provided to Santiva Chronicle
The newly created Sanctuary Golf Club Foundation has chosen Al and Sally Hanser as their Inaugural Honorary Chairs for the Sanctuary Charity Classic, which will be held on Saturday, Jan. 25.
“There is no other couple we could think of that has been as instrumental in fostering the spirit of giving in our community than Al and Sally. A special thanks to Al for helping shepherd the Sanctuary Classic over these many years. We are truly grateful for everything the Hanser’s have done to inspire all of us to do what we can to help those in need in our community,” John Mc Cabe Chair of The Sanctuary Golf Club Foundation explained.
Steve Peltzman added, “As the current chair of the Charity Classic I have an even greater appreciation of the time and heart-felt energy Al, Sally and the team at CFI have also put into this event over the years.”
“Al and Sally have been an integral part not just of the Sanibel and Captiva communities, but of The Sanctuary Golf Club as well. I cannot say enough about how generous they have consistently been over the years; in all they do and how they do it. I cannot thank them enough for agreeing to be the Honorary Chairs of this year’s Sanctuary Charity Classic,” Chief Operating Officer Ken Kouril said.
The Hanser’s History of Serving Others: A Lifetime of Giving.
Shortly after the Hansers moved to Sanibel over 20 years ago, Sally told Al that if he cleaned out the garage one more time, she was going to send him for therapy. So, Al began to look for local business opportunities and the results of his research led him to the conclusion that the islands needed two things: a car wash and a private wealth management firm.
With no background or experience in the car wash business, Al instead opted in 2000 to solicit the help of investor friends and raised $5 million in capital to start the Sanibel Captiva Trust Company. Today, now with offices also in Naples, Tampa, Belleair and Tarpon Springs, the company is approaching $3 billion in assets under management for its clients. Al’s personal values of integrity, honesty and accountability have guided the company’s success by creating unique personal relationships with clients and their families with a focus on helping them achieve their current and future financial goals.
Unlike the car wash business, Al had extensive experience in finance and private wealth management. He graduated from Brown University with degrees in economics and philosophy and also earned an executive management degree from the Wharton School of Finance. Before retiring to Sanibel, he was a senior executive at Dain Rauscher, a securities and investment firm, was chairman and CEO of Resource Bank and Trust in Minneapolis, was chairman of USB Merchant Bank, and also chairman of the Hanrow Financial Group, Ltd. For over sixty years, his family has had an ownership interest in the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, which continues to this day. Al also served his country as an Air Force Intelligence Officer and was stationed in France during the Berlin crisis.
Strengthening the fabric of his community has always been a vital part of his life. He has served as a Board member of the Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, served six years as Board Chairman for University Hospital in the Twin Cities and five years as Chairman of the Cleveland Clinic in Naples. He has been a strong supporter and former Board member of the Lee Health System and has helped raise millions of dollars for the Golisano Children’s Hospital through personal donations and company support for Sanibel Captiva Cares. He is proud that the Sanibel Captiva Trust Company has been the Title Sponsor for the Sancap Cares annual fundraiser since its inception. He is also a supporter of FGCU scholarship programs, the Kiwanis, and he and Sally can be seen throughout the year attending events for over thirty local nonprofits that they support and/or sponsor.
Both an artist and an author, Sally is also active in her support of local nonprofit activities. She has volunteered in a number of care-giving areas over the years and had a painting and staging business that created special decorative environments for many charitable events. This past year she published a children’s book and donated all proceeds from the sales to the Charitable Foundation of the Islands. She is also active in her church and helps families in need or in crisis. Together, Al and Sally have combined to touch the lives of so many people in the community and for decades have supported local efforts for conservation, the arts, historic preservation, education, affordable housing and youth activities. This year they will be celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary, are parents of four, grandparents of nine, and great grandparents of two (soon to be three).
For Al, one of his proudest achievements was inheriting the leadership role at the Good Neighbor Foundation from community leader Francis Bailey. Al led the organization through its separation from the SW Florida Community Foundation and it was reorganized as the Charitable Foundation of the Islands with a new board of local citizens committed to helping those who live, work or visit Sanibel and Captiva Islands. Under Al’s leadership, CFI expanded its efforts to provide funding for nonprofit capacity building, scholarships, special community projects, disaster relief following Hurricane Irma, and emergency relief for those in need. To help promote philanthropy, CFI also established Donor Advised Fund opportunities for local citizens to create a lasting impact for charitable causes they deem important. Al was also instrumental in strengthening the relationship with The Sanctuary Golf Club by working together to support the Sanctuary Golf Challenge and using its net proceeds to meet community charitable needs. Thanks to Al and everyone associated with CFI over the years, over $3 million has been raised and spent to improve the quality of life on Sanibel and Captiva Islands.
Join Us Honoring the Hanser’s at The Sanctuary Charity Classic Celebration Reception on Saturday, January 25th at 5:30 p.m.
You don’t have to golf to join us at The Sanctuary Charity Classic Celebration Reception. We’ll be raising a glass to the Hanser’s, have an open bar, gourmet food stations, a dramatic helicopter-hovering golf ball drop, live music and an even livelier gathering of some of the most generous, fun-loving people on our islands. So please join us for this especially good time honoring Al and Sally and benefitting those in need on our islands. Celebration reception tickets are $250 per person and may be obtained by calling The Sanctuary Golf Club at 239-333-0700.
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