By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Joe Hanna has a passion for golf. The Buffalo native, a partner in the law firm Goldberg Segalla LLP, also has a passion for giving, something he said was instilled in him at an early age.

"My father and mother always taught me, ‘Be generous, love other people and help out as much as you can,' " Hanna recalled. Those values, coupled with his love of the game of golf, led Hanna to start a charitable foundation, Bunkers in Baghdad, to send golf clubs and balls to American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I had seen a piece on ‘60 Minutes' talking about how one of the ways soldiers overseas liked to relax and unwind was to hit golf balls in the desert," he explained. "I thought I could do something to help out."

What began as an idea to collect used clubs from friends and co-workers and ship them to Iraq has taken off in ways that Hanna said he never imagined. Since kicking off the initiative last summer, Bunkers in Baghdad has collected more than 55,000 golf balls and nearly 3,000 golf clubs, with donations still coming in daily.

"It has really been overwhelming," Hanna said of the response to his efforts. "We sent out 1,500 letters across the country seeking donations, and people have really embraced what we are doing."

With clubs and balls coming in from Maryland, Massachusetts, Chicago and Virginia, among other places, Hanna has enlisted the aid of some eager volunteers to assist the effort, packaging and shipping the golf gear.

"I have been working with a group from Transit Middle School in (the Williamsville Central School District), and these kids have been incredible," he said. "They have worked so hard and are so enthusiastic about being part of this effort."

The students are part of a group called the Wellness Committee, which each year chooses a local charitable organization to support.

"We love being part of this effort because it is more than just the kids collecting money and making a donation," explained Kim Styka, a guidance counselor at the school and co-leader of the group, which is made up of 34 seventh and eighth-grade students. "It's a service learning opportunity where they are actually doing the work hands-on."

In addition to raising awareness among the 2,800 students who attend the four Williamsville middle schools, the students are collecting clubs and balls, and adding one element that Hanna said makes their involvement special.

"Every box that we send out has pictures, cards and letters from the students, written to the soldiers," he said. "It is the one thing that I feel is a necessity, that has to be a part of this."

Hanna said that while the primary goal of Bunkers in Baghdad is to support the troops, he views the involvement with area school children as a critical part of his efforts.

"I wanted this to be a teaching opportunity for the students, to work with them and give them ownership over what they are doing," he said. "Their ideas are great, and their genuine concern for the charity and for helping our troops is phenomenal."

Emma Schapp is a seventh-grade student at the school who has been actively involved in Bunkers in Baghdad. She said she enjoys knowing she is helping the troops fighting overseas.

"It feels like we are needed and what we are doing is important," she said. "It has been really fun to be able to help other people."

Hanna says although he has received several large donations from golf associations across the country, much of what has been collected has come from people in Western New York looking make a difference.

"The local golf courses and clubs have been so generous," he said. "I think it is a Western New York thing.We are a very special community, and I see that whenever there is a call for action, people come out in full force to help." Hanna said people have gone so far as to bring clubs to his house to contribute to the cause.

"Your clubs that are just collecting dust in the corner are a treasure to the troops overseas or to a veteran returning home who can't afford a set of clubs," he said.

Bunkers in Baghdad sent its first shipment, 5,000 golf balls, to Iraq in November. That was followed with an additional shipment of 10,000 more balls, as well as clubs. Hanna said that his team is working to make sure the troops returning home aren't forgotten either.

"We have shipped clubs to Walter Reed (Army Medical Center) for the soldiers to use during their rehabilitation and also for their families to enjoy while they are visiting their injured soldiers," he said.

As quickly as the project has grown, Hanna said there is still more to do.

"Going forward, we are going to continue supplying the troops with clubs and balls," he said. "We also want to continue to work with Walter Reed and hopefully Bethesda (Naval Hospital) and the Wounded Warriors programs throughout the country." He also hopes to expand the scope of the program to be able to offer clubs to returning veterans.

Those plans, he said, are contingent on the group's ability to raise funds and continue to collect equipment. To that end, he is holding a happy-hour event Jan. 30 at Club W on Delaware Avenue and is also working closely with the Upstate New York Golf Show to collect balls and clubs as well as cash donations.

"One hundred percent of the money raised goes back to the troops," Hanna said. "I have been blessed. I am a partner at a great law firm, and I don't need a job out of this. It is just a way to help the troops and to make their lives a little better, and it is something I consider a privilege and an honor to be doing."

To make a donation or for more information, contact Joe Hanna at 566-5447 or jhanna@goldbergsegalla.com. Clubs and balls may also be dropped of at Transit Middle School in Williamsville or at Goldberg Segalla's office, 665 Main St., Buffalo.

 

The driven young man behind equipment drive

To say that Joe Hanna is driven to succeed would be an understatement. Just three years out of the University at Buffalo Law School, Hanna has been named a partner at the Buffalo law firm Goldberg Segalla LLP - at the tender age of 28.

While most lawyers his age are associates still learning the politics of their firm, Hanna has distinguished himself with both his legal prowess and his commitment to the community. Richard Cohen, managing partner at Goldberg Segalla, says that made the decision to elevate Hanna to partner an easy one.

"Joe Hanna makes us better. By him being in the room, involved in strategic decision-making, we are better prepared to chart our course," Cohen says.

He noted that in his 20 years of practicing law, he had never seen any other lawyer just three years removed from law school elevated to partner.

"Joe is extraordinarily dynamic - he's a special person," Cohen says. "I can envision a future where we are all working for Joe."

Hanna serves on the board of the Defense Research Institute, a 25,000-member legal organization that last year named him its Young Lawyer of the Year. He is also active in the American Bar Association and has been working locally to enhance his hometown of Buffalo through two projects he's spearheaded: Success in the City, a networking event promoting diversity that garnered national attention, and Bunkers in Baghdad, the program he created to collect thousands of golf clubs and balls for soldiers fighting overseas.

Hanna is quick to deflect the praise for his accomplishments.

"People keep saying to me, ‘You must be so proud of yourself,' " he says. "But it is more my family and friends that I am proud of and happy for. My mother and father worked really hard to send me to Canisius (High School), and to accomplish this feat is a testament to their hard work and their contributions in my life."

He also said he owes a lot to Goldberg Segalla and several mentors there for molding him as a young attorney and affording him the opportunity to be a partner.

Where does Hanna go from here?

"When I was six years old, I always said I wanted to be president of the United States," he says with a smile. "I still think I can be President of the United States, so I don't think I have peaked too early. That has always been my dream, and that is still the end goal."

- By Matt Chandler