The John Broesamle Founders Award
This award was established in 2024 in the wake of a generous anonymous gift intended to honor OVDF founding president John Broesamle, who passed away in 2023. The creation of the award was a natural outgrowth of the donor’s expressed intent to remember and honor John, by recognizing those who - like John - work tirelessly on behalf of the environmental well-being of the Ojai Valley. Each year, the Defense Fund board recognizes a deserving individual with remarkable contributions to the educational, environmental, or community prosperity of the Ojai Valley. The presentation of the award offers an opportunity to celebrate John’s memory, recognize a deserving individual, and remind the community of the good work being done every day by ordinary, committed individuals, neighbors, and friends.
2025: Paula Power
The 2025 John Broesamle Founder’s was awarded to Ojai native Paula Power in recognition of her longstanding commitment to managing and restoring public lands and, most particularly, to her leadership in establishing a 2-acre park in Meiners Oaks. In presenting the award, OVDF Board Member Bill Norris described Paula as a “visionary.” He said, “As a resident of Meiners Oaks, Paula saw an underutilized and frankly eyesore property and felt that it could serve the community in a much better way.” Visit the Meiners Oaks Parks website to learn more about the progress of this project and how you can support this effort.
2024: Derek Poultney
Derek was an obvious recipient of the inaugural John Broesamle Founders Award, not only for his many contributions to the environmental well-being of our community, but also for his longstanding ties to John himself. In 2006, Derek joined the staff of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, where he worked with John to restore the Ojai Meadows Preserve and manage wetland restoration projects in the upper Ventura River watershed. In 2011, Derek joined the Ventura Land Trust as its conservation manager before becoming its executive director in 2015 and helping to grow its open space holdings from just two acres to nearly 4,000. In 2021, Derek took over as executive director of The C.R.E.W., the Ojai-based organization that offers teens and young adults work in habitat restoration, trail maintenance, and wildfire prevention.
About John Broesamle
During his more than three decades as a resident of the Ojai Valley, John did as much as anyone to enhance the environmental well-being of the place we call “home.” He was president of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy from 1998-2000, thereafter remaining active with the organization on its land committee. It was during John’s active involvement with the organization that it made many of its acquisitions, including the Ilvento Preserve, Cluff Vista Park, the Ojai Meadows Preserve, and the Ventura River Preserve. Among a list of community accolades too long to exhaust here, he was named Ojai Citizen of the Year in 1999, an Ojai Living Treasure in 2001, and Best Volunteer in the Valley in 2012 and 2013. He was also the founding President of the Ojai Valley Defense Fund and a dedicated supporter and essential advisor of this organization until his death in 2023.