What's been going on---Accenture Matchplay,Tucson

I returned from Virginia on the Hallmark Holiday and the following day met my boss at the office downtown for a roadtrip to Tucson to do a walkthrough of the Dove Mountain golf course at the Ritz Carlton. The trip takes a hour and a half and we went with the supervisors that would be running the various security positions at the golf tournament. Chris would be running the security around the clubhouse and practice area, Geoff would handle parking and entry points around the golf course (bag check and wanding), Webb would handle the parking and entry points at the public parking lots and Jim (me) would handle the hospitality tents around the entire course... (and there were quite a few). So we spent the day plotting strategy and checking deployments and then came bck to Phoenix. That was the 15th and we needed to check into our hotel (the company paid for us to stay down in Tucson) on Sunday the 20th. So for the rest of the week I worked a couple small gigs at the Convention Center and played some golf. I also went out to dinner with the woman I met at the Open and we get long quite nicely. We have several things in common and golf is one of them.

Geoff (my roommate for the week) met me at my place and we drove down to Tucson and checked in at the Red Roof Inn in Marana (a couple of miles south of the golf course) and we had a meeting and then the bosses took us out for dinner. Monday and Tuesday were slow (only practice rounds) and it was quite chilly in the morning (6am start) but during the day was gorgeous. My posts were like s%^$ in a fan...all over the golf course. The Oasis tent was at the 4th green, Sonoran Suites were at 9, 12, and 16, the Canyon Club was at 16. The Umbrella sponsors, Hagen Club, Saguaro and Accenture skyboxes were behind 10 green and I had 3 player/fan crossover areas to man. All in all, about 22 people I was responsible for. Luckily, on Tuesday they gave me a cart because it would have impossible to cover all the posts walking. I was able to post good people at all venues and the crowds cooperated. Some incidents at the Hagen Club (that was the only venue where the drinks were not for free), but nothing involving riot control or hostage negotiators.

The worst part of the week was that everyone was sick going down there except yours truly... I held tough until Wednesday when I woke up hacking and clogged... (thanks for sharing, guys). We immediately took a trip to Walgreens and stocked up on drugs and cough drops... (figures that drug stores are the only 24 hour stores open. It seems like there's one on every block!). So the chill in the air was chillier and the fact that my cart had no roof or windshield didn't help matters. Thursday and Friday went well enough and Saturday couldn't come fast enough for me. The weather had cooperated beautifully until Saturday when the wind picked up fiercely with a storm expected to come through Saturday night. I inhaled enough dust to start my own desert. But because the field got smaller during this tournament, the work got easier and the people left quicker. The best thing about working a golf tournament is when it starts to get dark, it's quitting time. After getting everyone signed out and gone, we returned to the hotel, showered, ate something, loaded up with meds and slept... (sounds like my former life).

Saturday night a rainstorm hit hard and was followed by snow that capped the mountains and covered the golf course... (I didn't sign up for snow!). It was in the low 30's and jetting around on my cart didn't help matters any. Plus the fact that the rain had turned the roads I drove on to a mud bog track... I was cursing and coughing and freezing and driving all over God's creation posting my people, all the while wondering if the matches would even be played. They went out there and played in the cold and wind... After I had posted someone at the far tent on the front nine, as I was driving back along the eighth hole, the skies opened up with a snow squall for about ten minutes... (did I mention that my cart had no roof or windshield?). I stopped and sat there and got snowed on and just started laughing. The perfect ending to a perfect week! What a great job. A week away, paid hotel, good company (Geoff and I had a blast rooming together), golf course everyday driving around, good weather (most of the time) and I got paid to do it... So I stopped grumbling and enjoyed the day the best I could. Cleaned off the mud and snow and got through the tournament. Got out of town around 5 and drove Geoff home and headed to Tempe to nurse myself back to health. Survived another adventure and lived to tell you all about it...