GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Wyndham Championship is pleased to announce that Ambassador Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, the founder and CEO of Greensboro’s Pace Communications, Inc. is joining the Wyndham Championship as its honorary Chairman. The 74th annual Wyndham Championship is set for Aug. 12-18, 2013.
As the honorary Chairman, McElveen-Hunter will serve as an ambassador for the PGA TOUR event which provides important economic benefits for the entire region and the state. As the Wyndham Championship has evolved, the honorary chairmen have led the charge to promote Piedmont Triad regionalism through the PGA TOUR event.
McElveen-Hunter is a former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland (2001-‘03), and currently Chairman of the Board of the American Red Cross. Pace, the largest custom content agency in the nation, serves Fortune 500 and other market-leading companies such as Southwest Airlines, US Airways, Wells Fargo, Verizon Wireless, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Wal-Mart and USAA, making Ambassador McElveen-Hunter one of the nation’s most successful female entrepreneurs.
“I am so very proud to have been named this year’s honorary Chairman,” McElveen-Hunter said. “The Wyndham Championship has been the heart of the Piedmont Triad sports landscape for more than seven decades, and I am honored to play a small role in this important event. I plan to take this role seriously, as we all understand that the Wyndham plays a vital role in uniting the Piedmont Triad as a wonderful place to live, work and play. I look forward to communicating that to our region.”
“We are delighted that Bonnie has agreed to serve as our honorary Chairman for this year’s Wyndham Championship,” Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation Board chair Bobby Long said. “Bonnie is a pillar of the Piedmont Triad community. She understands the role our PGA TOUR event plays in promoting Piedmont Triad regionalism, and she has the ability to make a significant impact on our tournament. We are honored that she has accepted this important Wyndham Championship role.”
McElveen-Hunter joins an impressive list of former honorary chairmen that includes 2012 co-chairs Shirley and Henry Frye, Louis DeJoy, Chairman and CEO of New Breed Logistics, Kelly S. King, Chairman and CEO of BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., Allen Gant, president and chief executive officer of Glen Raven, Inc. in Burlington, N.C., Paul Fulton, Chairman of Bassett Furniture Industries in Winston-Salem, N.C., Mackey McDonald, former Chairman and CEO of VF Corporation, Dennis Glass, president and chief executive officer of Lincoln Financial; Jim Melvin, president of Bryan Foundation and former mayor of Greensboro; Charlie Reid, former chairman of United Guaranty and Fred Starr, former chairman of Thomasville Furniture.
While the honorary chairman serves as a tournament ambassador, the general chairman heads the tournament committee, the lead group of volunteers that oversees each area of tournament operations. Each Wyndham Championship area is supported by a staff member and a tournament- committee member who leads the volunteers in that area.
This year’s general chairman is Erin Winters, the East coast sales executive for Made To Order, a company that specializes in the development, sourcing and sales of logo-branded apparel and merchandise. Winters, a native of Eden, N.C., has been volunteering for the Wyndham since 2004 and brings a wealth of experience to the tournament committee.
“We are extremely fortunate to have the veteran tournament committee that we have,” tournament director Mark Brazil said. “I really do not think there is a more experienced group of lead volunteers at any other PGA TOUR event. Erin is an excellent leader; she and the rest of her committee are completely dedicated to the Wyndham Championship. As the tournament gets closer, they treat the Wyndham as a fulltime job, but they do it in addition to their real fulltime jobs. That kind of dedication is unusual, and we are very, very grateful for their dedication, leadership and commitment to excellence.”
Fifteen people make up the all-volunteer tournament committee; members of the 2013 committee are below with the areas of tournament operations they represent and their employers:
2012 general Chairman: Erin Winters, Made to Order
Food & Beverage: Steve Melton, Signature Wealth Management
Contestant Services: Mark Ingram, Concrete Surface Alterations, LLC
Course Management: Will Yearns, Granville Homes, LLC
Course Management: Mike McDonald, Wild Geese Enterprises
First Impressions: Marc Bush, Tournament Hosts Committee of Greensboro, Inc.
Parking/Shuttles: Lindley Ivey, Creative Communications
Pro-Ams: Thomas Hockman, Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC
Security: Mike Ebel, Arcadis, U.S., Inc.
Sponsor Services: Will McPherson, Trust Company of the South
Sponsor Services: Carolyn Walters, Management Services Group LLC
Member at Large: Clayton Pressley, Duke Energy
Member at Large: Randy Williard, Williard Technical Services, Inc.
Member at Large: Mason McClain, Sunbelt Business Brokers
Member at Large: Mark Messick, Messick & Company, Inc.
2012 General Chairman: Mike Barber, Attorney/CEO, The First Tee of the Triad
Contested annually on the Donald Ross-designed course at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., the Wyndham Championship was founded in 1938 and is the seventh-oldest event on the PGA TOUR. Tickets are available at www.wyndhamchampionship.com or through the tournament office. The tournament thanks title sponsor Wyndham Worldwide, presenting sponsor BB&T and Premier Partners, Flow Automotive, Harris Teeter, McConnell Golf, Sunbrella®, Technology Concepts & Design, Inc. and VF Corporation for their continued support. Additional tournament information, including ticket packages and sponsorship information, is available at www.wyndhamchampionship.com or through the tournament office at (336) 379-1570. For more information about Wyndham Worldwide, please visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com.