A Sweet Celebration For One Of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts' Most Valued Team Members

On July 21, 2025, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts (HE&R) team members had the pleasure of celebrating the birthday of its wisest team member, Roy Summers. Roy turned 96 years young and we could not be more proud to have him as a longstanding member of the HE&R family! 

Roy Summers currently works as a Locker Room Attendant at Hershey Country Club (HCC) in the Shoe Shine shop. His main focus is to clean and shine golf shoes for the members. Not only is Roy an amazing and hardworking team member, but he also practices the Core Values of our founder, Milton S. Hershey, every day with his positive attitude and kindness towards members and guests.

RICH IN HERSHEY HISTORY

Roy’s first job was a milk delivery boy for the Hershey Creamery when he was 12 years old. His father instilled a strong work ethic in him at a young age. Roy recalls waking up at 4:30 a.m. to report to the Creamery, where he would ride in a horse and buggy assisting with the delivery of milk to many homes across Hershey. When he was done with his deliveries, he would go to school for the remainder of his day. When he was 16 years old, he and a friend enlisted in the Navy (they weren’t honest about their ages at the time!). He recalls a mission late in his service when they had set sail for Poland, delivering horses overseas. The trip was extremely memorable for Roy, as he remembers traveling with the boatload of horses. He claims the trip home was not so great. On the way back to the States, they endured a two-day storm in the Atlantic, and he wasn’t sure he’d survive. When they finally returned home and docked in Mobile, Alabama, he and his buddy hitchhiked back to Pennsylvania!  

TEEING OFF A LIFELONG PASSION

Roy developed a love of golf from a young age. Through his friendship with former Head Professional Jay Weitzel, he became a caddy at HCC. Roy fondly remembers caddying during the Ladies Keystone Open, and tells a great story about JoAnne Carner (2-time U.S. Open Winner) that took place during a practice round. Roy and JoAnne arrived at the 18th tee box on the West Course, and she asked Roy if she could cut the corner of the dogleg by hitting over the trees and landing on the fairway. Roy winced a bit and said he’d never seen it done. She replied, “May as well try, it’s a practice round.” Sure enough, she hit it over the pines and landed perfectly in the middle of the fairway.  She turned to Roy, beaming with pride, and said, “I took that one to the house!” When asked about her, Roy smiled, laughed, and said, “She was a bird, alright!”

LEGACY TEAM MEMBER

It’s tough to state how long Roy has worked for HCC. He claims it’s 31 years, but based on the stories he has told and counting his caddying days, we suspect it’s longer. He worked at the old Parkview Golf Course until it closed, and the next day, he started working at HCC. Roy worked with the outside golf operations team well into his 80s, and the staff who worked with him say he ran circles around the younger team members! When Roy speaks of Hershey and his impressive work history, he smiles and says the company has always treated him extremely well. He pleasantly recalls taking his wife to Hersheypark on weekends when they were newly married. They’d enjoy being outdoors and listening to live music. He also added, “We could do a lot with $1 at Hersheypark back in those days!"

When we asked Roy why he still decides to work after all of these years, he responded “I still work, I still fish, I still do everything I want to do. If I wasn't working what would I do all day?” He also added that he likes to stay busy outside of the Country Club as well. “I still take care of my house, I clean, I do the dishes, I do a little cooking, but I mostly eat out,” he laughed.

We then asked him why he chooses HCC as his place to continue working. After a moment of thought, he replied, “Everybody has treated me so good here all of these years. I have been walking this course since I was a young teenager. I have always loved Hershey and the Country Club. All of the people are so nice to me, I have it so good here.” 

Roy Summers is a treasure at Hershey Country Club, and we’re so lucky to have him as a team member. If you ever want to stop by HCC to say hello to Roy and thank him for his years worth of efforts towards Hershey and HE&R, you can find him in the Shoe Shine Room on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. It is guaranteed you’ll walk away with a smile on your face! Thank you for all you do, Roy! And Happy Birthday!