Local entrepreneur gives back to the arts
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers THEATER FAN- Celine Gillibrand shows off her 2008 Pillar of the Arts Community Spotlight Award, which she received last week. "I like to go see talented people do things that I can't do," she said.

Celine Gillibrand's favorite game as a child was Monopoly.

The longtime Simi Valley resident, who jokingly said she is "39 years old many times over," grew up on a ranch off Tierra Rejada Road with her parents and four sisters, where she spent a lot of time perfecting her game.

"It was a quiet life," Gillibrand said. "You didn't have the distractions like kids do today. I think it makes you become more creative in your activities.

"We'd all play (Monopoly), and then we'd make the one who was winning also buy their chair or the table," she said with a laugh.

With her entrepreneurial talent manifesting itself at a very early age, it's no surprise Gillibrand is now the CEO and chairman of the board of P.W. Gillibrand, LLC, a Simi Valley aggregate business that she and her late husband, Phillip, founded 51 years ago.

Her close family upbringing and appreciation for the arts has also helped make her one of the city's most well-known philanthropists. Last week, Gillibrand was awarded the 2008 Pillar of the Arts Community Spotlight Award from the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center Foundation, where she's been a supporter and board member since the theater first opened in 1995.

"We were looking for somebody who not only supports the foundation and the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, but also shows they represent the arts outside of the center," said Ray Cruz, executive director of the foundation. "Mrs. Gillibrand does that every single day."

Past recipients of the award include City Councilmember Barbra Williamson and former mayor, Bill Davis.

"There's a common thread in all the recipients of the award," Cruz said. "They've all been here a long time . . . and they set the tone for future leaders in our community."

Gillibrand first realized her love for the arts when she would watch her mother play the piano. She and her sisters all took piano lessons as children, but "it just didn't stick" for her personally, she said.

"But I so enjoy admiring other people's talents and gifts," Gillibrand said humbly. "I don't have any talents . . . so I like to go see talented people do things that I can't do."

She remembers traveling to downtown Los Angeles with her family to see some of her favorite shows and musicals. Today, she has season tickets to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. She is also a regular part of the audience at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center.

"We are so fortunate to have this little theater here to bring the arts to us," Gillibrand said. "We don't always get a chance to get away, and it's just wonderful here. It's unbelievable how it just keeps getting better all the time."

Gillibrand, who has spent her entire life in the Simi Valley/ Moorpark area, raised two daughters and watched her six grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren grow up nearby. Ventura County has always been their home, so she enjoys giving back to the whole community.

Other organizations that Gillibrand regularly supports are the Boys & Girls Club, the Simi Valley Free Clinic, American Red Cross and the Boy Scouts of America.

"I think that if everybody would be supportive of their own area . . . we could make our own just the best," Gillibrand said. "And if everybody did that in their own area across the country, we would have wonderful communities."

Despite all the volunteer hours and money that Gillibrand has donated to nonprofit organizations throughout the county, she is very modest about it and gives others a lot of credit.

"We're lucky because we have a lot of people in Simi Valley doing so many things to give to those places that have a need," she said.

Cruz said Gillibrand makes the ideal role model for kids, especially young girls.

"Even though she's running an incredibly successful business, she's also very grounded," Cruz said. "Her love for people is definitely apparent."