ILMA Compoundings - May 2020 - 44

PORTRAIT
Martha Jolkovski
Associate Director, ILMA
"Treat others as you want to be treated.
My father always tried to live by that
golden rule. I truly believe that the world
will be better for everyone if more of us live
by this simple precept - especially now."

Martha with her husband Mike at the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC,
December 2019

GROWING UP
"Growing up as a preacher's kid in a small Connecticut town,
I watched my father deal with whatever came to our door -
people in need, in sorrow and despair, looking for help. I sometimes answered phone calls, intended for my dad, of someone
weeping uncontrollably. I learned to do whatever needed to
be done.
"On my 16th birthday, my father took me out to look for work.
I ended up being offered a job at the local Rexall Pharmacy. I
spent one summer in college staying with relatives in Illinois,
and my uncle got me a job at an electric coil manufacturing
plant. He wanted me to know what real work was. I worked
many different jobs in my life, always with the attitude that I
could do whatever it was."

CROSS-COUNTRY JOURNEYS
"After college, I traveled by motorcycle from Iowa to Texas and
across to Virginia. One of my most memorable moments was
riding down through the Ozark National Forest in eastern
Oklahoma. It was a cold day, windy, but it was a beautiful ride
careening down those old mountains on my bike.
"Years later, I took a trip with friends from Richmond, Virginia, across the country to Seattle and ended up returning on my
own in my little green Volkswagen Bug. There were times, as
when I was driving through Wyoming, when I didn't see another living being for many hours. Traveling across this vast and
beautiful country by myself was profound and awesome."

FROM ART TO ILMA
"In the mid-1970s, living in the Fan District in Richmond, I
started a community newspaper with a group of friends. That
led me to typesetting and into the field of graphic arts, where

MAY 2020

| COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG

I picked up skills as I went along. I had confidence that I could
work hard enough to stay ahead of what was needed. I was
working at a graphic design firm in Washington, D.C., when
our daughter Emily was born. I then started my own graphic
production company.
"As much as I loved working for myself, a graphic design
company is always seeking clients. In 2001, I realized it would
be better to go in-house in an organization, like a job I had
at Life of Virginia in Richmond. This led me to apply for the
production editor position at ILMA. During the interview, when
asked why I wanted to work for ILMA, I said, 'You know, I've
always wanted to learn about lubricants.' I'm pretty sure that's
how I got the job.
"Over all these years at ILMA, I've had the opportunity to
work in almost every position. I started out doing the graphic
production for Compoundings and the Membership Directory,
sold ads and sponsorships, worked with membership, scholarship, communications, and worked on the budget, meetings
and even as acting executive director. It's been quite a journey.
It's been satisfying to get to know so many members individually, solve problems for them as they arise and help them get
more value from ILMA."

BREAD BUDDIES
"On my own time, I bake bread whenever I can. Baking bread is
my greatest passion. I love everything about it - the wonderful aromas, kneading the very alive, elastic dough, feeling the
air bubbles popping in my hands, shaping the loaves and, of
course, that exquisite first taste of the warm baked goodness.
I bake monthly for my church's communion service. The best
experience is baking with children, most recently at our annual church family retreat. I love their enthusiasm, the intense
looks on their floured faces and the great joy when they eat
and share their finished bread. This is marvelous!"

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ILMA Compoundings - May 2020

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