INDIANAPOLIS, July 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oak Street Funding® (www.oakstreetfunding.com), a First Financial Bank company, recently hosted a community event honoring military heroes and First Responders to the 9/11 attacks.
Oak Street Funding partnered with American Freedom Distillery to bring “Whiskey and War Stories” to South Bend, Indiana. The event took place at the renowned Notre Dame Stadium on Thursday evening, June 27th, and coincided with the US Senior Open Championship. In addition to a select whiskey tasting on behalf of American Freedom Distillery, the main attraction of the evening was the special guest speakers: Major (R) Mark Nutsch; Chief Warrant Officer (R) Bob Pennington; and Master Sergeant (R) Scott Neil, the distillery’s founders.
Best known as the “Horse Soldiers” on which the film 12 Strong (2018) was based, Nutsch, Pennington, and Neil provided those in attendance a first-hand, riveting account of their experience fighting in Afghanistan and what it means to them, then and now. Rich Cacioppe, a Vietnam veteran, was the Master of Ceremonies for the event, guiding the presentation to extract and enhance the details of their legendary and incredible story.
About the evening, CEO Rick Dennen said: “At Oak Street Funding, we’ve built a culture of philanthropy and regularly support our team’s chosen charities. But when you are presented with the chance to honor those who risked so much for our country, it becomes that much more rewarding.”
Dennen, himself a native of South Bend, founded Oak Street Funding in 2003 as a commercial lender to the insurance industry. Since then, Oak Street has expanded to over $1 billion in assets and now provides capital to franchise restaurants, CPAs, RIAs, and commercial auto receivables.
Dennen takes great pride in the US armed services and saw an opportunity to bring together the Horse Soldiers with business and community leaders from South Bend and those visiting the Senior Professional Golf Association event. “I’m excited that the Horse Soldiers so openly shared their story with this diverse group of people from all over the country. More importantly, the enthusiasm and support from over 300 advocates far exceeded our expectations,” said Dennen. “Their exhilarating and fascinating experience from soldiers to entrepreneurs is an inspiration to us all.”
About Oak Street Funding
Indianapolis-based Oak Street Funding (www.oakstreetfunding.com), a First Financial Bank company, provides commercial financing for financial service businesses, restaurant franchises through the First Franchise Capital™ (www.firstfranchisecapital.com) brand and third-party loan servicing for financial institutions. Oak Street Funding and First Franchise Capital utilize industry knowledge, proprietary technology and passion to deliver top-quality service and capital products to finance services professionals and franchise owners nationwide.
Media Contact:
Sharon Robbins, 317-428-3804
sharon.robbins@oakstreetfunding.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ad4ce60e-bd85-4f7f-a35a-807a42bd8769