by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Looking for Clerk of the Courts Jim Fuller this week? Try The Players Championship where he’s volunteering all week.
“I’m a volunteer for Corporate Hospitality,” said Fuller, clad in a golf shirt, khaki pants and baseball cap. “We are the volunteer group that handles the corporate tents, making sure everyone that gets in has ID. One of my jobs is to make sure every tent has a phone and a TV.”
Fuller joins a volunteer group that numbers just over 1,500 this year and a group that virtually anyone attached to the tournament will testify is responsible the tournament’s success. Fuller is also a member of this year’s freshman crew of volunteers, many of whom have been donating their time and energy for decades. But, Fuller says, he’d have volunteered many times before had the circumstances been more favorable professionally.
“For years I was in the legislature [as a local member of the House of Representatives] and we were always in session this time of year, so I never could volunteer down here,” said Fuller, adding that he sees the week as a chance to give back to the community and do something for an event that quietly benefits so many people locally. “This tournament generates so much money for charity. Anything I can do to help is good.”
For the next several days, Fuller will rise long before the sun and get home long after it sets. The life of a volunteer during tournament week is hardly glamorous. The days are very long, the elements are always a factor and the spotlight is reserved for others — namely the golfers and those who paid big bucks to see them play.
Fuller completely understands this and has gone out his way to assure his fellow volunteers that he’s just one of many, despite his public office status.
“I’m just ‘Jim’ this week,” he said. “I’m here to help. I’m basically just a gopher with a radio. If they call, I go do it.”
The job may sound fairly simple. But, the fact is, keeping the corporate folks happy is a big deal at any professional sports event, but perhaps even more so during Players Championship week. While there are almost 20 corporate tents this year, Fuller and his crew only have to cater to about half of them. Several tents are chalets, meaning they have their own private services that wait on them hand-and-foot, handling everything from cold beer to hot phone lines.
The others are the responsibility of Fuller and the other 46 volunteers in his committee. Monday was walk-through day at the TPC Stadium course and an opportunity to check each tent one last time before the masses invade.
“We looked at all of the tents today. A couple didn’t have TVs in them and we want to make sure all the phones work,” said Fuller. “These corporations pay a lot of money and we want to make sure they are happy.”
Look for Fuller to make volunteering at the Players Championship an annual event. He enjoys golf personally and admires what the tournament means to the community. He also understands his role.
“I’m one of the members of the volunteer committee, but I’m certainly not the boss,” said Fuller. “I’m just one of 47 volunteers. The days are long and starting Wednesday we’ll probably get here about 6 a.m. and leave at 8 or 9 p.m. We leave when everything is done.”