Shownotes
The forthcoming episode of Grilling at the Green delves into the intricacies of the Standard Portland Classic, an esteemed LPGA tournament that graces Columbia Edgewater Country Club from August 13th to 16th. We are joined by the tournament directors, Monica Olson and Lynn Clary, who elucidate their experiences and insights garnered over the past six years of managing this iconic event. The discussion highlights their commitment to fostering community engagement and the vital role of sponsorships in sustaining the tournament's success. Furthermore, they reveal exciting new features for this year, including an enhanced Family Fun Zone, which promises to enrich the spectator experience. As we navigate the challenges and triumphs of orchestrating such a significant occasion, we invite listeners to appreciate the dedication required to maintain the tournament's esteemed legacy.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Little Bird Media Solutions
- Standard Portland Classic
- Columbia Edgewater
- Nike
- Les Schwab Tires
- Birdie Ball
- Painted Hills
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcripts
It's time for Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:Join Jeff Tracy as he explores the golfing lifestyle and tries to keep it in the short grass.
Speaker A:For the hackers do sweepers and turf spankers.
Speaker A:Here's Jeff.
Speaker B:Hey, everybody.
Speaker B:Welcome to Grill.
Speaker B:It's Green Eye jt.
Speaker B:It is that time of the year.
Speaker B:The Standard Portland Classic is rolling back into town here.
Speaker B:August 13th through the 16th at Columbia Edgewater, longest running LPGA tournament in the country.
Speaker B:I've been covering it for probably longer than I should admit, but a long time.
Speaker B:And today we're very fortunate.
Speaker B:We have Monica Olson and Lynn Clary with us.
Speaker B:They are the tournament directors and they are also the co owners of Little Bird Media Solutions.
Speaker B:Ladies, welcome to.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker B: is thing has been going since: Speaker D:It has.
Speaker B: Were you guys born by: Speaker C:Well, funny.
Speaker C: age, but we were Both born in: Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker D:And if the tournament was held in August.
Speaker D:Yeah, pretty much.
Speaker D:Being born.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:I won't ask you your birthdays, but the actual dates.
Speaker B:Well, it's a very substantial tournament.
Speaker B:Like I said, it's been around for a long time.
Speaker B:It's kind of an icon, not only here in the Portland area, but across the country.
Speaker B:And you guys have been.
Speaker B:Little Bird has been working with it now for what, five years?
Speaker B:Four years?
Speaker C:Six.
Speaker B:Sixth year.
Speaker D:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:So let me ask you a really broad question.
Speaker B:What have you learned so far?
Speaker D:What have we learned?
Speaker D:We can do big, hard things.
Speaker B:Well, let me frame it a little better than that.
Speaker B:It's a big learning curve to not only run a tournament, but to actually be involved because there's so many details, there's so much to learn.
Speaker B:And then when you're at the top level there, you make the decisions, you ask for input from people, obviously, and all that, but you still have to say yes or no.
Speaker B:Let me frame it this way.
Speaker B:Maybe.
Speaker B:What was the toughest thing that you think you've learned but you've conquered over the last six years?
Speaker C:That's a tricky question.
Speaker A:Gosh.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:So the first few years, also, to clarify, we were focused mostly on sponsorships and sponsorship development.
Speaker C:And for those that don't know this tournament, all of its revenue, or I should say 99% of their revenue, is brought in by sponsors.
Speaker C:And so ticket sales are a small portion of it.
Speaker C:So that's the 1%.
Speaker C:But so sponsorships are really important.
Speaker C:And it was interesting to learn just how important that is.
Speaker C:But then Also through the process of going out and working with different businesses, realizing how important this event is to the community, and also just how great people feel about women's sports.
Speaker E:Yes.
Speaker C:So that's been really exciting and that's been really fun to learn and see just the reaction, the business community's reaction to this particular event and women's sports in general.
Speaker B:Well, I think Portland's always been pretty welcoming to.
Speaker B:To women's sports.
Speaker B:Not always, but most of the time.
Speaker B:But I think with this tournament being so ingratiated in the Portland psyche that I think that really helps for businesses, even businesses that you've gone out and developed to become a sponsor over a period of time, I think you've made it easy for them with this tournament because it is so well received, it's well attended.
Speaker B:You bring a lot of the big stars from the tour here, here into Portland.
Speaker B:And as Monica and I have talked and other tour players have talked that have been on the show that, you know, the ladies are a lot more approachable than the guys are on the tours.
Speaker B:And not all of them, but most of them, you know, like that.
Speaker B:And so I think that that combination makes for a good atmosphere, if you will, that they can be associated with something, an event, and make a difference, too.
Speaker C:Well, in Columbia, Edgewater, just the course layout the way it is, it makes it really easy to get up and up close to a lot of these players when you're watching.
Speaker C:And so I think that that also adds to that, what you were just saying.
Speaker C:And they love giving autographs, they love engaging with the fans.
Speaker C:And so, yeah, it's.
Speaker C:I agree.
Speaker C:I think the LPGA does a really good job with that.
Speaker B:Are they.
Speaker B:Are some of the players still staying at private homes?
Speaker B:That's always been a big deal here.
Speaker D:Yeah, it's changed a little bit now with, you know, Airbnb and Yeah.
Speaker D:Other options.
Speaker D:But that does happen some.
Speaker D:Yep.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And the.
Speaker C:With the purses across tour going up, it does allow for.
Speaker C:Which is a good thing, you know, so players can afford to do their own housing, but a lot prefer it, even if, you know, they can afford different housing.
Speaker C:They like staying with some of these families, and a lot of them they've stayed with for many years.
Speaker B:Well, it's always kind of nice at the end of the day to be able to go someplace that you're familiar with, you're comfortable with.
Speaker B:You can put your feet up.
Speaker B:Maybe they're going to make a barbecue or.
Speaker B:Of course, that's my world.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But they're going to do something like that.
Speaker B:Very.
Speaker B:A personalized touch for the players to help them relax.
Speaker B:I lived in a lot of hotel rooms over my career.
Speaker B:Too many to count.
Speaker B:And the only thing they were good for was sleeping.
Speaker B:As far as I was concerned.
Speaker B:There wasn't much.
Speaker B:There wasn't much homie Hominess about them.
Speaker B:What's.
Speaker B:What's the difference this year?
Speaker E:Every year?
Speaker B:I know you guys have worked on the tournament and it's every tournament throughout the tours, but what's a little things that are different this year for the fans when they come, different for the fans themselves?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:Well, we have some.
Speaker D:A lot of the favorite stuff returning.
Speaker D:So we've got the Family Fun Zone, which is now the Nike Family Fund Zone.
Speaker D:And what's different this year is Nike is a sponsor and also it's being.
Speaker C:Run by the first tee.
Speaker D:So that's something that's a little different.
Speaker D:And I think you'll notice the grandstands are just a little bigger.
Speaker D:And I think you'll notice a little more people already.
Speaker D:Ticket sales are doing really well.
Speaker D:So I think the energy.
Speaker D:More people, the more energy.
Speaker D:We're doing some fun things this year.
Speaker D:We've got a birdie challenge on hole eight that we're doing.
Speaker D:Oh, cool.
Speaker D:For every birdie made by the LPGA player, the standard is giving $500 to the first tee.
Speaker B:Oh, excellent.
Speaker D:Yeah, so that'll just be a little more.
Speaker D:Something more to follow along with while there people are out there.
Speaker D:Oh, we've got a. Fred Meyer is going to be out there this year, and we are calling it the Fred Meyer fan favorites at 10 top there will be giving away some samples.
Speaker D:So something free for everyone.
Speaker B:Kind of like they used to have one that you walked through when you first got your tickets and there were samplings and gave away lip balm and different things.
Speaker D:Yeah, it'll be out a little further on course.
Speaker D:It'll be over by the volunteer tent and sports broad pop up, which is also returning.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, that's good.
Speaker B:That's really good.
Speaker B:I know that of course, during the COVID years and you guys kind of came in right at the latter half of the COVID stuff to.
Speaker A:To.
Speaker B:To manage that.
Speaker B:Some of those things went away not just from Portland, but from other tournaments.
Speaker B:Just, you know, it was.
Speaker B:I don't want to say it was the law, but it kind of was.
Speaker B:You know, we people cautionary about things, but I've always felt that those kinds of things really help the fans kind of again, make them relaxed and have fun.
Speaker B:And it's a little something to do while they're following their players around like that.
Speaker B:When you talked about the we're going to talk about the first tee in a later segment, but how well received has that been since you guys have have been involved with this tournament?
Speaker B:I've noticed from out there covering it that, you know, there was a few years there was a, there was kids there, there was young girls there playing and that type of thing.
Speaker B:But the last couple years it's gotten really large in perspective.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:You're speaking to the Family Fun Zone.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:Well, this will be the first year that they are actually putting it on the first T. Is that what you're referring to there?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker D:I think, you know, they're, they are such an expert team and they bring so much value and they, they're going to be showing more than just playing golf, but also learning some life skills.
Speaker D:And so I think they're taking it to the next level.
Speaker B:Oh, very cool.
Speaker B:Hey, we're going to take a break here.
Speaker B:Monica and Lynn will be back with me in just very shortly.
Speaker B:And before we go, we'd like to thank the folks at Birdie Ball who have a little bit of interest in the Family Fun Zone this year.
Speaker B:We'll talk more about that when we come back.
Speaker B:But you're listening to Grilling at the Green on Golf News Network.
Speaker E:Hey, everybody, J here.
Speaker B:If you need something to practice with.
Speaker E:In the inclement weather, try Birdie ball.
Speaker E:Go to birdieball.com check out the actual Birdie balls, their packages, their putting greens, which I happen to have a couple of those, and they work great.
Speaker E:Birdieball.com.
Speaker B:Welcome back to grilling at 3:89 JT.
Speaker B:We've got Monica Olson and Lynn Clary with us from Little Bird, and they are the tournament directors for the Stand Standard Portland Classic coming up at Columbia Edgewater on August 13th through the 16th in August, of course, like I just said.
Speaker B:And if you're going to be in the Portland area or you're listening to this on one of the Portland stations, great event.
Speaker B:I recommend everybody come out and see it.
Speaker B:The entertainment factor, we talked a little bit about that with the, the Family Fun Zone and, and all that.
Speaker B:But, you know, for, how should I put this, the bang for your buck in entertainment dollars.
Speaker B:The tournament is a great value because of things you see the world's best golfers there and there's fun things to do, there's fun things to eat.
Speaker B:There's a lot of interaction there kind of if Monica and Lynn were just coming into the tournament for the first time, you'd never been there, and you're walking around.
Speaker B:How excited would you be to see all this stuff?
Speaker D:I think very excited.
Speaker D:What we tell people is you need.
Speaker D:If you're a golf golf fan, this is definitely the place for you to be.
Speaker D:But even if you're not, you're going to have a really great time because there's literally something for everyone.
Speaker D:And you know, you hit the nail on the head with the price.
Speaker D:It's 25 is what the tickets start at.
Speaker D:And kids 17 and under are free, so a whole family can go out for the day and really, you know, very affordably.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker D:Eat great food, see different vendors, see some golf, play in the family fun.
Speaker C:Zone, visit one of the bars.
Speaker B:That's a highlight.
Speaker B:That's a highlight for kids, you know, a little older, but it's all good.
Speaker B:You know, the sports bra, this is their second year or third year?
Speaker C:The second.
Speaker B:Second year.
Speaker B:And how was that received last year?
Speaker B:I walked down there one day and it was packed and so I figured it was doing well, but I thought I'd ask the bosses.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, it was great.
Speaker C:We weren't sure, you know, with our first year, what to expect.
Speaker C:It is an elevated ticket, so $60 or $65 gets you into the tournament.
Speaker C:So into the grounds, but then also into this, this special space.
Speaker C:It does also give you a free drink with that price, but it on hole 15.
Speaker C:Great viewing and it has the.
Speaker C:The vibe you would expect by being part of the sports Bra.
Speaker C:It's really fun.
Speaker C:And we're already about double our ticket sales in that specific space this year over last year.
Speaker C:So I anticipate a lot of people being there.
Speaker C:What was great is there were a lot of people I spoke to in the pop up that said they had never been to a golf tournament and.
Speaker C:And they love sports, but they had not been to a golf tournament and they were having a great time and promised to come back.
Speaker C:So hopefully we will see some of those people coming back this year.
Speaker B:Oh, I would bet you would be.
Speaker B:I want to talk about the first tee again.
Speaker B:Like that first tee is such a viable program.
Speaker B:It's been around for more than a couple of days clear across the country.
Speaker B:But the first T chapter here in Portland, Paul and his crew over there do it.
Speaker B:Do a great job.
Speaker B:How?
Speaker B:I mean, tell us about your working dynamic with them.
Speaker B:I know Paul's very easy to get along with and work with, but most people don't know about the planning and the timing.
Speaker B:And everything else that goes to put on a tournament.
Speaker B:They get there when the event is going and they go home before the cleanup happens.
Speaker B:But how integral was first key in working with you guys this last few years?
Speaker D:Yeah, they've been.
Speaker D:They've been very integral part of the tournament.
Speaker D:And in fact, the last few years they've helped us run the Le Schwab Tires junior tournament.
Speaker D:They took that to the next level for us.
Speaker D:And then, yeah, early on we started talking about the idea of them running the family fun zone.
Speaker D:And they have been very involved, very detailed, so very, very important part.
Speaker B:So what if.
Speaker B:If you've got a.
Speaker B:A young daughter and they want to come and what can they expect?
Speaker B:I mean, how does that work?
Speaker B:Do they just show up or do they sign up online or how does the.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker B:What's the kids.
Speaker D:Well, if you're, if you're speaking to the les Schwab Tires Junior Tournament.
Speaker D:Yes, just for, for girls.
Speaker D:And it's girls seven to 18.
Speaker D:There's two.
Speaker D:Two groups.
Speaker D:And that's on Saturday.
Speaker D:And you can sign up [email protected] and it's free and it's really fun little competition.
Speaker D:And it starts at 11 on Saturday.
Speaker B:And did it.
Speaker B:Can they win prizes and stuff when it's done?
Speaker B:Did they get a free set of tires?
Speaker D:I mean, no tires.
Speaker C:No, they do get a trophy.
Speaker C:If they win, they get a trophy.
Speaker B:Oh, cool.
Speaker C:Well, and Franz is going to have their grilled cheese truck out that day.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And that's not just for the girls competing, actually.
Speaker C:That's for everybody.
Speaker C:So you can come grab a grilled.
Speaker C:Free grilled cheese sandwich.
Speaker C:And then.
Speaker C:So the, the girls tournament goes on at the same time as the tournament.
Speaker C:It's at the Mason course, which runs parallel to the tournament course.
Speaker C:So it's happening all at the same time.
Speaker B:I know where I'm going to send my crew for lunch.
Speaker B:I might lead the way there.
Speaker B:I love grilled cheese sandwiches.
Speaker B:Now some of the players have come over from time to time when they're done with their round or whatever and help the girls, spoke to them, give them little tips and stuff.
Speaker B:Can they still expect that?
Speaker D:Yes, they can.
Speaker C:Yes, definitely.
Speaker B:So are you two going to be giving a golf clinic there?
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker C:You don't want that.
Speaker D:How to not play golf?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, no, no.
Speaker B:I think, I think you're sandbaggers is what I think.
Speaker B:I think you're better than what you let on there.
Speaker B:So it's all good.
Speaker B:We got about a minute left and we'll pick this up on the other side.
Speaker B:But what has been since taking the helm, what has been your, your biggest challenge to overcome?
Speaker C:I would say.
Speaker C:So this is, you know, we started with sponsorship mostly and then now this is year two doing all of it.
Speaker C:And just, you know, last year probably was a lot more challenging in the sense that we were just building our own systems and you know, with a big event there's a lot of details.
Speaker C:And so yeah, you know, we did the work to create new spreadsheets, new systems, new project management details.
Speaker C:We hired some people and so now we, we were kind of paying ourselves forward.
Speaker C:So this year has been a lot smoother.
Speaker C:We feel, you know, we're very organized and we're ready.
Speaker C:You know, even though we're a week and a half away, we feel like we could even start it tomorrow if we had to.
Speaker B:Well, there you go.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:We're going to take another break.
Speaker B:We're going to be back with Lynn and Monica here on grilling at the green, the standard Portland Classic again coming up August 13th through the 16th at Columbia Edgewater.
Speaker B:I will be there.
Speaker B:They will be there.
Speaker B:Hopefully you will be there and we will be back on the other side of this break ready for a new ride.
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Speaker C:FOREIGN.
Speaker B:Welcome back to grilling at the Green.
Speaker B:I'm JT Today we are talking with Lynn and Monica from Little Bird who are the management team, the co tournament directors, the two ladies that are probably going to collapse in their chairs on Monday the 17th.
Speaker B:They might not even show up in their office that day.
Speaker B:I'm not sure because it's a big job.
Speaker B:But for the Portland, the standard Portland Classic coming up, I want to talk to you about growth a little bit.
Speaker B:Not uncommon for as you guys know for any events to you start off, you Grow, you go up a little bit and you plateau a little bit.
Speaker B:And then something, you know, a spark ignites and you grow up a little more.
Speaker B:You go up a little more like that.
Speaker B:What's the growth pattern for a tournament like the standard?
Speaker B:Is it every year you want to do you know, your goals are to get what?
Speaker B:More, more people in the seats.
Speaker B:More the number one and number two player in the world.
Speaker B:I mean there's, there's always something to reach for.
Speaker B:What, what is, what are.
Speaker B:I should say your goals?
Speaker D:Goals?
Speaker D:I would say all of the above.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker D:So we would love to get more sponsors involved.
Speaker D:We'd love to get more, more people out there to watch the tournament.
Speaker D:Always to get the top golfers, which we've, we've attracted a lot of the top golfers throughout the years.
Speaker D:And there are things that, beyond our control that play into that as well.
Speaker E:Sure.
Speaker B:Always people.
Speaker D:And you know, we've had a weird few years too.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker D:So we had the pandemic coming out of that and then we, we moved the course, the golf course moved one year.
Speaker D:So that was a bit of maybe a disruption.
Speaker D:And then in addition to that we had, you know, in between title sponsors.
Speaker D:So with a title sponsor I think always comes a lot of excitement.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker D:So I think we're really on the upswing with, you know, we've got some momentum behind us.
Speaker D:Second year that the standards been the sponsor.
Speaker D:And we can tell like I said before by ticket sales like the numbers are double now what they were last year at this time.
Speaker B:That's great.
Speaker B:So you, you.
Speaker B:I don't know the actual numbers and you don't have to say those, but would I be fair in saying that it's attended by 20,000 plus people?
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker C:Close.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:That's the goal.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:No, I, I'm not trying to pin anybody down, but just to give a sense of.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker B:Perspective, you know, for people because it's, it's a well attended tournament and you're right.
Speaker B:You know, I thought, I thought when they, they had to move it up to the Oregon Golf Club.
Speaker B:Nice club.
Speaker B:Not very fan friendly up there.
Speaker B:You know, just because it sits up on the side of a mountain and you know it does.
Speaker B:And so there wasn't a lot of space for people to follow and you know, I'm surprised we didn't have dog sleds and wheelchairs up there for some people to get around the course.
Speaker B:But yeah, you know, it was a difficult course, but it's.
Speaker B:The course wasn't built for that.
Speaker B:You know, it's.
Speaker B:It's a.
Speaker B:It's a private deal, and on the administration side, you know, we talked about sponsors and stuff.
Speaker B:I. I live in that world, and it's.
Speaker B:It can be tough, but always there is that little.
Speaker B:What I want to call, like, you got a defibrillator and you get a new sponsor and you kind of zap life back into the event like that.
Speaker B:How did this.
Speaker B:How did the standard come to be?
Speaker B:And because I know that now they are very involved.
Speaker D:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker D:Their sponsorship started off small.
Speaker C:They were kind of dipping their toe.
Speaker D:In the water, if you will, a couple years ago.
Speaker C:And then it's grown over time.
Speaker C:There's a couple champions within their organization who really believe in the tournament, not just because it's a good marketing vehicle, but because it's a good community vehicle.
Speaker C:It really matches and aligns with their own core values and the energy that they have brought.
Speaker C:They're amazing to work with.
Speaker C:I mean, not only are they obviously a very important financial partner, but we value them in all their ideas, and they've got some great ideas, and so we work very, very closely with them.
Speaker B:I want to talk to you, too, also about your.
Speaker B:Your women's seminar symposium.
Speaker B:That's a big deal.
Speaker B:I covered it one time.
Speaker B:I was.
Speaker B:I had to take pictures of it.
Speaker B:And that's when it was held at Columbia Edgewater, though it wasn't, you know, wasn't off site.
Speaker B:It was right there.
Speaker B:But it's.
Speaker B:How many, you know, how many people are attending and what's the focus of.
Speaker B:Of the event and what's.
Speaker B:Who is speaking this year?
Speaker D:Yeah, well, the focus of the event is really, you know, lifting up women and women in sports, but we cover more than just that.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker D:You asked about attendance.
Speaker D:I think it's been growing year over year, so probably even since we had to move it from the country club to a larger venue.
Speaker D:And it's now at Nike, who can.
Speaker D:And their stadium can hold up to 700 people.
Speaker D:I think last year we had over 400.
Speaker D:And we were just looking at some numbers.
Speaker D:And those numbers are even greater than that this year.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, I know.
Speaker B:Back when I covered it.
Speaker B:And that would have been.
Speaker B:Well, that was pre Covid, I think, and it was.
Speaker B:It was very, very well attended.
Speaker B:But it was upstairs kind of where we were a couple days ago, where I, you know, you and I were doing the site check, and.
Speaker B:But it was kind of back in one of the rooms, and they were packed.
Speaker B:It was packed in there.
Speaker D:We wouldn't fit there now.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, no, I think.
Speaker B:I think that's great.
Speaker B:And it's nice that it's kind of all combined in.
Speaker B:In one package.
Speaker B:So I'll start with, with you, Lynn.
Speaker B:What's the biggest grad gratification for you personally?
Speaker B:And now you might answer this, you know, two weeks from Monday, you might not give me the same answer, but what's the biggest gratific you personally in being the tournament director here or the co director and working on this?
Speaker C:I think I would say it's the inspiration.
Speaker C:The inspiration that these professional athletes provide.
Speaker C:All the spectators that come, whether they are new to golf or they play a different sport, maybe they're not even a golfer.
Speaker C:And one of my very favorite things is to see young kids getting autographs from these athletes and their smiles and excitement in doing so.
Speaker C:And then on the reverse, having these players also be excited to give these kids a hug or sign their autographs.
Speaker C:So I think it's the inspiration that this whole thing brings.
Speaker B:Cool, Monica.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:Well, I think to sort of piggyback on what Lynn said, the.
Speaker D:I guess it's the honor to help carry on the tradition.
Speaker D:I mean, it has such a history in the market.
Speaker D:And then, you know, it was a big deal when we were asked to kind of help make this thing run.
Speaker D:So we take it very seriously.
Speaker D:So I guess we're inspired by just being able to the gravity of putting on such an important event for the city.
Speaker B:I can tell you from my personal experience, not at this event, but in other events, it is a big deal.
Speaker A:It's a.
Speaker B:It's a big, big deal.
Speaker B:And it is an honor, I think, to be asked to.
Speaker B:To manage and to run one of these things.
Speaker B:Big responsibility.
Speaker B:There's some days you go really, you know, you kind of hit yourself in the head and ask why you're doing it.
Speaker B:But that only lasts for about five seconds.
Speaker B:And then you, you know, you get going.
Speaker B:But that.
Speaker B:What's the one thing that we'll start with Monica, this time?
Speaker B:What's the one thing you look forward to at this event?
Speaker B:Is there one day?
Speaker B:Is it the trophy presentation?
Speaker B:Is it, you know, the kids zone, whatever?
Speaker B:I mean, one thing that you really look forward to?
Speaker D:Well, I do think it's amazing to see the winner at the end in the ceremony.
Speaker D:So that's obviously very exciting.
Speaker D:But I also think, I look back to last year and, you know, you have all this preparation and the doors open and you sort of wait for the people to come.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker D:And last year, on Thursday I just remember how many people came.
Speaker D:It felt as big as it was on the Sunday of the last year.
Speaker D:So I think that that's kind of exciting, the anticipation of when those doors open and the people start walking through.
Speaker D:I look forward to that.
Speaker B:There's also that little gut check in case nobody shows up.
Speaker B:I know now that wouldn't happen, but I mean, I've done events where you go, you know, and then the doors open and people start to come in and relax.
Speaker B:You know, I think I threw a.
Speaker D:Party once like that.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Nightmare.
Speaker B:Lynn, what do you look forward to?
Speaker C:Gosh, you know, so this, the tournament week.
Speaker C:There's events within the, you know, the whole thing.
Speaker C:And so, I mean, obviously the tournament part of it Thursday through Sunday is, is great.
Speaker C:But I think what a lot of people maybe don't know that's going on that I really enjoy is the Pro Am.
Speaker C:So we have on Wednesday opportunity for people or businesses to buy a foursome and then play with two LPGA professionals, one on the front nine and a different one on the back nine.
Speaker C:And there are a lot of smiles throughout the day and it's really fun to see just how in awe some of these golfers are that have been golfing a very long time that get the opportunity to play with the LPGA professional and, and they learn things from them, but also from the pros caddy too.
Speaker C:So I think that's a really fun thing.
Speaker C:And right now we have 50 teams that are going to be playing on Wednesday.
Speaker C:So it's gonna be a busy day.
Speaker B:Busy, busy day.
Speaker B:Speaking of busy, we're gonna take a break and come back in a couple of minutes and wrap up this part of the show with Lynn and Monica.
Speaker B:You're listening to what is this show?
Speaker E:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Grilling at the Green and not only on radio stations and streamed, but part of the Golf News Network.
Speaker B:We'll be right back.
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Speaker B:Welcome back to grilling at 39Jt, we've got Monica Olson and Lynn Clary From Little Bird IE the standard Portland Classic coming up August 13th through the 16th at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland.
Speaker B:It's about literally three minutes from the Portland airport.
Speaker B:So you could fly in, get a ticket, watch for the day and fly right back out because we hear all the planes there.
Speaker B:We, we really do.
Speaker B:How would you rate your upward momentum since you guys have been involved?
Speaker B:I would rate it high.
Speaker B:Okay, but I'm.
Speaker D:What's the scale?
Speaker B:1 To 10?
Speaker B:1 To 10.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah, but how would you, each of you rate it?
Speaker B:Because there's been big, big changes and subtle changes and changes that people don't see if you're not on the other side of the rope, so to speak.
Speaker B:But I would rate you guys, you know.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:What would you say?
Speaker B:Yeah, I would say seven and a half to eight.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:On the upside, you know, I was.
Speaker C:Going to say the same.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker D:Because there's got to be room for improvement and there's always improvement, right?
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker B:Look at Lynn's face.
Speaker B:She's talking about.
Speaker C:I don't know, I guess.
Speaker C:Well, I'll just say the same thing, I guess.
Speaker C:I mean, wherever it's.
Speaker C:The challenge is, you know, trying to beat year over year goals and expectations and come up with maybe some new things for people to experience at the tournament, new sponsors.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But at the same time, it's, that's what makes it fun too.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Now people shouldn't be surprised if they go to the tournament and you see somebody like Nancy Lopez walking around a little bit.
Speaker B:You have some of the, the past champions and stars there and you've got potentially new stars coming in with some of the kids, not only at the kids tournament, but they're going to be around doing some things like that.
Speaker B:But that said, I'm sure you could use some more volunteers.
Speaker B:Tournaments need an unlimited supply of volunteers per se.
Speaker B:So if people would like to volunteer, how could they do that?
Speaker D:Yeah, well, we literally cannot do the tournament without our volunteers.
Speaker D:I mean, they are so incredibly important.
Speaker D:And yeah, we're looking for volunteers.
Speaker D:There's something for everyone.
Speaker D:But they can go to our website, portlandclassic.com and click on the volunteer link and they can sign up there and that will take them to a link that can give them, you know, they can be assigned to a shift on a certain day or all the days or all the shifts.
Speaker E:Yeah,.
Speaker B:It's kind of fun.
Speaker B:I personally have never volunteered.
Speaker B:I've been around volunteers for years because we're usually taking pictures or something.
Speaker B:But they seem to really enjoy it.
Speaker B:I know that some of the people that volunteered for the Standard over the years, I mean you've had people from like coming from Idaho and Montana and Colorado and stuff and they've been doing it for 25 years or whatever.
Speaker D:Yeah, the longevity of some of the volunteers is impressive.
Speaker B:Yeah, they're probably got more longevity than I do.
Speaker B:How can people find out absolutely everything about the tournament?
Speaker B:Where can they go?
Speaker C:Well, PortlandClassic.com will have information about what we talked about, which was like the girls tournament, how to volunteer.
Speaker C:You can get tickets to all the hospitality areas, including the Champions Club and the Sports Bra, as well as general admission tickets or grounds tickets.
Speaker C:There are discounts for seniors and for veterans there.
Speaker C:And then we will also have other details as far as tournament hours and other information like that.
Speaker D:And you can follow on along on social media too.
Speaker B:Oh, sure.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:One thing I was going to say, I meant to say it earlier, I thought it was a nice touch last year when you had Rod Hill announcing the players as they came up on 18, kind of buried in the crowd there in the VIP tent.
Speaker B:But well, he's not very tall anyway, so you can't really see him.
Speaker B:But you know what I mean.
Speaker B:I thought that was a really nice touch to announce the players as they came up.
Speaker B:Are you going to do that again?
Speaker D:Yes, we try to do that every year, have somebody announcing and Kara Timchak, who's on our board has done it for several years.
Speaker D:But I think that Rod.
Speaker D:Yeah, Rod's returning again this year and he's really excited about it.
Speaker B:Good.
Speaker B:Well, we will be out there.
Speaker B:This show will be out there broadcasting Thursday through Sunday live.
Speaker B:It'll be streaming on all our platforms and on Golf Newsnet.
Speaker B:And then you'll be able to see the encapsulated versions later in the day after they go to the Philippines and back and wherever they go.
Speaker B:And you'll be able to watch the videos and stuff of this.
Speaker B:So stay tuned to our stuff.
Speaker B:And ladies, it's been a real pleasure.
Speaker B:You are going to stick around for the abuse of After Hours now, aren't you?
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Monica has been through it, I think, but I don't think Lynn has.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So don't forget Standard Portland Classic, Columbia edgewater in Portland, August 13th through the 16th.
Speaker B:All of us will be there and we hope we see you there.
Speaker B:Ladies.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:And until next week, I think Jim Myers, the course superintendent out at Columbia Edgewater.
Speaker B:Jim is a friend of the show.
Speaker B:He will be on next week.
Speaker B:We'll be talking all the.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker B:The dirt and the grass stories and that we'll be doing.
Speaker B:Until then, go out, play some golf, have some fun and be kind.
Speaker B:Take care, everybody.
Speaker A:Grilling at the Green is produced by JTSD Productions, LLC in association with Salem Media Group.
Speaker A:All rights reserve.
