Behind the scenes -- Ron Singer

-- Story by June Casagrande, photo by

NAME: Ron Singer

TITLE: Chairman of uniform distribution

HOME: Irvine

HE IS

A volunteer’s volunteer

DAILY DUTIES

The crisp, clean corps of about 1,100 volunteers over the course of

the Toshiba Senior Classic owe their uniform look to Singer’s Uniform

Distribution committee -- a team whose eight members have been the same

every year for six years.

“Yup, zero turnover,” Singer said. “We all just keep coming back.”

Singer and his colleagues are the first people the other volunteers

see when they begin their jobs at the annual tournament. Singer and

friends sign in each new volunteer, match them up with the right size

uniform and give them their credentials to be on the golf course.

“The shirt sizes vary a lot from year to year,” he said. “So we let

volunteers look at a shirt, hold it up to themselves, see how it fits.”

Every volunteer this year is equipped with a white, short-sleeved golf

shirt with the Toshiba and PGA logos on the front. Depending on their

duties, others this year get a red sweater, a jacket or a cap. Volunteers

who want to can also buy garments that aren’t issued to them free as

uniforms.

“Sometimes it’s a little like being a personal tailor, but when you

only have red sweaters, there’s only one answer to the question: ‘Is red

my color?”’ said Singer, who noted that he is colorblind.

Hands down, Singer’s favorite part of the job is interacting with the

other volunteers -- a breed of people he says is nothing short of

extraordinary.

“Almost without a single exception, these are really and genuinely

amazing people,” he said. “I used to try to figure out what sets them

apart, but I gave up because I just don’t know.”

In six years as uniform chairman, Singer has established some

relationships he’ll never forget. Longtime co-volunteer Pete Cuneo is a

perfect example.

“He said he won’t be back next year because he’s moving and it’s just

such a shame for me to hear,” Singer said. “He’s just such an amazing

person I never would have gotten to know if it weren’t for this volunteer

experience. We’re all really going to miss him.”