'Boston Rob' Parades Winning Float

He finished second on "Survivor: All-Stars," but managed to marry the show's winner, Amber Brkich. Next, the couple teamed up to compete on "The Amazing Race," and, once again, Rob Mariano ended up finishing second.

So when Early Show viewer and part-time dance instructor Patricia Cain was looking for some help building a winning float for her town's Christmas parade, "Boston Rob" jumped at the chance to claim victory on behalf of her students.

Patricia works at Grovetown Elementary School in Grovetown, Ga. She wrote
Rob the following letter:

"Hello Rob. We started a dance team in our school last march for underprivileged students in a low-income area. We are called the Jazzy Jaguars. Our little town of Grovetown, Ga., will be having our Christmas parade. We as a team would like to make a float, not just any float — the winning float. Please come to our rescue.

"When the kids arrived they were really excited," he said. "They were giving me high-fives left and right. They had a lot of energy, which was great because we had a lot for them to do."

"They were just overwhelmed with themselves and they just could not believe this was happening," Patricia said.

In all his years doing construction Rob had never built a float. He called in an expert — local set designer Russ Bonin — to lend a hand.

The plan was to put a 7-foot tree on a three-foot riser with a candy cane railing. It would all go on an 8-by-30-foot trailer.

Donika floats traveled 140 miles to provide the float the dance team would be using for the parade. It was a different size than Bonin planned for and the design had to be reconfigured.

Team members helped wrap giant gifts that would go around the tree.

With one day to build the float, more help arrived. Helpers from Ryobi power tools came by to speed up the construction.

While the crew was busy working on the float, Rob went shopping for supplies — decorations and a handmade bow for the top of the tree.

"When I saw the (students) decorating the tree I thought we are going to win," Patricia said.

Grovetown is a small community, but the annual parade is a big deal. This year there were additional participants — the Jazzy Jaguars and "Boston Rob."

"It's kind of like Mardi Gras," Rob said of his ride on the float. "We're throwing beads and stuffed animals and candy. It was awesome."

As the Jazzy float approached the judging stand, the group decided that, win or lose, they had the best float in the parade.

"They're very proud. These kids are proud of this float," Patricia said.

And, as promised with the help of "Boston Rob," the Jazzy Jaguars took top honors, winning the Grand Marshal's Award in the Christmas parade.