People

Community’s servant garners recognition

Bart Bleuel’s good deeds often leave people speechless, but most of his friends recall a time when he got a mute child to speak.

Bart Bleuel gets plenty of attention in his guise as Santa.

Bart, longtime member of the Kiwanis Club of Ventura, California, serves as Santa Claus for his club’s Christmas party for children with disabilities. Dressed in civilian clothes during the first hour of the party, he circulates among the 60 to 100 children who attend each year, learning their names and a little fact about each. Then when he appears later as Santa, he calls them by name and tells them something about themselves.

The reaction of the children is heartening, as their belief in Santa as someone who knows them and cares for them is reinforced. But one poignant example of Bart’s work with these children came a couple years ago when one of them said “Thank you” in response. It was a child who, caregivers said, had never been known to speak.

His annual stint as Santa is but one of many activities that have cemented Bartley S. Bleuel’s reputation as a servant leader in Ventura County. It’s a reputation that has garnered the attorney much public acclaim, most recently being picked to represent the county in Washington, DC, at the nation’s annual Jefferson Awards Celebration.

The Jefferson Award program was founded in 1972 to honor volunteers who represent the highest ideals of public service. About 25,000 people are nominated each year, with about 66 people chosen to represent their regions in Washington. Bart says the honor recharged his zeal for public service.

“I have received awards in the past,” he notes, “but nothing that remotely compares to this one. Being among some 60 other award winners was a treat, but I think the most important thing that came out of all this is that it re-energized me to continue community service. I sort of owe it back!”

Bart was cited for his long-term service to many causes and organizations, especially his work on behalf of children in the Ventura United School District. He established a K-Kids club at Sheridan Way Elementary School 16 years ago, and since then, he and his wife, Michelle, have volunteered at least once a week in some capacity in the school system.

As chairman of the school district’s annual Festival of Talent, Bart helped to raise between US$40,000 and $50,000 each year for the past four years to provide grants to teachers to support projects the normal school budget cannot fund. He’s also been active in the chamber of commerce, the American Heart Association, and his current pet project, the City Corps of the Central Coast.

“This is an effort to involve marginalized youth and others in community activities,” he explains. “It is more than just getting them involved in the service, though. We engage them entirely, so that these 12- to 24-year-olds plan the activities and perform the service projects—which will number in the thousands each year in each city.

“This gives the kids a real sense of purpose and pride in their work and in their associations with each others. It’s one of the most exciting community service projects I have been involved with in a long time.”

Ask him what inspires him to serve, and Bart likely will recall the words of his mother.

“My mother always said when you do the Lord’s work, the Lord will owe you a place in heaven,” he says. “Quite frankly, I have my heaven here. The Lord doesn’t owe me a thing.”