Donor Spotlight: Captain Dave Truitt

July 25, 2024

by Diane Foote

You’ve probably seen him around the Chicago Yacht Club; he attends many Club and Foundation events. You’ve likely heard about him and/or his own Foundation. You may even have met him and would recognize his smiling face and twinkling eyes.

But do you know why Captain Dave Truitt is moved to be such a staunch supporter of the CYC Foundation? Recently, I sat down with him at CYC’s Monroe Station to talk about his background and interests, and how they intersect with the CYC Foundation’s mission to make the joys and benefits of boating available to all, with a primary focus on youth from underrepresented communities.

Captain Dave was born in Hyde Park and grew up spending his summers in Hobart, Indiana on the family farm and in nearby Michigan. His parents and grandparents were boaters, and his family owned a powerboat. He has fond memories of swimming and boating, including taking (sneaking) out the family boat before his parents arrived. He describes it as an idyllic way to grow up. One of the reasons he supports the CYC Foundation is because he believes the Foundation wants to give similar opportunities to Chicago youth who do not grow up that way.

When Captain Dave grew up, he attended the University of Chicago Law School and became very successful in the practice of law. He describes the satisfaction he derives from leveraging his financial success to make the world a better place: “When you work hard and make a lot of money, you have a choice. You can donate to activities that serve people well and need to be supported by gifts, or you can save it and have your eventual estate executor pay a lot of taxes!”

He served as Commodore of the Jackson Park Yacht Club. He later joined Columbia Yacht Club and then CYC, and recalls, “When I became Commodore, I noticed many families and kids who came to the yacht club who had no boat, and no access to one. I saw my part as Commodore to include such people on my boat at no cost.” At the time, he owned a vintage Hatteras powerboat M/V Intrigue. The Intrigue served on race committee for many years for JPYC, ColYC, and CYC. Dave also owned the  largest sailboat then on the lake, the schooner Charlotte Ann. “That was fun!” he says, his eyes lighting up. “People would come up while I was working on the boat; people who had never been out on a boat.”
 
He feels the experiential nature of the CYC Foundation's programs is important. He notes he learned everything he knows about boating “the hard way,” and believes “We need to have opportunities for youth and families to be at sea where they can be crew, not just passengers. That will change their life!”
 
This experience boating and serving as a yacht club leader also informs his giving. He says, “Serving as Commodore game me wonderful experience in learning how to analyze the good a club is doing for its members and for the wider world,” another reason he chooses to support the CYC Foundation. “I want to lend support in a field that I understand, so I can know that good is being done.” He also appreciates that the Foundation directs such a high percentage of our funds to actual programs, comparing it to another organization he supports, the Christmas Tree Ship, where 100% of his donations provide Christmas trees for Chicago families in need. “If we don’t do this, it doesn’t get done,” he says, emphasizing the responsibility the boating community has to the larger world in which we live.

His broad philanthropic reach included serving as Flotilla Commander with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, chair of the USS Midway Memorial Committee for the Navy League, and as founding chair of the Chicago Marine Heritage Society. He also serves and supports the Great Lakes Naval Museum and the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, in addition to the CYC Foundation and the Christmas Tree Ship.

Captain Dave puts it succinctly: “You have an opportunity not just to die with more money but to improve the world if you so wish. And I so wish.” We at the CYC Foundation are so very appreciative of Captain Dave's knowledge, passion, empathy, understanding, dedication, and generosity.