Longtime classic volunteers share their fondest memories; Volunteer positions still available for 2011 Classic
LA QUINTA, Calif. – The actors, entertainers, athletes and PGA TOUR golfers are not the only attractions at the Bob Hope Classic. Some of the tournament’s crew of nearly 2,000 volunteers, who contribute about 100,000 hours annually to help successfully operate the iconic event, have spent more years working for the Classic than in their past careers.
Take 92-year-old Peggy Greenberg. There is no current Bob Hope Classic volunteer who has seen the tournament more. Greenberg will volunteer for her 47th Classic in January. One of the most tradition-rich tournaments on the PGA TOUR, the 52nd Bob Hope Classic takes place Jan. 17-23, 2011 and features 128 PGA TOUR professionals and 384 amateur contestants, including a stellar list of celebrities. Greenberg has been there for all but five Classics.
“I probably have shaken the hands of everybody that’s ever played in the tournament,” Greenberg said. “They’ll probably have to wheel me in some day, but I’m not going to give up. I’d love to celebrate my 50th anniversary with the Bob Hope Classic. I’ll keep going if they’ll still have me.”
The 2011 Bob Hope Classic continues to actively seek volunteers for departments such as marshals, security and walking scorers. The cost to volunteer is $63, which includes a Bob Hope Classic volunteer uniform (tournament-logoed shirt, jacket and cap or visor), a volunteer badge and a guest badge good for admission all week to the Classic, complimentary breakfast items and boxed lunches.
Those interested in sharing in the Bob Hope Classic’s storied history and most sentimental moments by volunteering can call volunteer coordinator Abby Savich-Massey at 760-346-0756 or apply online at http://www.bhcc.com/volunteer-information.html.
The Bob Hope Classic has become a labor of love for volunteers like Greenberg, Jim Johnson, Pat Blaugher and Diane Burton, who have lent their services to the Classic for a combined 89 years.
Greenberg, a Rancho Mirage resident who played to a 7-handicap and won 19 club championships in her heyday, first volunteered for the Bob Hope Classic as a walking scorer when it was played at Tamarisk Country Club in the 1960s. She now works in the Classic’s registration office. Greenberg’s biggest thrills from the Classic come from meeting the Classic’s countless players and celebrities, and being an instrumental part of a tournament that is a charitable leader in the Coachella Valley.
“I was active in the Ladies Club and this was just another thing to do,” Greenberg said about getting her start with the Bob Hope Classic. “And, besides that, I was excited about meeting all the big-shots. Anyway, one year just followed another.
“I’ve scored for Michael Jordan, so that was a fun thing. I have pictures of most of the foursomes for whom I have scored. I had my picture taken with our first man in space, Alan Shepard. I’ve become close with a lot of the players. There’s always Yogi Berra. Every time he sees me, we hug each other. As a matter of fact, I hug everybody. The Bob Hope Classic has been a big part of my life.”
Johnson, a retired oil refinery operator who has split his residence between Washington state and Indio for the past 21 years, has been the volunteer leader of the Shotlink automated scoring division for the past eight years. He leads about 75 people in his department. Prior to that, he led the celebrity marshals. He began his volunteer tenure with the Bob Hope Classic 20 years ago as a marshal.
“I’ve been a good golfer and a great golf fan for many years, and when I retired and we moved down here, I was very interested in volunteering,” Johnson said. “I’ve worked almost every tournament there’s been in the (Coachella) Valley for the last 20 years. I’ve worked over 100 tournaments down here. I love meeting the golfers and meeting the celebrities.”
Johnson’s favorite celebrity brushes at the tournament have included bantering with Joe Pesci and Yogi Berra, and he considered the 1998 Classic special, due to the fact that he was on hand to see fellow Washington native Fred Couples win the tournament.
In 2009, the Bob Hope Classic instituted a Volunteer of the Year award. Johnson won the second-annual award following the 2010 Classic. Johnson considers the award a result of his passion for golf.
“It was a big honor,” Johnson said. “I have a 12-inch high crystal vase with my name on it. It sits on the middle of the dining table. It goes back and forth with me (between Washington and Indio). I brought it to our (volunteer) meeting to show my group because they were very responsible for me winning this award. For a lot of people who have worked it for quite a few years, (the Bob Hope Classic) is very important to us. For us, it’s not really a job. It’s more of a social thing. If you stay with something for 21 years, you probably enjoy it or else something is wrong with you.”
Johnson, 76, doesn’t volunteer for the awards, but for the reward of socializing and developing new friendships. The Bob Hope Classic has enabled him to make new friends in the area. He is even more excited to have recruited a special someone to work by his side in the Classic’s Shotlink department.
Said Johnson: “After 17 years, I got my wife (Ethel) to work. This will be her fourth year. She’s not a golfer. I finally got her to come out with me five years ago, during the last day of the tournament. She got to see what it was all about. I would say I’ve made 30 or 40 good friends through (the Classic).”
One of Johnson’s lasting, endearing memories of the Bob Hope Classic was made with Bob Hope, who died in July 2003, shortly after his 100th birthday. Johnson feels fortunate to have witnessed Hope when he was still playing golf as host of his tournament.
“Probably when he was about 94 or 95, he came out and played a few holes,” Johnson recalled. “I was standing off to the side and he walked up to me and he put his hand on my shoulders and he said, ‘Thanks for the memories.’ I don’t have the picture of it, but I have the memory.”
Indio-resident Blaugher, 79, set to serve his 14th year as a Bob Hope Classic marshal, was recruited to the Classic’s volunteer team by friends and is a shining example that volunteering can be for everyone, not just the golf nuts.
“I was probably the least interested in golfing of anyone,” Blaugher said. “Golfing was just never my thing. (Volunteering) has turned me to watching more (golf). I just enjoy watching the golf. I enjoy this tournament. I think (volunteers) are a lot like me. They enjoy watching some of the pros come along. You get more involved in the game itself. You get to see some of the pros like (Phil) Mickelson and the other pros over the years.”
While all volunteers have personal claims to fame with the professional and celebrity golfers they encounter and the funny anecdotes that accompany the stories, Blaugher’s most famous contact with a Bob Hope Classic golfer was with the game’s greatest.
Said Blaugher: “Jack Nicklaus was on the green and we (marshals) were instructed that no one was supposed to take pictures, and this lady was standing off to the side and she had a camera. I started to walk over to tell her to put it way and he (Nicklaus) hollered over to me and said, ‘Hey, marshal, will you please stand still until I make this putt.’ The golfers and the celebrities are just a joy to work with.”
Burton, a retired secretary and 19-handicap who splits her residence between Thousand Palms and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, was recruited to volunteer for the Bob Hope Classic in 2000 by her husband, Pete, and has done it each year since.
“It’s a wonderful event,” Burton said. “I’ve met lots of interesting people. I hope this body stays in good shape. I hope I’m around for (the Classic’s) 75th anniversary.”
Burton, 68, started out as a marshal before filling in as a walking scorer the past six years. It gets her even closer to the players, which is what she most enjoys about being a volunteer.
“When they are on break, sometimes they give me a golf tip,” Burton said. “Young Ben Crane said the most important thing is a good shoulder turn. I take those tips and I go up to the driving range and practice it. I’ve had (2003 Bob Hope Classic champion) Mike Weir, who is our Canadian hero.
“Mark O’Meara is such a gentleman. One year, he told me he thought about quitting sometimes and that he was playing so bad. I told him, ‘You’re not bad. You need to come golfing with me. If you play with me, then you’ll see what bad is.’ I had Fred Couples last year and I thoroughly enjoyed Freddie. He asked me if I was going to come back and he said he had a cap for me. Everyone said, ‘Diane, how did you get so lucky?’ ”
Burton’s biggest thrill outside the ropes was a brief chat with five-time Bob Hope Classic champion Arnold Palmer. Inside the ropes, it was scoring for Bernhard Langer, the first World No. 1 golfer.
“I had a nice, little chat with Arnold Palmer at Bermuda Dunes one day,” she said. “We chatted in the shade under a tree. I told him I had a book I would like him to sign and asked him if I brought it with me another time, would you sign it? He said sure. When the Bob Hope Classic had the 50th anniversary, I knew Arnold Palmer would be there because he was the host. So I brought the book with me from Canada and, sure enough, he signed it.
“I remember I had Bernhard Langer two years in a row. The second year he had a hole-in-one. Then, the following hole, he had an eagle, so he said to me, ‘You really are bringing me luck, Diane. I want you to score every year for me.’ I had never seen a hole-in-one before.”
Not lost on any of the Bob Hope Classic volunteers is the tournament’s biggest winner – Coachella Valley’s Eisenhower Medical Center and the various charities that benefit from the Classic. Through its rich history, the Classic has donated nearly $49 million to the Coachella Valley community.
“If anything prompted me (to volunteer) more than my friends being involved, it was what (the Bob Hope Classic) does for this part of the world,” Blaugher said. “The contributions they make to the (Eisenhower) hospital and the different organizations are just great. I think you feel like you are a part of it in volunteering. It’s part of giving back. We never feel like we give back enough.”
Greenberg added: “I am so happy to be a part of something that helps so many people. It’s a great fundraiser. It just seems everything in this (Coachella) valley, things I’ve never heard of, profit from the Classic.”
Burton said: “It gives us a purpose. It makes you feel good; you’re doing something for charity. To me, it’s so rewarding.”
More exciting moments and memories are in store for golf fans at the $5 million Bob Hope Classic, played at La Quinta Country Club, SilverRock Resort, and the Palmer and Nicklaus Private Courses at PGA West. Bill Haas is defending champion. Practice rounds for the 2011 Classic at all four courses will be conducted Monday, Jan. 17 and Tuesday, Jan. 18. Tournament play begins Wednesday, Jan. 19 and concludes Sunday, Jan. 23 at the Palmer Private at PGA West.
The Classic’s website, www.bobhopeclassic.com, is one of many platforms by which fans can more easily gain information about, and purchase tickets for the 2011 Classic. Fans can follow pre-tournament and tournament-week action on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BobHopeClassic) and on Twitter (@bobhopeclassic). Fans can catch up on Classic news, see exclusive celebrity photos and quotes, and enter a variety of contests for the chance to win Bob Hope Classic tickets and other tournament prizes.
In 51 years, the Classic has donated nearly $49 million to charities throughout the Coachella Valley. For more information, go to www.bobhopeclassic.com or call 1.888.MRBHOPE (672.4673).
Contact:
Toby Zwikel
(818) 462-5599
Pat Bennett
(760) 346-8184
