Nearly four decades of dedicated service to the John Deere Classic has been recognized by the PGA Tour. Wednesday it announced Linda LIttle of Port Byron is one of five finalists for PGA Volunteer of the year.
Little first volunteered to work at the tournement in 1975, and has returned every year since. She worked in admissions for two years, then switched to transportation where she's been ever since.
"Originally they didn't have cars for most of the pros so I drive them around - to their hotels, the course, and the airport."
And in recent years she's driven a shuttle for the news media covering the John Deere Classic.
Little says she volunteers each year as a way to give back to the community that helped her in the past when she had to quit her job to take care of her mother, and needed help paying her bills.
"It's a way for me to give back and never forget that there was a time when I used these services. And it's just fun - I really look forward to it."
She also enjoys meeting the professional golfers and their caddies, golf reporters from around the world who cover the tournement, and the celebrities who attend. Considering there are 46 PGA Tour events each year, and thousands of volunteers, Little says being a finalist for volunteer of the year is quite an honor.