CROMWELL, Conn. — Whether it was at the Greater Hartford Open, The Buick Classic or, now, the Travelers Championship, Charles “Buddy” Buder has been busy for a week each summer volunteering at the tournament.
In December, the PGA Tour named Buder the “National Volunteer of the Year” for his dedication to the community and his work on the course.
“Becoming volunteer of the year is really about the tournament and our volunteers. I look at it as a reward not just for Buddy Buder, it’s for all the volunteers at the tournament,” said Buder, who retired from Travelers in 2019.
Buder won ten thousand dollars for his charity of choice for the honor of becoming a volunteer of the year, he donated the money to the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford.
Travelers Insurance, where Buder worked as a Risk Management Specialist, matched the ten thousand dollars when they learned he had won the honor.
“Hands down, there’s not one person that doesn’t know Buddy at the PGA Tour, (or) at the Travelers,” said Nathan Grube, the director of the Travelers Championship. “The tour picked him because he exemplifies what it means to be a volunteer, the spirit of volunteering, so for Buddy to get this on a national level is awesome.”
After finishing a practice round of scorekeeping for tour pro-Webb Simpson, Buder said that his work as a volunteer is all about supporting local causes.
“It’s for charity, it doesn’t get any better than doing it for charity and that means a lot,” he said.
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