Special People with Special Hearts
After careers as high-powered attorneys in Washington D.C., Naples residents Roni Haggart and Chuck Work have chosen the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance as a favorite charity.
In the early part of his career, Chuck was the first prosecutor on the scene of the Watergate break-in on June 17, 1972, while working with the Justice Department. Later, he would serve as head of the McDermott Will & Emery LLP Litigation Department and the Partner-In-Charge of the Washington, D.C. office from 1983 to 1997. Meanwhile, Roni served in the nation’s capital as an international trade lawyer and a Reagan appointee to the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Upon retirement, they decided to become snowbirds, commuting from the Maryland Eastern Shore to sunny Naples, Florida. After three or four years of battling traffic on I-95, they left Maryland for good and purchased a beautiful home in the Ritz-Carlton community of Tiburon. As members of two churches, including the First Presbyterian of Naples, and ardent supporters of their alma maters, Roni and Chuck have been generous with their contributions and their time.
They both are active in a variety of volunteer engagements. Roni serves on the Advisory Board of the University of Nebraska’s prestigious Yeutter Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. A former President of the D.C. Bar, Chuck now serves as a board member of both the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and Atlantic Legal Foundation.
Looking to find their charitable niche closer to home, they learned a bit about the community of Immokalee through their connection with First Presbyterian. They were horrified by the housing situation in Immokalee, as described by fellow First Presbyterian parishioner and IFHA Board member Cleve Cleveland. They visited Immokalee on several occasions, finding the living conditions as bad as they had been told. They attended the IFHA groundbreaking last November with their pastor’s wife, and both were “greatly impressed by the depth and breadth of community support,” as Chuck put it.
“It was a readily identifiable need, and IFHA has done a good job articulating the issue.” Wanting to know more, they met with IFHA Chair, Dr. Arol Buntzman, and his wife, Judge Laura Safer Espinoza (Executive Director of the Fair Food Standards Council).
“Their professional and eleemosynary backgrounds are truly impressive,” said Roni, “but Arol’s knowledge and experience in property development were over the top.”
“The project will provide safe, clean, affordable housing which is essential to enable Immokalee citizens and children to grow and prosper,” added Chuck.
Roni and Chuck plan to continue to support the IFHA project but they are anxious to see buildings completed and families in residence.