First Tee – Connecticut Announces New Board Chair and the Appointment of Several New Board Members
First Tee – Connecticut announced today the appointment of a new Board Chair and several new members added to the board of directors. This brings the number of board members to 29 voting directors, 8 Emeritus directors and 8 Honorary directors.
Board Chair – Ken Baldwin lives in Southington and is an Energy & Telecommunications Partner at Robinson + Cole in Hartford. Ken has been involved with First Tee – Connecticut for many years and his service to the chapter includes roles as/on the; Vice-Chair, Secretary, Executive Committee, Central Connecticut Committee. Ken’s initial involvement with First Tee – Connecticut dates back nearly 15 years to the successful land usage agreements to create what is now the chapter’s headquarters in Cromwell.
New Directors (3-year term)
Bess Barnes lives in Stamford, CT and is Vice President of Programming at CBS Sports. She has been involved with First Tee – Connecticut as a member of the Fairfield County Advisory Committee since 2021.
Ken Gilbert lives in Stamford, CT. Ken is a Board Member for both Wendy’s and iAnthus Capital Holdings. He has been involved with First Tee – Connecticut as a member of the Fairfield County Advisory Committee and the 2022 Taste of the Tee Committee.
Rob King lives in West Hartford, CT. Rob is Senior Vice President and Executive Editor-at-Large at ESPN.
Tom Panczner lives in Avon, CT. Tom is CEO/President of Bartlett Brainard Eacott (BBE) and has been involved with First Tee – Connecticut for many years as part of the Central Connecticut Committee and as the general contractor responsible for construction of the David & Geri Epstein Learning Center.
Ken Baldwin replaces David Dixon, who was Chair of the Board for the past six years. Dixon, Executive Vice President, President, Connecticut Region I Wilmington Trust, N.A. will remain on the board as an Emeritus Director.
“I am thrilled and honored to take over as the Chair of the Board of Directors for First Tee – Connecticut, and hope to pick up where Dave Dixon, immediate Past Chair, left off at the end of 2022. We are excited to welcome four new Board members this year, including, Bess Barnes, Rob King, Ken Gilbert and Tom Panczner. I know each of them will help us grow and continue our mission to impact the lives of CT youth.”
Also joining the board are new representatives from three Allied Golf Organizations – Patti Cheyne (from Avon, representing CWGA), Howie Friday (from Berlin, representing CTPGA) and Richie Kremer (from Simsbury, representing CGCS). Joining our Honorary Board is Alumna Meghna Mazumdar of South Windsor. Meghna is in her sophomore year at Boston College.
About First Tee – Connecticut
First Tee is a youth development organization that enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges. By seamlessly integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum, we create active learning experiences that build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience that kids can carry to everything they do. We’re Building Game Changers through our junior golf programs.