[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17947]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN TRIBUTE TO THOMAS AND ESTHER WACHTELL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2012

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to my good friends, 
Thomas and Esther Wachtell, patriots, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, 
and community volunteers.
  Tom and Esther own and operate Oak Knoll Ranch in Ojai, California. 
They produce and ship apples from their 10-acre orchard but more 
importantly, the ranch is their base for their many other efforts.
  Tom and Esther both have had storied careers. Tom was a Navy 
lieutenant commander in the Office of Naval Intelligence, executive 
vice-president of Occidental Petroleum Corporation in Los Angeles, 
president of Merrit Energy in Los Angeles, an investor/consultant for 
Gulf Exploration in Covington, Louisiana, and, with Esther, co-
proprietor of Eve's Apples in Ojai.
  Esther is president of The Wachtell Group, a fundraising consulting 
company specializing in large capital campaigns. In addition, she was 
executive vice-president and president of The Music Center of Los 
Angeles, an investor with her husband in Gulf Exploration, and co-
proprietor of Eve's Apples.
  The lists of their community involvements are even longer. Tom's list 
includes founder/president of the Los Angeles Opera, director of the 
Performing Arts Council of The Music Center of Los Angeles, director of 
the World Trade Center in Los Angeles, director of the Good Hope 
Foundation in Los Angeles, a Republican Eagle, and a member of the 
Romney Finance Committee.
  Esther's list includes founder/chair of the Center on Philanthropy 
and Public Policy at USC, trustee for Children's Hospital in Los 
Angeles, director of the Museum of Ventura County in Ventura, 
California, president of the Ojai Music Festival in Ojai; director of 
the Libbey Bowl Foundation in Ojai, and director for Ojai Community 
Bank.
  Beneficiaries of their large philanthropic grants include Children's 
Hospital, Choate School, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and 
Library, the Music Center Opera, the Music Center of Los Angeles 
County, and the Republican Party.
  In addition, Esther served as development chair for the Museum of 
Ventura County, raising $7.5 million for the museum, and for Children's 
Hospital, raising more than $1 billion, a record for the hospital. She 
also helped raise $4 million to rebuild the Libbey Bowl as president of 
the Ojai Music Festival.
  Both list their greatest accomplishment as raising three happy and 
successful children who are married to three wonderful spouses and who 
have given them 12 fantastic grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues join my wife, Janice, and me in 
paying tribute to our close friends Tom and Esther Wachtell, for their 
patriotism, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy, which has made our 
nation stronger politically and economically and made our world a 
better place to live.

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