Golf and Gratitude
If you know me, then you know I put a high value on member relations and client experience. Last week, the weather reports started coming out about how hot it was going to be for the Foundation’s annual golf tournament, and I grew concerned about the golfer and volunteer experience at our event. I know we’re all guilty of this, but sometimes we have a habit of stressing out about things we can’t control—the heat dome over Connecticut was a prime example.
That’s why I was heartened when the stream of golfers and eager volunteers rolled into West Hartford for a great day on the course despite the record high temperatures. In short, I was extremely grateful for the support from Connecticut’s Credit Unions, our vendor partners and volunteers who showed up to support the foundation—Credit Unions Building Financial Independence—despite the high heat.
When I left the course on Tuesday night, I was riding the gratitude high. I was thankful for the volunteers who put in an early day to stuff bags and get everything setup so we could welcome a record number of golfers to our tournament. Thankful to the cooks and wait staff who put in the hours to make sure all 150 guests were taken care. I was grateful for the caddies and the golf pro on site for their work in making sure the course was in pristine shape and our players were taken care of. I was grateful to everyone who played, volunteered, supported and participated in some way to make the event a rousing success.
In addition to the temperatures, we set some records ourselves—record attendance and record fundraising. The attendance for the golf tournament was the highest in my decade-plus at the League with 130 paid slots, and we raised more than $70,000 in support of CUBFI—the League’s 501(C)(3) organization.
We’re also not far from a sellout of 144 golfers—so make sure you get your information in early for 2026!
The fun part of my job is returning that investment back to you in the form of reality fairs in the community to help you grow your business as well as covering the cost of our financial coaching program (FiCEP) so that your credit union can have certified coaches on staff to better serve your members. I also get to invest in credit professional development—development education (DE) training from the National Credit Union Foundation, scholarships to the small credit union conferences held by America’s Credit Unions as well as scholarships to our multi-state APEX convention at Mohegan Sun.
I don’t get to do any of that work without you—our donors and supporters—which is why I’m grateful when credit unions, businesses and vendors step up to the plate and give joyously to support our mission of helping CT residents achieve financial independence through credit unions. I’m also grateful for TruStage who has been our continued and enduring corporate sponsor.
At the risk of sounding like Kelly Clarkson, “because of you” the foundation (through credit unions) gets to help more than 4,000 of high school students get required financial education at reality fairs. Because of you, we have more than 140 certified financial coaches at 30 different credit unions across the state—nearing our goal of one certified coach at every affiliated credit union. Because of you we have a budding DE network that sports more than 40 DEs across the Nutmeg State and growing—a critical investment in building a strong credit union culture.
I’m grateful for everyone who made the tournament a success. I don’t get to do amazing work without the dollars you put in my coffer to fuel the foundation’s success.
The good news is that if you missed out on our annual golf event—you don’t need to be a golfer to participate—we’ll be back again next year better than ever. The clubhouse at Wampanoag in West Hartford that was leveled by two fires will re-open in 6 months and we can finally get some relief from the hot tent and the heat that’s plagued us the last two years.
That alone is something to be grateful for.
~Dave
David Hinchey, CUDE, CCUFC (he/him/his)
VP of Community and Social Impact
*New Mailing Address*
55 Capital Blvd
Suite 103
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
Phone: 203.265.5657 Ext. 3
