For all the stories that I’ve written about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the financial services industry, most of you likely don’t know that I got into journalism as a sports writer. I spent a handful of years writing for newspapers and magazines, mostly covering my favorite sport — hockey. So, when the opportunity to write about hockey and debt collecting in the same article presents itself, you can bet I’m going to cash that check. Especially given the circumstances of this situation.
A published report spotlights Mal Goldenberg, a 79-year old Rhode Island resident who still works as an accountant at a commercial collection agency in Massachusetts and is vice chairman of the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame. The reason Goldenberg is being profiled is the organization announced its 2020 inductees this past weekend.
Congratulations to Goldenberg for still working at 79 — he obviously loves being in the collection industry — and for donating his time to such a worthy cause. Goldenberg has a chance to recount some of his hockey memories in the report, noting that, “there is not a day in the year that [he] isn’t talking hockey with someone, in person or on the phone, as he helps keep the R.I. Hockey Hall of Fame and R.I. Reds Society alive.”
In fact, Goldenberg still laces up the skates twice a week to play hockey with a group called the Rhody Oldies.
As told by Goldenberg and verified by those who have been elected to the state’s Hockey Hall of Fame so far, Rhode Island has a deep love for the sport and a long history tying itself to the game.
