inside.hokiesports.com 13 Chip Grubb (‘79) and his wife Bonnie have been dedicated supporters of Virginia Tech athletics for over 40 years. For nearly the last decade, the Grubb’s have been arguably the most ardent and vocal supporters of Virginia Tech softball. Their dedication to the program stemmed from being selected for a special “Coach for the Day” promotion in 2016, allowing the Grubb’s to observe pregame warmups on the field and watch the entirety of the game from the dugout. Since then, the two of them can be found at every home contest at Tech Softball Park, loudly cheering on the Hokies with every pop of the mitt and crack of the bat. Outside of the friendly confines of TSP, Chip also amassed the highest amount of donor referrals to the Hokie Club. Over 150 Hokies referenced Chip when making a gift to athletics this past fundraising year. Q: How far does your connection with Virginia Tech go back? CG: I have been a Hokie fan my entire life. I was born and raised in Roanoke. My cousin, who is like a big brother to me, attended VT, and there was simply nowhere else that I ever wanted to attend. When Bonnie and I met, she became a diehard Hokie fan as well even though she grew up in North Carolina and attended NC State. I graduated from VT in 1979 and I believe I joined the Hokie Club in 1980 and got season football tickets that same year. Hokie sports have always been a big deal for us, and after we got married in 1989, we started going to almost all the away games as well as the home games. Our bowl streak goes back to the 1986 Peach Bowl when Chris Kinzer’s field goal beat NC State. The last non-Covid home game that I missed was against South Carolina on 9/22/90, and we were awarded a game ball for attending my 400th VT football game in 2019. Q: What sort of business were you in? CG: I worked in Human Resources most of my career and both Bonnie and I spent the last 17-18 years of our working years at Advance Auto Parts’ corporate office in Roanoke. I was the Director of HR, and she worked in accounting. Q: What’s your relationship like with Coach Pete D’Amour? CG: We met Coach D’Amour shortly after he was hired and we immediately hit it off. He has been really good to us, and he is quick to let us know how much he and the team appreciates our support of the program. Q: Before you and Bonnie were “Coaches for the Day,” what was your relationship like with softball before that? CG: We started going to softball games during the Angela Tincher years but it wasn’t until our Coach for the Day event that we became totally hooked. Q: What would you say to someone who is a fan, but doesn’t give to Virginia Tech softball? CG: Over time, we have gotten to know the young ladies that represent Virginia Tech on the softball field and there are no harder working group of student-athletes anywhere. They represent Virginia Tech with class, and are so very appreciative of everyone’s support. Both Bonnie and I love to support them, both by attending the games and by contributing to the program. Chip Grubb DONOR SPOTLIGHT
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