Ken Kaltman, chief operating officer at National Compliance Services, Inc. in Delray Beach, Fla., will soon have a lasting memento of his $15,000 donation to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. He'll be the proud owner of the wingback chairs that both former presidents actually sat in for their “debate” at the TD Ameritrade conference earlier this month.
Ken Kaltman, chief operating officer at National Compliance Services Inc., will soon have a lasting memento of his $15,000 donation to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. He'll be the proud owner of the wingback chairs that the former presidents sat in for their “debate” at the TD Ameritrade Holdings Corp. conference earlier this month.
Mr. Kaltman (pictured above, right) entered the winning bid at an impromptu auction for the chairs held at a lunch on the final day of the conference in Orlandom Fla. Just before Tom Bradley (seated left), president and chief executive of TD Ameritrade Institutional, started the bidding, a conference attendee suggested that TD Ameritrade match the winner's donation, and Mr. Bradley readily agreed.
For Mr. Kaltman, the opportunity to give to the presidents' fund was well-timed. A dear friend of his lost many relatives in the earthquake and he regularly donates to southern Florida charities that benefit Haiti, he said.
“We were about to make a donation,” Mr. Kaltman said. “The auction happened to come up at about the same time, and when Tom Bradley offered to double up on the contribution, it made sense to contribute that way.”
TD Ameritrade is in the process of putting plaques on the chairs' back to commemorate the event, said TD executive vice president Peter Sidebottom. Mr. Kaltman will also get two sets of framed photos, one of Mr. Clinton and Mr. Bush sitting in the chairs, and another set of him with Mr. Bradley.
Mr. Kaltman said he hasn't yet decided where he'll place the chairs, whether in the NCS office or in his home, but he's looking forward to receiving them.
