POWERING FORWARD

DAVID CHABBOTT

NOT MANY 10 YEAR OLDS DREAM ABOUT ROASTING COFFEE (LET ALONE DRINKING COFFEE), BUT FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE, I KNEW THAT WOULD BE MY FUTURE. AS IS VERY TYPICAL IN OUR COMMUNITY, I ENVISIONED A FUTURE OF WORKING ALONGSIDE MY FATHER, HYMIE CHABBOTT A”H, IN OUR SMALL FAMILY BUSINESS.

Before Gillies Coffee Company moved primarily into wholesale, my dad, on occasion, used to take me to one of his stores on Bleecker Street. I would return home, with the aromas of mocha and java embedded on my clothes, and the taste of our freshly ground peanut butter still lasting on my tongue. What did operating “America’s Oldest Coffee Merchant” entail? That’s a question that didn’t mean very much to me, but the concept of working alongside my dad, was all I could ever imagine.

Fast forward thirty years, and it’s very hard to comprehend the path that has brought me to being a financial advisor for Power Forward Group. In December of 2023, Gillies Coffee sold its assets to a larger, New York based coffee roasting company. This was a culmination of many, both identifiable and unidentifiable turning points in my life, on the road to helping other community members better prepare themselves for planning their financial future.

I think my story is a common one. My father, at least to me, was always the smartest guy in the room. He provided for his family, was hands-on when it came to parenting, and was an active member in the community. When he passed in late 2019, I would be remiss to say we were all in shock; it didn’t take us completely by surprise. Anyone who knew my father, knew he had many health battles throughout his life. He beat cancer, lived with diabetes (insulin injections and a cocktail of pills in his pocket), and survived heart surgery. After his death, when the shiva ended, my mother faced a lot of questions about what she did or didn’t have. Baruch Hashem, my father left my mother an estate that she could safely feel would take care of her in this next chapter of her life. This realization, though, did not immediately become clear to her, until her first meeting with my friend since Nursery at the Yeshivah of Flatbush, Ruvin Levavi.

I remember sitting in the kitchen with my mom, trying to get a grasp of her finances. “How many retirement accounts did you and dad have jointly?” “Did you have a pension from when you used to work?” “What kind of life insurance did dad have?” “How much Social Security do you collect?” While basic in theory, answering these questions after one of the most life-altering events for a family, is never easy.

My mother was scared for her financial future, but our first meeting with Ruvin and his team changed all of her and my preconceived notions about navigating this next phase. While the void left by my father’s death will never be filled, the concept that she can continue living a certain lifestyle, visit her grandchildren in Israel, do all the things that make her happy, and not be constantly worried about her finances, immediately gave her a sense of ease. Running out of money, was something she did not have to be fearful of.

I also walked out of that meeting feeling something. Firstly, Baruch Hashem, that my father had the wherewithal to properly prepare for when he would no longer be with us. Secondly, regardless of the fact that I was only thirty-five, it is never too early to start putting together a plan, and implementing it, to ensure that when the unexpected (or even partially expected) occurs, the ones you love are taken care of.

With my father no longer sitting a few feet away from me in his office chair, the small family business didn’t feel the same. As COVID stopped the world for some time, my conversations with Ruvin evolved into something more than our usual banter. His business relationship with my mother, which also felt so personal, stuck with me. This was a business that could literally change a person’s life, and I saw it with my own eyes. My mom never felt like a client. It felt like he was a partner in mapping out the future that best suited her needs. Well before the Gillies business sold, I had a feeling that joining Power Forward Group could be a potential destination for me. It is incredibly exciting and fulfilling to be taking this next step in my life, and in my career. The idea that I have the opportunity to share the peace of mind afforded to my family as a career, is very special. And who knows? Maybe right now, my own 10 year old is thinking, “I can’t wait to help someone plan for their retirement!”

David Chabbott is a community member and financial advisor at Power Forward Group. He graduated Brooklyn College in 2001, and has spent the last 20+ years operating his small family business. David and his wife Aimee love getting involved in their children’s yeshivah, watching their 4 sons play basketball, and playing Barbie with their daughter.