Recap of Pinewood Derby

Pack 766 2008 Pinewood Derby

Congratulations to all the Scouts, siblings and family members for another day full of wonderful memories! Having worked diligently over the last month in preparation for this event the Scouts were very resourceful in designing their cars: a ping pong ball for the Lucky Leprechaun; using a GI Joe item to make a Military Tank Derby Car; and of course the French Fry Mobile had to have a ketchup packet. The Scouts creativity and abilities in designing their own cars were amazing along with their positive and upbeat attitudes throughout the entire day. Through the cooperation of the entire pack we all persevered in making 2008 Pinewood Derby a record breaking performance.

With the threat of rain on Sunday, January 27, the Pack 766’s annual Pinewood Derby was moved to a new location: Carden Academy in Mission Viejo. The covered blacktop area proved to be the perfect venue for the day. Everyone was afforded a trackside seat and the track fit perfectly. Kudos to Larry and Alan for coordinating the procurement of the location, and a very special thank you to Mrs. DeAvila for her kindness and understanding in accommodating us at the last minute.

The Derby was a frenzy of excitement as the Scouts and family members cheered for each other. As our pack has grown, so has our number of racers. We raced an incredible 39 cars in the Scout Divisions and 16 cars in the Open Division for a record number of 55 racers! As always, the creativity of the cars was amazing and the judges had a very difficult job of selecting just one for each of the Best Design, Most Creative and Most Original categories. Any pictures of the event are gladly welcomed for the website. Please e-mail them to Peter Puchalski at peterpuchalski@cox.net.

Top honors in the event went to:

Best Design – Ryan Schmitz

Most Creative – Brian Clem

Most Original – Brandon Yi

Overall 1^st Place – Brian Clem

Overall 1^st Place – Matthew Slymen

Overall 1^st Place – Zack Stroud

Following the conclusion of the races, we gorged on El Pollo Loco Chicken, an endless bounty of fruit and at least the kids got their fill of dessert and Julie Miller's Darn Good Chocolate Cake (which at least I want the recipe for). I know all the kids went home with a great sugar high - next year, we need to assign a Dessert Monitor! A special thank you to El Pollo Loco for their generous discount and friendly and speedy customer service.

Thanks to everyone for braving the cold and coming out. It was wonderful that the weather cooperated until everyone was safe and warm at home! Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out – unfortunately too numerous to list here. And most of all, thanks to our wonderful Co-Chairs, Mark Robertson and Tom Miller without whom this event wouldn't have happened.

Denamarie Baker

Denamarie Baker

Hazardous Waste Specialist

Orange County Environmental Health

tel: 714.433.6255

fax: 714.754.1768