By Colin Murray
PGA TOUR staff

With the summer in full swing and school not scheduled to start for several weeks, most people would consider the first week in August the perfect time to take a vacation.

Nicole Anderson, the 2005 Champions Tour Volunteer of the Year, is no different, taking the week off before starting a new job at a pet hospital in Minnesota. This is where the similarities between Anderson and the average vacationer end, though.

While others head for the beach or the theme park, Anderson will make the 30-minute commute to the TPC Twin Cities to work 15-hour days as a volunteer at the 3M Championship. When you talk to Anderson, you quickly realize, she couldn’t be happier.

“It’s like a family reunion every year up here” said Anderson, who has volunteered with her family every season since the tournament’s inception in 1993. “It’s a lot of fun and I wouldn’t miss it.”

This particular year is even more special for Anderson and her family considering this is the first time she will work the 3M Championship pain-free. Throughout her first 13 years as a volunteer, Anderson battled ongoing ankle problems stemming from a childhood infection.

Despite the pain, Anderson ran scorecards from the 18th green to the calligraphy boards and the media tent. Many times the pain was so severe she was forced to ride in a cart. Nonetheless, Anderson was a fixture at the tournament every year.

After numerous attempts at surgery, Anderson decided to have her foot amputated in August of 2005 and has never looked back.

“Just being out here and being able to move around is a whole new experience for me” Anderson said. “There were so many years where I couldn’t walk more than 10 steps and had to use a cart. This is actually the first year where I haven’t been in a cast or walking boot during tournament week.”

More than anything, Anderson is looking forward to getting out on the golf course and seeing the action instead of having to wait behind the 18th green to run scorecards.

Nicole Anderson has volunteered at the 3M Championship since she was 12.

“I’ve worked this tournament for 13 years and I’ve never been able to get out and walk around the golf course” said Anderson. “One of my favorite memories was watching my little sister walk up the 18th fairway arm-in-arm with Arnold Palmer. I can’t wait to get out there and actually be a walking scorer and walk along with the players.”

Although play won’t officially begin for the Champions Tour professionals until Friday, Anderson’s week is already in full swing. After coordinating a junior clinic for over 150 kids, Anderson was off to a meeting with ShotLink officials to go over her duties for the rest of the week.

“I think I’m going to be doing a little bit of everything” said Anderson. “I’ll run scores, be a walking scorer, pretty much anything they ask me to do. I don’t have the luxury of a schedule.”

Anderson was named the Champions Tour Volunteer of the Year in February and was honored at the Tour’s annual Player Awards dinner in Naples, Fla.

If anything, Anderson’s struggles have only strengthened her desire to continue volunteering at the 3M Championship.

“Having been on the receiving end of so much medical attention, it’s great to be able to come out here and be a part of an event that gives so much back to people in need here in Minnesota” said Anderson.

After a full week of work at the 3M Championship, Anderson will start a new position at a pet hospital in Minnesota. She hopes to go back to school in the fall and has aspirations of starting a new career fitting children for prosthetic limbs.