HARTFORD, Conn. – Two people who have made major contributions to the Travelers Championship for years are the tournament’s honorary co-chairs in 2021.
Hall of Fame broadcaster Chris Berman and Travelers Vice President of Corporate Services Jennifer Wislocki are the honorees for Connecticut’s premier sporting event June 24-27 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.
Berman left Ch. 30 in New Britain in 1979 to become a fixture at ESPN. He has held wide-ranging roles in the network’s NFL coverage, including hosting Sunday NFL Countdown and NFL PrimeTime, anchoring the NFL draft telecast and reporting from 39 Super Bowls. Starting in 1999, Berman has served as Master of Ceremony for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony. He has also served as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN Major League Baseball games from 1990–2016 and was the play-by-play voice for the Home Run Derby for 31 years.
Berman has been recognized with several of broadcasting’s most prestigious awards. He has been named the National Sports Media Association’s “National Sportscaster of the Year” six times and has 10 Emmy Awards to his credit. Berman’s other numerous accolades include receiving the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 for his longtime contributions and was given the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s Distinguished American award in January 2020 and inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2017.
Wislocki has been with Travelers for 18 years, serving in both the Corporate Communications and Corporate Services departments. In addition to her other corporate responsibilities, she plays a lead role in managing Travelers’ sponsorship of the Travelers Championship and the company’s Official Marketing Partnership with the PGA TOUR, which involves marketing, communications, event management, player relations, sponsor hospitality and employee engagement.
Wislocki has been instrumental in the growth and success of the tournament since Travelers became title sponsor in 2007, and her work was recognized by the Public Relations Society of America the same year with its Silver Anvil Award, which honors outstanding strategic public relations programs. She also regularly engages with organizations in the community, serves on the Campus Leadership Team at Vox Church in Hartford and has previously been a board member of Hartford’s Camp Courant and the Hartford Marathon Foundation. This will be her final tournament while working at Travelers, as she will be retiring from the company in June.
“Jennifer has been an integral part of the Travelers team that manages our sponsorship of the Travelers Championship, and her efforts have been critical in making it a success all these years,” said Andy Bessette, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Travelers, said in a release. “We appreciate the energy and passion she has brought to making this a world-class event while managing other responsibilities at the company, and we congratulate her on her retirement. I’d also like to thank Chris Berman for participating in this role. He is an extremely humble individual who has always been generous with his time. We couldn’t have come this far without his support, and we look forward to his involvement with the event for years to come.”
Tournament director Nathan Grube added, “We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support and dedication of both Chris and Jennifer. Chris brought a national voice to our tournament, and having him in our corner since day one has meant so much to us. Jennifer has been our close partner at Travelers since we came together, and her involvement has helped ensure that our teams work seamlessly to deliver a bigger and better event year after year. To say thank you for their invaluable contributions, we are pleased to recognize them as our 2021 honorary co-chairs.”
After fans couldn’t attend the tournament last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 10,000 will be allowed each day starting with the pro-am on June 23. General admission tickets can be purchased beginning at 10 a.m. Friday though the end of the day on Monday while supplies last. If people are unable to buy general admission tickets with the timeframe, they will have another chance when all tickets go on sale to the public on Tuesday May 25 at 10 a.m.
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