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This past September, the Austin Noon Kiwanis made the difficult decision to disband it’s operations.

However, members of the group were determined to ensure that one of the projects they were involved in, the Pinewood Derby, continued.

Laura Tjomsland in particular had dedicated several years to the event since 1999, and it has held a special place in her heart to be a part of something that oftentimes reaches through generations of a family.

“Mountains and mountains of fun,” she said Monday afternoon. “Seeing kids jump for joy and just be so excited even if they don’t win. They just loved seeing their cars go by. They go running to their parents, grandparents — it’s monumental.”

Noon Kiwanis, who had owned the modern track the cars raced on, agreed to donate it to the Boy Scouts in Austin, which runs races each year for packs in Austin, Adams, Lyle and Albert Lea.

For Tjomsland, it was important that the races continued as she too would be bowing out of her long-time involvement with races due to her physical health.

“This whole year has been traumatic for me personally,” she said. “The loss of our Kiwanis Club and now the loss of the Pinewood Derby, but physically I cannot keep doing it … but I think it’s in good hands. It’s just too big of a deal for Austin not to continue it.”

The Pinewood Derby as a whole has been a long standing tradition, not just in Austin and the surrounding area but throughout the nation from its earliest introduction as something the younger scouts could do as opposed to the Soapbox Derby for older scouts.

In Austin, this tradition has ranged throughout town, finding time in a church before moving to the Oak Park Mall, Holiday Dodge and Ford Town and now most recently Our Saviors Lutheran Church.

“Pinewood Derby is really important to the Cub Scouts,” said Troop 113 Scout Master Jeremy Johnson. “One, it’s just a really fun event. Kids really have a good time with that and it’s meant to be a fun activity and get them wanting to continue with Scouts.”

“One of the big things they kind of say with that is it’s a good time to work with your family on your car,” he continued. “It’s something they work on at home. Learning competition. How to be a good winner, how to be a good loser. It’s more about having fun is something we stress.”

And that’s something that is evident every year as preliminary races take place on Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays and the finals on Saturdays. This year, the finals took place this past weekend.

Tjomsland estimated that there were around 130 kids eligible to participate in the finals this year, something that takes time and funds to put together. Being an important part of Boy Scouts for the last 10 years and as a scout himself when he was younger, Johnson saw just how important Tjomsland and the Noon Kiwanis were to the success of the  Pinewood Derby in Austin.

“They were generous enough to donate back to the scouts,” Johnson said. “We’re really excited to keep on the legacy of what they’ve done and keep the program going for the scouts.”

Johnson is also well aware of the contribution of Kiwanis overall through the years as well as the work required to get the derby to run smoothly.

“The Pinewood Derby is a big event. A big thing,” Johnson said. “The track is very expensive so (it’s nice) having them not only financially be involved in helping with the track, but just the manpower in the years they’ve done things and everything they’ve done to make sure things run smoothly.”

Tjomsland said that at first, when she, Scott Lewis and Dave Ruzek joined the Early Risers branch of Kiwanis, there was a hope that maybe they might take over the races.

But Tjomsland also understood the commitment in both funding the races and running them, and ultimately it was better to donate the track to the scouts themselves.

“We’re really appreciative of Laura and everything she did over the years,” Johnson said. “In general, I think Scouts is really important for young people today.”

That’s a sentiment that Tjomsland agrees with and lists as a reason for her own involvement over the years she has been involved. In many ways the Pinewood Derby exemplifies that because it’s a singular example of the importance of Scouting.

“Scouting in general is important, but I see this particular activity as being so unified between the community and the kids, who have to come with parents,” Tjomsland said. “That’s something that’s a really strong belief for me is the involvement of the parents. It’s just fun, the whole thing. It’s really indescribable.”

As to the future of the Pinewood Derby, Tjomsland is emphatic that the event is in good hands.

“The VFW is also a huge supporter,” Tjomsland said. “We’re grateful for them because they help the Pinewood Derby financially. And then there are fundraisers by the Scouts. What it has turned out to be is really a self-supporting project. We don’t have to seek big corporate sponsorships. It’s family owned.”

And even though she won’t have an active part in the derby in the future, Tjomsland still intends on visiting that family.

“I’m sure that I will be stopping by,” Tjomsland said. “ I can’t give it up totally. It’s part of me. I love it.”