Okay well thank you very much Mayor, Council. Obviously we had our last meeting before the break but there were some things that I was trying to get finished before we had our winter break. We didn't get quite a chance to get on the agenda. The last one was pretty full But as you know, I spent a lot of time here in the Valley trying to build the relationship between us as your police department and the community. A lot of outreach so I'm going to read a little something that I've prepared To talk about that outreach and I have some people here that I want to recognize as well but other title of my Essay here is also the same title as the artwork. You're gonna see later and it's the pink moment beauty So since becoming the chief in Ojai, one of my goals was to connect with the community in a very personal way.
When I first arrived in Ojai there were a few incidents that really brought to light how little some people knew about what the sheriff's office does and what our deputies do and why which is really a shame because we are very proud of the work we do and we're proud to serve our community as your law enforcement professionals As part of my outreach campaign, I wanted to make sure that our community knew exactly what we were doing and why. Because I know that what we are doing is geared towards making us a safer community. Who doesn't want to know that?
So what did I do about it? I joined several local Facebook pages. I began having coffee with the chief. I hosted a citizen academy. I write for a column called Chief's Corner in the online magazine called The Hub. I also made a point of being out in the community. I walked to lunch, met people in the park and made a point of being a resource for our community.
At the same time I was building a relationship with the community, I was setting an example and developing competency for our deputies, building morale, stating expectations and setting the tone for the deputies in the Ohio Valley. For the morale building, I took ownership of our station. I have several projects in the works that were designed to be practical and also give the deputies a feeling of enjoyment in working at the station that is well-maintained and cared for.
One of the station projects was redoing the landscaping of the station. The Ojai Valley is in a perpetual drought, and I did not want to waste water on watering grass. A local designer, Paul Hendershot donated his time and skill to design a drought tolerant butterfly sanctuary police station. The drawing is complete, the crews are ready to work. Now I'm just working on donations for the plant material so that we can complete the project.
The other project was painting the inside of the station with brighter colors and properly displaying the trophies that we have for our police explorer post as well as the deputies of the year When I sought a place for the trophies, I had a floating shelf that I installed to place the trophies on. However, the wall behind the trophies was missing something. It needed a picture, a map, a painting or better yet, a mural.
One thing I'm quite confident about is my lack of artistic ability. However, I am fully aware that Ojai is filled with many people with artistic talents. I reached out to a local resident and friend, Liz Rose. I have made since getting to Ojai and asked her if she knew anybody interested in painting a mural on the wall inside the police station. I explained to Elizabeth that I did not have a budget for a painter but would pay for the paint out of my own pocket. Lo and behold, she found me a painter. Enter Aubrey Larson.
Aubrey is 12 years old now. She was 11 when she started the project at the station. Aubrey did not know what to make of this opportunity to paint at a police station nor what we were actually alike yet day after day little at a time she showed up to work on her project We all got to watch this art come to life as she added her attitude every day. Her dad Jordan, mom Leah and brother Ethan would come to the station to watch her paint as well.
What I didn't know at the time was that Ethan also wanted to become a police officer someday. This turned out to be a great opportunity for him too seeing what we were like and when he turned 14 which he is now joined our Police Explorer post In December when Aubrey finished her painting, and it was more than I could ever hope for. It is a reflection of what she and I see in the Ojai Valley. It is so beautiful that I decided not to put the shelf and trophies in front of it.
However, it adds to the uniqueness that is Ojai. The fact that we have a local artist with a signature piece at the Ojai station. I can't think of anything more Ojai than that. After Aubrey completed her painting, her dad Jordan reached out to me and asked if I could call him. When I had a few minutes he said no rush. I called him back and we had a great conversation. He shared with some things that make the story even more compelling.
He says I wanted to wait until Aubrey was done so that you guys wouldn't treat her differently. He proceeded to tell me that Aubrey was born with a significant stomach deformity that caused severe acid reflux. The reflux was so bad that she refused to eat and began failing to thrive. Aubrey underwent surgery, trying different things to minimize the reflux. However there had not been a good solution. A couple years ago Aubrey was admitted to Children's Hospital 14 different times for a minimum of two weeks each. It was there during these long visits that she being stuck in the hospital where she developed her passion for art and painting and it was only thing she could do from her hospital bed So Jordan then asked me if I had seen her come to the station with a little backpack.
I mentioned my girls have similar backpacks, they carry around all their belongings in it and he told me that the backpack is Aubrey's TPN, a way for her to get her necessary nutrients. All of a sudden it made sense why she wouldn't eat the food we kept offering her because she has to be very careful about what she eats. So I told him how grateful that I was that he allowed Aubrey to share her talents and passion with us at the police station There is something special about having a mural painted by a 12-year-old local girl at the police station that helps draw a connection between the community and their police force. Even a greater accomplishment that her brother is now an explorer in pursuing his dreams in law enforcement.
After talking with Jordan, a sense of reassurance that we are actually normal people Jordan told me that he always saw us driving around and looked very serious and unapproachable, yet inside the station he got to see a very different side of us. The human side. The side that's familiar such as a brother or sister son or daughter dad and mom because we are. We're all of those things our family got a little bit bigger this year we gained a new family one that's left a mark on this police department and certainly this chief So for Aubrey, I asked the city to prepare a proclamation which they have here and it's suitable for framing.
And it says, whereas Ojai Police Chief James Fryaf wished to have mural painted in the lobby of the Ojai Station. And he was put in touch with a young artist, Aubrey Larson and whereas Aubrey was only 11 years old when she started the painting project and 12 years old when she finished it working on it in her free time. And whereas as Aubrey's murals slowly began to take shape, it became apparent that this young painter had enormous talent not only painting on a typical Ojai scene but also capturing a sense of Ojai's artistic nature and natural beauty. And whereas during the time that Aubrey worked on her project, she got to know the police station staff and they got to know her forming a bond of mutual appreciation. And whereas the mural has a great significance to the staff at the Ohio Police Department it is not only in a daily reminder of their young friend Aubrey but also represents the connection the department has with the community it serves.
Now, therefore be it resolved that I the Mayor Johnny Johnson do hereby commend Aubrey Larson for creating Pink Moment Beauty a work of art that will be admired by Ojai residents and police staff for generations to come signed this 14th day of January 2020. And so then before I forget I need to give a shout out because there are family members watching from home so I wrote down their names here Paul and Wanda Brakeville watching at home.
Your granddaughter did beautiful work for us, thank you very much. And so for my part I had a picture our local photographer from the Sheriff's Office came up and took pictures of Aubrey and I and the completed work And I framed this for Aubrey to have. And then also, for the paint and for her time out of my own pocket is a little stipend for her to enjoy maybe a little something, maybe buy some more painting supplies and continue her passion for art. And I have a clicker here to show you the artwork so...
I know it's going to go the wrong way every time there's her and Brian and I. There's the mural.
