October 12, 2023

PROTECS’ 17th Annual Charity Golf Tournament Raises $30,000 to Support First Responders

By Chris Frew | October 10, 2023

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PROTECS, a full-service design-build construction management and project management company serving the life sciences and advanced tech markets, is in its eighteenth year of business and for seventeen of those years, founder Chris DiPaolo has been hosting an annual charity golf tournament to support various causes that are important to the company and its staff. Held each October, the event not only raises thousands of dollars for a good cause, but it brings together their community for a day away from work to celebrate together as a reminder of what’s most important – the people around you. 

This year, the event raised $30,000 for Tunnel to Towers Foundation (T2T), who has been their charity partner for the past four years and attracted 108 golfers as well as a great list of sponsors who stepped up to support the cause.

“We’re very proud to have them as our charity of choice,” shared DiPaolo.

T2T is a New York-based charity organization that was established to honor Stephen Gerard Siller, a firefighter with Brooklyn’s Squad 1 who gave his life on 9/11. T2T supports America’s heroes. Their programs provide mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children,  build specially-adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders, and help to eradicate veteran homelessness; and help America to Never Forget September 11, 2001.

Stephen was headed to play golf with his brothers after his shift when he received news through his scanner of the plane crashing into the North Tower. He immediately turned his truck around to return to duty. When he reached the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, it had been closed for security reasons but that didn’t stop him from his duty.  He left his truck, strapped 60 lbs. of gear to his back and embarked on a sprint through the tunnel towards the Twin Towers. He selflessly sacrificed his life that day to save others.

Charles Gussman (Ret FDNY Chief) attended the event and addressed the attendees as a volunteer representative for T2T. “The support from PROTECS means the world to us,” Gussman shared. “The exposure, the fundraising and the support means so much to our organization and the families that we serve.”

The PROTECS 17th Annual Charity Golf tournament was an opportunity for the community to come together to play the golf game that Stephen never got to, and honor the memory of him and all of the fallen first responders who give the ultimate sacrifice. 

The event has extra special meaning to several of PROTECS employees who are veterans. Mario Cefalo told BioBuzz how proud he is to work for an employer like PROTECS that is a very military-friendly company.  Not only did his coworkers throw a celebration for him when he was honorably discharged from his Army Reserve duty, but the company regularly went the extra mile to accommodate his military duties throughout his time as a reservist. They made it work for him to have a rewarding career and continue to serve.

One thing that was clear after spending the day with PROTECS employees, customers and friends at the golf event; this is a company that keeps community at the center of how they do business.