Richard and Sheryl McArthur arrived in Ojai in 1977. They are particularly fond of working with children. Richard, a charter member of the Rotary Club of Ojai West, initiated the group's Dictionaries in the Classroom project in 2002 in his Presidential year with Rotary. Every 3rd grader in the Ojai Unified School District is provided a dictionary. It is very often the first book that is actually theirs. Lesson plans are provided to teach the children how to use their new tomes.
Sheryl was named Volunteer of the Year of Lompoc while in Ojai. She divided her time between Ojai and assisting the city of Lompoc with its redevelopment plans.
The couple owns Ojai Lumber and manages 15 employees. "We feel fortunate that the Ojai community has supported our business," Sheryl stated. Ojai Lumber regularly donates theater set materials to the Ojai Art Center and Nordhoff High School.
In addition to supporting local education, they have donated materials for the local Boy Scouts. Richard has served as Cubmaster and both of their sons have become Eagle Scouts.
Cheryl is a 48-year member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization, an organization that supports women's educational advancement internationally.
"We support anything that involves kids and education".