with computers and, for most of us, it was
the first time we had worked on a computer.
Computers continued to be absent from our school
curriculum, and I only remember two classrooms throughout
my high school years that had computers. My parents
understood that Glendora’s students needed computer
education to prepare them for college and future careers.
They continued to advocate the importance of computers in
the classroom for more than a decade after we graduated
from Glendora Unified School District. Their success is
apparent today as you wander through the schools and find
computers available to students in the classrooms and
libraries, and included in the schools’ curriculum.
Back in the early 1980s, my dad – through Rain Bird – worked
with the City of Glendora to create a summer concert series in
the park. During the first few years, the performers sat up on
a stage the city constructed before each event. Of course, the
first few years the bands were for the most part concert
bands and always played a rendition of “Stars and Stripes
Forever” (much to my dad’s delight). The concerts proved to
be a success and, to this day, continue to be a part of
Glendora’s summer culture.
When we were all out of the house, my mom decided to go
back to college and get a master’s degree in child
development. She had always had a dream of running her
own child care center, and was fortunate to find that the
University of La Verne had a child care center in conjunction
with Fairplex. She began volunteering her time at the center.
4
Art & Sarah Ludwick
My mom helped develop an annual auction for the Fairplex
Child Development Center that, today, continues to raise
more than $150,000 each year toward their operating budget.
She also spent several years on the Center’s board of
directors, helping establish it as one of the premier child care
centers in our area.
In more recent
years, my dad has
joined the Fairplex
Board of Directors.
In the last few
years, the Fairplex
foundations have
developed a
program called the
Yellow Bus
Program. My dad
has worked with
many generous
contributors in
Glendora to raise
funds for buses
that take Glendora
school children to
Sarah and Art Ludwick take an evening joy
the fair during the
ride in their fun car to the 2006 Morris L.
school day to
Johnston, M.D. reception.
experience all of
the Fair’s learning opportunities. The program is a big success
with the kids and continues to grow each year.
My mom is currently on the boards of directors for the
University Educational Trust and Partners in Education at Cal
Poly University, Pomona – both of which provide student
scholarships and promote the advancement of education.
I really admire my parents for the endless hours they have
devoted to our community, despite the challenges they have
faced. My mom was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid
arthritis when she was in her early 30s, and continues to
suffer from it today. I remember many days when my mom
could not get out of bed to drive us to school in the morning
because she was in such severe pain. But I never remember
my mom missing a commitment she had made, and I’m
certain she hurt a great deal during many of her volunteer
hours. She just never let anyone know that she wasn’t feeling
great that day. To this day, my mom continues to commit to
projects for Kiwaniannes, Fairplex CDC, the YWCA, and other
organizations that are physically demanding. She’ll always get
through the day with a smile, and rarely listens to anyone
who tells her to sit down – even for a minute – given there is
always work to be done.
My parents have been part of, or lead, many other groups
through the years, including Kiwanis, Citrus College
ART & SARAH LUDWICK, page 27 �
HEALTHWISE FOOTHILL PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL