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Instead of spending their July 4 cooking out with friends and family or taking a trip to the beach, thousands of area residents made it a working holiday at Congressional Country Club for the AT&T National tournament.

From shushing crowds to punching tickets, volunteers and paid employees kept the event moving smoothly for the third year in a row.

About 600 volunteers worked the concession stands to raise money for National Center for Children and Families. That was roughly the same amount as in 2008, the first year the Bethesda-based nonprofit was involved with the event, according to Alisha Matlock, director of volunteers and in-kind resources.

Many of the workers volunteered through their employers, she said, while others are regular supporters of the organization or students in need of community service hours.

"We get a lot of support from the community, and we get people to come as a group so they're with family and friends," Matlock said during a brief break from flipping burgers. "It's hard work, so you got to make it fun."

Karen Kerr, 52, of Montgomery Village volunteered with her co-workers as well as her husband, an Iraq veteran, and 15-year-old son Branden, a junior at Watkins Mill High School who is halfway to his goal of completing 1,000 community service hours before he graduates. Branden said he had gotten two golfers to sign his Tiger Woods baseball cap so far, but he was saving the front for the man himself.

"[Volunteering] gives me a great appreciation for this country overall, a greater community spirit," Kerr said. "We like to serve as a family in a way that's helping others."

Nearly 80 county police officers staffed the tournament each day, doing everything from directing traffic to keeping attendees from getting too rowdy, Capt. Luther Reynolds, director of special operations, said. Plainclothes officers also accompanied players on the course.

"It's amazing the amount of volunteers here," Reynolds said. "They consider it a privilege to come here and work. A lot of the same people have been doing it for years."

County permitting and transportation staff monitored traffic flow in real time through Web-based video cameras, looked out for scalpers and made sure neighbors running private parking lots on their properties had permits, Reynolds said. Police were also using this year's event to help plan for the U.S. Open, which will be held at Congressional in 2011.

Working with police were 29 volunteer and career emergency workers, Fire Chief Russell Dawson said. The most common injuries were dehydration, he said, though a man was hit in the leg with a golf ball earlier in the week. Some workers cruised the grounds in life support-equipped carts, while others staffed two first aid tents alongside doctors.

"It's been pretty fun. The guests are good here, quiet and polite," Officer Eli Kinser, 26, of Germantown said from his post outside the clubhouse. "You can't ask for a better assignment."