VCO serves up unique behind-the-scenes experience for volunteers

John Sigler never forgot why he began volunteering at the Volvo Car Open.

“I started doing it because I’m a huge fan,” he recalled. “I started going to the tournament in ’96 when it was in Hilton Head and always was a huge fan, so when it moved here, I was excited about that.”

Volunteers like Sigler are the red blood cells of the Volvo Car Open. They run back and forth between cornerstone spots, performing big and small tasks, and letting the tournament breathe and succeed. Just like the sanguine cells, volunteers can be an afterthought for the mass that visits the VCO every year. But, that shouldn’t diminish their value to the sporting event.

As a driver for the tennis showdown, Sigler and fellow volunteer Ernie Kornahrens take players, coaches, and VCO officials from the airport to the hotel to the event, and anywhere else they want to go.

“We take them shopping, we take them to dinner, we take them to the beach, we take them all over the place,” Sigler clarified.

Repeat visits from athletes gives drivers an opportunity to show travelling talent every part of the Holy City.

“The same players come back and they have figured Charleston out,” Sigler added. “They like to go downtown and sight-see, they like to go out to all the nice restaurants. When they get here those first few days, I have a list prepared.”

“I’ve enjoyed meeting the different personalities and seeing how different players from different countries, how they react and how they enjoy Charleston,” said Ernie Kornahrens.

Pat Kornahrens has hopped around volunteer positions in the 19 years she’s volunteered with her husband. Starting off in the guest services department, Pat spent most of her time answering questions from attendees as they entered the gates. In her current volunteering gig, she operates golf carts around the stadium’s vicinity.

“We drive the volunteers back and forth from their parking lot and also the media people from their parking lot over to the stadium,” Pat described. “It makes for a very busy day and we just enjoy meeting a lot of people and talking to a lot of volunteers.”

Pat considers herself and her husband to be “people persons.” Both volunteers stated that some of their favorite aspects are meeting new people and seeing old faces. “It’s a great chance to give back to the tennis community because we both play out of the Family Circle Tennis Center there, and also it enables us to see the different personalities from different tennis players,” said Ernie.

“Mostly, when I was in guest services, it was seeing the people that come in to watch the tournament, seeing the same people coming back, year after year, and you get to know them a little bit, and being outside and enjoying the beautiful weather that we usually have for the tournament,” Pat added.

Because his fandom motivated him to volunteer, Sigler gets most fired up about the world-class players coming to the island.

“The best experience I had as a fan is I had an opportunity one time with the 40th anniversary, I drove the original nine and Bud Collins in one van to an event. Billie Jean King sat in the front next to me. That was definitely the highlight of my 19 years. Being in Billie Jean’s presence is kind of like seeing a dolphin—it never gets old, it’s really neat and cool,” he laughed.

Seeing metaphorical mammals from the sea is one thing, but Serena Williams complementing your cooking is something else entirely.

“The first year she [Williams] played, I drove her from the airport to the hotel and she was asking me about different places to get good food; where to get good fried chicken and collard greens,” Sigler said. “I actually made her some collard greens because I worked at a small locally owned restaurant in town. I brought them to her and she liked them so much that she and her mom and a couple of her sisters came to the restaurant that I worked at and ate dinner with us and signed a racket for me.”

“Last time I picked her up, 10 minutes into the ride, she said ‘wait a minute, is your name John? Why didn’t you say hey? How’s that restaurant? How have you been?’ She remembered my dog and what I did for a living,” Sigler claimed.

According to the volunteer, the players have an enthusiasm for the city and the people that help them navigate it.

“They always remember us,” he said. “I think Charleston is a little special and we of course have Southern hospitality. All of the players, whether they’re ranked 250 in the world or top 10 in the world, they treat us all the same, we treat them the same. It’s always a lot of fun.”