• Modified derby car speed peaks at 17.9 mph
In support of a local family facing mounting medical expenses, Free07 hosted their annual fundraising Pinewood Derby and a cornhole tournament in March. Raffle and auction items, including firearms, brought a respectable amount of cash to the effort.
Both of the events “turned out better than we planned,” said Free07 representative, Lindsay Kallgren. At the Derby, “we had 10 to 12 more cars than what we had previous years, which was fantastic.” Forty-eight cars competed in 68 races between the four classes.
The Derby’s Youth Class 1st Place winner was Ryleigh Schwab with a car that ran 9.22 mph. Jessica Miles took 2nd Place in the Youth Class. Case Turner placed 1st in the Adult Class with a car that achieved 9.37 mph. Second Place in the Adult Class went to Derrik Lehman.
In the Open Class, Kevin Turner took 1st Place with his car that traveled 9.42 mph and his son, Case Turner, placed 2nd. In the modification class, Bobby Schwab’s car clocked in at 17.9 mph. “He made a jet engine remote control system setup on his Derby car. It was insane! It was pretty cool!” Kevin Turner took 2nd Place with a CO2 car that achieved 10.56 mph.
“I hope to see more of those [modified cars] next year,” said Kallgren. “Get those creative and crazy and cool things out there!” Dakota Kennington won recognition for the slowest car at 7.54 mph.
Twenty-three teams competed in the cornhole tournament. “That was awesome,” said Kallgren. First place went to Kevin Turner and Shane Beasley. Paul Ponciano and Brian Hartley took home 2nd Place while Lane Park and Alan Simpson placed 3rd.
Firearms were raffled at the cornhole tournament, including a Colt .45 lever-action rifle by Rossi, which went to Amy Harrison. Terrin Hoopes took home a 10 mm Taurus pistol and Jessica Adams won an AR-15 Diamondback. Kevin Turner won a set of custom-made cornhole boards.
Sponsors who donated raffle items, time and effort included Star Valley Cornhole, Jill Park, Pam Tolman, Sadie Cazier, Outamind, Aviat, Nicklo Enterprises, CL Custom Designs, Bomgaars, SVP, Miles Performance, Hair Magic, Hastings, Dad’s Steakhouse, STUFT Catering Peak Fitness, Silo Floral, Not Too Shabby, Lower Valley Energy, Pam Campbell, Swirl, Call Ready Mix, Chet Campbell, Carquest, Polly Edwards, Valley Property Management, McGee’s Custom Boards, Tammy Erickson, Ginger Roberts, Kyle Parsons, Mountainside Power, PC Industries, Corey Johnson and Peak insurance.
“I appreciate everybody coming together for any fundraiser-not necessarily just these two, but the whole community coming together to support any person in this valley,” said Kallgren. “Our community does a ton of fundraisers every year for a ton of people and the community always pulls through.” Kallgren said the beneficiary family “is just extremely thankful. They couldn’t have asked for a better community to live in.”
