By Chad Neal
This past Sunday, August 18th Madigan’s hosted a car race on their dance floor. Pat Morgan along with others organized a Pinewood Derby (PWD) race to raise money for the planned All Inclusive Playground in Ellicottville. It was a success with hopes for the next ones to be even bigger and better. Morgan was inquired about how the event happened and what, how and who was involved. He told The Villager that it couldn’t have been done without “the support & time of Paula Dineen & Jeremy Knab the keepers of the track, who helped set up and timing.” A state-of-the-art PWD racetrack was set up with computer timing and logistics to keep track of the best times of the racers.
Morgan also gave props to “Brooks and Carrie LeFeber, the Madigan’s team & countless volunteers who bent over backwards to keep things moving and vibes high- based on the smiles of all ages, mission accomplished!”
Many of the businesses in town donated to the cause including Dom’s Butcher Block and Villaggio who gifted the food for the event. Morgan went on to affirm that “grassroots community events are special, {I} can’t wait to see what we cook up next!” The 38 (25 adult, 13 kids) homemade cars carved from a kit with a block of wood, four plastic wheels and four nails for axles, helped to make 6 people new owners of the sweet trophies Morgan had made. An inaugural new event that will have an annual following helped raise over $2K for an awesome new project the “Ellicottville Moms” are fronting for their kids and future generations.
(Winners in the kids heat were 1st Jack O’Connell- “Shark Attack”, 2nd was Aviena Newpher- “Fifteen”, 3rd was Trennon Clauss- “The City Garage”.)
(Adult winners were 1st Sam Nelson – “Goldie”, 2nd Shawn Dehos -“The Viper”, 3rd Jodie Timkey- “Swiss Cheese”.)