Often as popular and competitive as its professional counterpart, university-level American football is big business in the US. At the end of the year, top teams strive to take part in what are called ‘bowl games’: holiday season celebrations with names like the Rose Bowl (in California) or the Cotton Bowl (in Texas). A long-time Florida resident, Ernie Diaz, head of US consumer distribution, wealth and TD Auto Finance at TD Bank, has been a long-standing committee member of Florida’s own prestige bowl game, the Orange Bowl.
While the main purpose of the Orange Bowl Committee is to promote the annual game, as well as boost tourism in the state, the committee works throughout the year on community projects focusing on sports and youth. “Being a member of the Orange Bowl Committee is more than just having a football game,” says Mr Diaz. “You’re an ambassador, first and foremost for the game, but then you’re involved in so many community events and it’s so much about giving back.”
