SCORE Pittsburgh Volunteer Receives Special Diamond Award

Harold "Bud" Roth recently received a special Diamond Award for his many years of meritorious service with SCORE. Bud, at the age of 98, still remains connected to the Pittsburgh Chapter attending most meetings as he is able. The award was presented to Bob by District Director Mark Fallek (photos below). 

Bud joined Pittsburgh SCORE in 2005, twenty years ago, at the youthful age of 79. With SCORE clients, Bud shared lessons learned during a successful career in the grocery business, including many years owning Bud’s Grocery Store in East Liberty. Bud is also an Army veteran, having served his country during World War II.

What distinguishes a person as a leader? Being brave? Doing what is right even if it is not popular or if there is a personal cost in so doing? Throughout his life, Bud has not only been brave, but also a leader.
Army colleagues were not uniformly welcoming to a young, Jewish man during World War II. Even in these circumstances, Bud persevered and stood up for soldiers who were less able to stand up for themselves, despite knowing that he would face consequences. Bud's Grocery Store welcomed customers and neighbors of all races and faiths, treating them all with respect. As a result, Bud became friends with many of the Hispanic Pittsburgh Pirates baseball players. Players such as Roberto Clemente and Manny Sanguillen frequented his store and became friends. Operating a grocery store was not a piece of cake. Bud was quoted in a 2003 newspaper article: “Once, I had four guns pulled on me at the same time. I didn’t even have that happen during the war." Recently, Bud donated archival materials from his business to the Heinz History Museum for a future exhibit on Pittsburgh's Jewish history

At SCORE, Bud's deep ties within the community enabled him to provide leadership to our community outreach. He established close relations with the Squirrel Hill and downtown Business Libraries, where he regularly maintained open hours for drop-in mentoring. Bud still holds the Pittsburgh record for seven mentoring sessions in a single day.

Congratulations bud on this very well deserved honor. You truly embody the spirit of SCORE!