On March 2nd, Derick Schaefer, Chief Technology Officer at Trintech, and Christian Gunaseelan, Financial Analyst at Trintech participated in the Dallas Stars Foundation’s Big Heart Celebrity Challenge hockey tournament geared to raise money for the American Heart Association. Schaefer and Gunaseelan teamed up on the defensive line where their team, ‘The Blazers’, competed in 3 games, winning 2! In game 3, Schaefer turned in both an assist and a goal to contribute to the win. Gunaseelan’s relentless backchecking prevented the other teams from putting points on the board.

What brought the power of the charity event home for both Schaefer and Gunaseelan was meeting and playing against former Dallas Stars center, Rich Peverly. After his near-death experience on the ice rink 3 years ago, Rich has led the fight to have automated external defibrillators in ice rinks across America.  Schaefer commented, “This guy is so talented on and off the ice. To think he might not have been with us if that defibrillator wasn’t in the American Airlines Center that dark evening in 2016 really hit home.” Gunaseelan added, “The possibility that a child or adult in a community ice rink could be saved by such basic technology inspires us to do this again next year.”

The inaugural charity event achieved 110% of its goal, raising over $210,000 for the Dallas Stars Foundation and the American Heart Association. Team Blazers raised over 10% of that total turning in $24,456. With combined support from Trintech and other contributors, Schaefer & Gunaseelan raised $3,400 of the Blazers’ contribution.

This past December, Trintech trained 9 employees on CPR and defibrillators and purchased two devices for each office floor. Trintech continues to be at the forefront of keeping a healthy workplace for its employees. Looking to make a difference by working for a rapidly growing company with a dynamic culture? We’d love to have you join our team – Check out our open positions!

Written by: Jackie Mwesigwa