by Emilie Carmolinga, 2019 ATTBN Junior Reporter
I knew there were volunteers at the AT&T Byron Nelson, but I never knew that they cared so much about Momentous School. Today I interviewed Amy Burgher, who has volunteered at the last four tournaments.
She made me realize that some questions have quick, easy answers:
- Q: How many volunteers are there at the AT&T Byron Nelson?
o A: 1,200 - Q: What times do volunteers come and go?
o A: Shifts go from 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM – or longer!
Other questions result in answers that come right from the heart:
- Q: Why do you volunteer at the AT&T Byron Nelson?
o A: I volunteer because Momentous Institute is amazing, and I love the School!
At this point, Amy Burgher teared up. I thought, “Oh no, did I say the wrong thing? Did I break her heart?”
Turns out, Burgher is a Mom and a teacher. She’s learned about social emotional health from Momentous Institute. She knows us pretty well, as she talked about the glitter ball, and the app. Burgher understands the importance of taking deep breaths and calming down.
The fact that just thinking about my school made her tear up made me think, “Wow, she really cares about our school!” Then I kind of laughed. I’ve gone to Momentous School since Kindergarten, and I really like it, but I’ve never thought about it strongly. I’ve heard people talk about how special it is, and with Amy, I got to see a real-life example. It made me realize that tournament volunteers and students are connected to each other, even though we may not see this every day.
I asked Burgher about her favorite tournament memory. She said that she loves volunteering on Sunday, and getting to find out who the winner is for the Byron Nelson.
Amy is on the ShotLink team. This means she is like a human camera. The PGA Tour describes it this way: ShotLink is a “platform for collecting and disseminating scoring and statistical data on every shot by every player in real-time.” There are 120 volunteers in this group. Why so many? Because there are 18 holes and four volunteers at each hole.
Burgher also said that the Byron Nelson is like a family affair for her. Her husband is a Marshall, and her kids are spectators.
This interview was so exciting because I got to learn more about Volunteers than I’ve ever known before.
Thank you so much Amy Burgher for letting us interview you!
