First Annual Bridge Builder Award Gala

The Museum of Ventura County is privileged to hold the First Annual Bridge Builder Award Gala, honoring the Thomas and Esther Wachtell Family.

The Museum of Ventura County strives to inspire vibrant communities by connecting the past, present, and future. The Bridge Builder Award brings those eras together; it celebrates the accomplishments of leaders who have made significant impact on the community—those who have changed the fabric of our community, creating a new and better future.

The Thomas and Esther Wachtell family are the first to receive the Bridge Builder Award. Their commitment to growing philanthropy and to supporting our County’s major institutions—the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Cal State Channel Islands, Thomas Aquinas College, Libbey Bowl, the Ojai Music Festival, and the Museum of Ventura County—has forever changed our community’s culture and environment.

The Wachtell family has a generations-long tradition of philanthropy. Both Tom and Esther grew up with parents who supported their communities selflessly, and have worked to instill the value of “giving back” in their children and grandchildren. “I am very proud of the fact that our children and their children learned those lessons and that we have a whole new crop of people working in their communities,” said Esther Wachtell.

Tom and Esther see Ventura County as a region that is uniquely multi-generational in its philanthropic traditions. They see the County, with its rich and deep agricultural roots, as one of the few places where families stay together, and many generations of family members together can create a lasting impact. The Museum of Ventura County, with its goal to inspire vibrant communities by connecting the past, present, and future, is honored to be able to have a part in capturing and documenting this unique regional spirit.

This special evening honoring the Wachtell family is sold out. It is supported by generous patrons:

• Barney and Kate Barnhart
• California State University Channel Islands
• Marcia Donlon – Donlon Ranch
• Bobbi and Don Dufau
• John and Linda Edison
• Nancy and Spencer Garrett
• Hilton Hotels Palmer House
• Bill and Elise Kearney
• Tom and Cathryn Krause
• Leslie Leavens and John Krist
• Kate McLean and Justice Steve Stone (ret)
• Pam Melone
• George and Peggy Melton
• Montecito Bank and Trust
• Marshall and Gretchen Milligan
• John and Stephanie Orr
• Tom and Karen Pecht
• Bruno and Victoria Pozzi
• Linda and Ron Phillips
• Rabobank
• Lois Rice
• Rebecca and Jeff Smith
• Dorcas H. Thille
• The USC Center on Philanthropy & Public Policy
• Union Bank
• Ventura County Community Foundation
• Ventura County Credit Union
• Janice Willis
• Whitten and Sally Yount
• Hiroko Yoshimoto

MEDIA PASSES FOR THE PRE-DINNER RECEPTION ARE AVAILABLE. Email jmcgee@venturamuseum.org.