WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., June 22, 2015 — It’s every golf fanatic’s dream, the Greenbrier Classic. Taking place this summer from June 29 – July 5, the PGA Tour FedEx Cup event attracts golfers and their fans from all over the world and features a purse of $6,700,000 and more than 1,400 volunteers.
West Liberty University rising senior Emily Unnone has been one of these volunteers in the past and is working a paid internship at the Classic this summer.
“I’m thrilled to be back at the Greenbrier Classic this summer,” said Unnone, who is a public relations major from Martinsburg, W.Va., and plans on a career in event management, specifically sporting events. The daughter of Elaine Unnone and Victor Unnone, Jr., both of Martinsburg, this is her fourth Classic.
“I attended the Greenbrier Classic once with my cousin and brother as a spectator. Then the last two years I volunteered. This year I’m actually working in tournament and event services,” she said.
“The first time I went, I was with my cousin, his girlfriend (now wife), my brother, and some of our friends. I had never been to a golf tournament. I went golfing maybe once before and I’d been to the Greenbrier several times but had never went to the course. While we were all walking around I remember walking faster than the group. I was the only girl (as usual) besides my cousin’s wife and they had separated from the group to follow Tom Watson. I remember it was on Fairway 12 of the Old White, right in front of Howards Creek Lodge that I had an overwhelming feeling of happiness. I never felt anything like it before. I was at a sporting event — and I was calm. I mean I probably wasn’t watching correctly, but still — it was something about being outside and the excitement of being so close to the golfers, it actually calmed me. That’s when I knew I had to do more than watch the Greenbrier Classic,” she said.
Now, she’s doing much more. Unnone is a player services assistant and she has three specific tasks over her nine-week internship. She takes care of social media player releases, handles scheduling of player activities during tournament week and coordinates player car transportation.
“Everyday is a new lesson for me and I’m loving it,” she said. For example, she’s become an expert with Excel and created a spreadsheet that lists all information about each player’s Ford-sponsored tournament cars. She has to keep track of them as they go to and from airports and while there are at the Greenbrier.
Her supervisors are Executive Tournament Director Monte Ortel, Director of Special Events Ashley Hamilton and Tournament Coordinator Jim Sweetwood.
Unnone discovered another happy sense of belonging when she learned that Ortel, who graduated from Slippery Rock, had a Professor Crow who is the brother of her Professor Craig Crow, a WLU business professor.
“There are so many great people I’ve met at the Greenbrier and everyone is so friendly and working together to achieve another spectacular tournament. This is definitely the chance of a lifetime for me,” she said.
During her internship, Unnone is housed in Lewisburg, where all tournament assistants and interns stay in a rental house. She is happy with the many opportunities to network and enjoy a great experience that is sure to help her post-college as she builds her professional career.
By the way, she doesn’t golf — yet. But she wants to learn and the Greenbrier’s Old White TPC Course is definitely a storied place to start.
Players begin to arrive Sunday, June 28.
Defending champion is Argentine golf legend Angel Cabrera, who made his first appearance at the Greenbrier Classic last summer with a final round score of 64. He’ll be back to defend his title along with other past champions, Jonas Blixt and Scott Stallings. Fans also will enjoy seeing 14-time major championship winner Tiger Woods, eight-time PGA Tour winner Mike Weir, six-time PGA Tour winner Bill Haas, plus many more top golfers.
Guess who’s involved in scheduling the pros “activities?”
“The PGA requires every stop on the tour to have activities for the players and their families and player activities for Tournament Week is a project that I am working on closely with Ashley Hamilton,” she explained, adding that the actual activity schedule is “top secret” so she can’t say much but she did mention a big Fourth of July party and a Sam Snead outdoorsman challenge that includes a day of fishing, shooting and riding around the grounds on off-road utility vehicles and named after golf legend Sam Snead.
Overall, Unnone will come away from this summer internship with much more experience, contacts and knowledge in the field of marketing, communications and sporting event management. But perhaps the biggest plus is her sense of career choice confirmation.
“I tend to put a lot of unnecessary pressure on myself. But being here, I’ve learned that I’m where I belong. I am proud of growing up in West Virginia, which is why I fell in love with the Greenbrier,” Unnone said.
“Celebrating America’s Birthday on the Fourth of July at America’s Resort, the Greenbrier while working for this world class tournament is a privilege,” she said.