Troops from all over Moore County have spent the week handing out copies of The Pilot’s daily U.S. Women’s Open publication at Pine Needles, as well as meeting and greeting spectators. They’re doing it for fun and as a community service. They are also getting a $5,000 contribution from The Pilot.
“We don’t get gifts like this very often,” said Joan Horney, director of the Central North Carolina Girl Scout Council. “We are very appreciative.”
Horney said the donation will go to a good cause. It will buy scouting programs and activities, and it will be used in the Girl Scouts’ outreach program. Outreach gives girls the opportunity to enjoy scouting, even if they cannot afford it themselves.
The Pilot receives a great value for its donation, according to Publisher David Woronoff. The Women’s Open publication gets distributed with a community service spin.
“This is what community newspapers do — serve our readers and our community,” Woronoff said. And the donation is not just a handout.
“We wanted the scouts to earn their money, and we wanted to teach them the joy of volunteerism,” he said.
The scouts are camped out at the main entrance of the Women’s Open where they will distribute 25,000 papers during the course of the week.
For the girls, it is all about fun, especially on Tuesday, when their volunteering earned them an opportunity to see soccer star Mia Hamm in action.
Sarah Stewart and Karyn Cooper, both 12, of Southern Pines, like Annika Sorenstam, but they are really excited about seeing Hamm. The girls are soccer players themselves.
Horney said that the scouting program emphasizes sports through a national initiative. There are seven components: golf, volleyball, basketball, tennis, swimming and soccer.
“We have collaborated with universities all over the state,” she said. “We’ve visited Duke, State, Carolina, Wake Forest, where the girls have had a chance to meet their role models in sports.”
Through the sports initiative, the girls have had hands-on instructions from players and coaches alike.
Early on Wednesday morning, Horney was giving a group of scouts the lay of the land. The USGA’s “Catch the Spirit” tent is across the way. The information booth is right next to it.
Most important, the bathrooms are close by and the concession stand is straight ahead.
The girls have to leave now. Here come the first tournament visitors of the day. It’s time to get to work.
