It’s a course courtesy

Elia Powers

As professional and amateur golfers practiced their swings this week

at the Newport Beach Country Club driving range, they likely noticed

a man driving the vehicle that scooped up their scattered golf balls

and dodged their airborne projectiles.

That man was Dee DeVaney, and he was doing his duties pro bono. An

18-year club member, DeVaney is one of more than 900 volunteers at

the Toshiba Senior Classic, which wraps up Sunday.

Since the tournament moved to its current location 10 years ago,

DeVaney has been in charge of the driving range during tournament

week.

“It’s where a lot of the action is,” said DeVaney, a resident of

Irvine Terrace in Corona del Mar. “You can get some good interaction

with the pros. I can volunteer and be around something I love.”

On Monday, DeVaney spotted first-year PGA Champions Tour golfer

Mike Sullivan standing alone near a practice tee. Sullivan had just

finished 18 holes and was preparing take a few more drives.

DeVaney struck up a conversation and minutes later, he said,

Sullivan was giving him lessons on his swing.

But not all of DeVaney’s volunteer duties are as savory. On select

days, he wakes up at 6 a.m. and stays at the driving range until 6

p.m. to make sure tournament entrants have their chance to take

warm-up swings.

He is also in charge of crowd control near the range and is

responsible for keeping golf balls in rotation for tournament

participants.

According to Jake Rohrer, tournament co-chairman and volunteer

supervisor, getting inside the ropes is the most sought-after

assignment for volunteers. Up to 50 volunteers get that opportunity

on weekend tournament days, he said.

Other positions range from scoreboard operator to ticket taker to

clean-up crew. There are a total of 20 volunteer committees, made up

largely of Orange County residents, Rohrer said.

DeVaney said the tournament’s fundraising effort for Hoag Memorial

Hospital is one of the main reasons he stays involved. In each of the

past five years, Toshiba has collected more than $1 million, most of

which is earmarked for the Newport Beach hospital, which produces the

event.

“I’m glad money goes to them,” DeVaney said. “It’s kind of a

win-win situation for me. The hospital has benefited me greatly.”

In 2001, DeVaney underwent kidney replacement surgery at Hoag. He

has had two previous surgeries there in the last seven years and is a

member of the 552 Club, a volunteer financial support group.

Third-year Toshiba volunteer Nancy Jones, a Newport Coast

resident, also cited Hoag Hospital fundraising as her primary

motivation for helping with the tournament. She doesn’t belong to the

Newport Beach Country Club.

“It’s important to keep the hospital as good as it is and make it

better,” Jones said. “Citizens think it’s important to have an asset

like that. I’ve been passionate about Hoag from Day One.”

Jones said she is thankful of the care hospital employees gave her

husband, an avid golfer who died of cancer in July 2001. Jones, also

a golfer, said she volunteers in part to pay homage to her late

husband.

She works on the pro-am committee, which helps organize events

throughout the week.

“I know and understand golf,” Jones said. “I figure I might be

able to answer some questions people might have. It’s nice being able

to feel like you are part of the community.”

Jones said she wakes up at 5 a.m. on some tournament mornings.

Those in her committee are in charge of registering players, making

sure they have proper credentials and transporting their golf bags to

the first tee.

Newport Beach Country Club President and Chief Operating Officer

Jerry Anderson said volunteers like Jones and DeVaney are essential

to the event.

“Without them, you wouldn’t have a golf tournament.” Anderson

said. “They are right there by the action and see everything that

takes place.”

Rohrer’s vision starts anew each fall. That’s when he begins to

recruit and organize volunteers, as well as hold meetings for

committee chairs.

He said at least 15 volunteer meetings take place during

tournament week. Rohrer said that task is made easier because there

is relatively little turnover from year to year in the volunteer

pool.

“We can do things with volunteers here that other tournaments have

to pay contractors to do,” he said. “There are a lot of experts

working for us. That allows us to save on expenses and generate more

money for charity.”

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at

[email protected].