My name is Stacie Keenan, and I’m a leader from Pack 1475. We built what we like to call “The World’s Largest Scale Pinewood Derby Car”!

About Pack 1475

We are out of Michigan, just north of Detroit. We’re part of The Great Lakes Field Service Council. Our Cubmaster Phil Cantin is a licensed builder with a ton of patience and the ability to make even the craziest ideas come to life!

Last year our school wanted to do a “trunk or treat” with a Haunted House. The PTO contacted me and asked if Pack 1475 could help. We did and drew more than 1,000 visitors! From this, the boys learned with hard work and dedication, the possibilities are endless.

Why We Decided to Build a Giant Pinewood Derby Car

As a pack, our mission is letting people know Scouting and patriotism are cool!

We missed the deadline last year for The Memorial Day Parade, and the boys were so bummed! We promised them this year we would make it happen.

To make things up to them, Cubmaster Phil mentioned turning his van into a parade float. And from that, the Pack 1475 Pinewood Derby float was born!

Deciding on the patriotic theme was easy. We asked the church for permission to use their lot as a building site so the community could watch our progress. The response was overwhelming. People pulled over to take pictures, and kids came before prom to pose in front of the building site!

It was a team effort. Parents hit the pavement and found people willing to donate – even a couple pizzas or paintbrushes. It meant so much! Parents came after work sometimes in scrubs with Scouts still in baseball uniforms because no one wanted to miss a minute of the construction. The excitement was just too much!

Debuting the Pinewood Derby Car on Memorial Day

The parade was one of the largest in the country, with attendance around 80,000! When the car finally took off, we heard cheers and saw everyone waving American flags. Looking at the smiles on the faces of our beloved veterans was overwhelming. I’m sure there wasn’t a dry eye on the float!

This is the coolest #PinewoodDerby car parade float! pic.twitter.com/HdqFa1javy

— The Cub Scouts – BSA (@thecubscouts) June 1, 2017

Stacie Keenan shared this incredible story of dedication, team work, and determination. To share your awesome Cub Scouts stories, email communications@Scouting.org with a writeup, photos, and videos.