The U.S. Kids tourney offers yet another opportunity for our great community to demonstrate its unique prowess at hosting golf championships.

Pulling these events off with style is one of our strong suits, consistently allowing us to outclass much larger communities in that department. And a big part of what makes us special is our ability to marshal great numbers of knowledgeable and enthusiastic fans who volunteer to handle the million and one details that help make these competitions come off as smoothly and entertainingly as possible.

But this time around, unfortunately, we're in danger of losing our momentum. Volunteers just aren't coming forth for this edition of U.S. Kids in the same numbers as in years past. So please consider this heartfelt plea: If you don't have anything more fulfilling to do between July 30 and Aug. 8 (and it would have to be pretty fulfilling), arrange to spend all or part of that period outside, watching some of the nation's most promising young golfers in action and helping to make the fourth edition of the U.S. Kids our most successful yet.

Given the uncertain economic times we're living through, the expected influx of nearly 2,000 Teen and Kid golfers -- and, more important, their families -- will provide a much-needed economic boon to our community. All of these folks will go out to dinner, stay in our hotels and shop in our stores, creating a tremendous ripple effect. And there's a good chance that many of them will get into the habit of returning to our Eden in the Pines over and over again for the rest of their lives.

"U.S. Kids Golf World Championships can be a catalyst to help reignite our local tourism economy, as we expect it to generate more than $4 million in local spending this August," Caleb Miles of the Convention & Visitors Bureau says in a column on the following page. "To make that happen, though, we need our community's help."

Maybe we've gotten a bit blase. This may not seem quite as big a deal as the two U.S. Opens and three U.S. Women's Opens we've handled in recent years. But it would be a mistake not to view this as a "major" like the others. If we let our guard down, another community that takes it more seriously might attempt to steal it away from us in the future.

Don't let that happen. Do yourself and your community a favor: Give the folks at Pinehurst Resort a call, or visit pinehurst.com/volunteers. But don't wait. The clock is ticking.