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Finding Our Voice: Karen Banfield & Severo Lara with the Ojai Valley Speech Club
Ojai has always been a place where voices matter — artists, thinkers, seekers, misfits, and makers.
But what happens when a public-speaking club sheds the corporate rules and reinvents itself in the spirit of this valley?
In this week’s episode of Ojai Talk of the Town, I sit down with Karen Banfield, founder and president of the new Ojai Valley Speech Club, and Severo Lara, its vice president, to explore how they transformed a fading Toastmasters chapter into a vibrant, heartfelt community.
When Karen stepped in to rescue what remained of the old club— just six members and dwindling fast —…
The skinny
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