Rotary Duck Derby takes off in October

Rotary Duck Derby takes off in October News Staff Tue, 08/27/2024 - 10:16 am Duck Sales open online

• (ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Visitors to the Rotary Club of Graham Duck Derby touch a small portion of the 10,000 rubber ducks that were raced from one side of the pond at Firemen’s Park to Salt Creek. The event this year will be held Saturday, Oct. 19.
• (ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Third-party rubber duck sales participants chose a representative for the Rotary Club of Graham Duck Derby canoe race last year in the Firemen’s Park duck pond. The canoe race will be returning to the event this year.
• (ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The first, second, third and dead duck last winners on display at the 2023 Rotary Club of Graham Duck Derby. The winners this year will receive $5,000 for first place, $500 for second place, $100 for third place and $250 for dead duck last.

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Thomas Wallner editor@grahamleader.com

For a seventh year, 10,000 rubber ducks will make the journey from the Firemen’s Park pond to Salt Creek during the Rotary Club of Graham’s Duck Derby. With prizes, food, games and more, the event is looking to provide entertainment for all.

The free event will be held from 2-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 at Firemen’s Park, but rubber duck sales opened online last week at duckrace.com/graham. A total of 10,000 rubber ducks will be dumped and raced, with a first place grand prize of $5,000, a second place prize of $500, a third place prize of $100 and a $250 prize for dead duck last.

The duck parade, launch and race will occur at 4 p.m. and the winners will be announced at 6 p.m. Rotary Club of Graham President Tanner Swaringen said the event serves as the primary fundraiser for the Rotary Club.

“All the money that we raise from Duck Derby stays in Graham. We support everything from Backpack Buddies to Our Daily Bread is another big one that we support. We also do the Goodfellows Angel Tree, and then just lots of nonprofits around town we give to them,” he said. “We see people in need and donate to worthy projects. But this is our number one thing, this is where we get our money from, so it’s important that this is successful.”

Our Daily Bread is a community outreach program hosted at First United Methodist Church in Graham that provides two meals a day to Graham citizens for five weeks in the summer. The program is funded through donations, with the Rotary Club providing each year.

“Rotary has been a faithful contributor to Our Daily Bread for many years,” Our Daily Bread organizer Bronwen Choate said. “Through the volunteering of members, the supplying of food and generous monetary donations, Rotary has had a great impact.”

Other programs supported through Rotary are Gear Up Graham, organized by Eastside Church of Christ, which supplies around 600 students with free school supplies and toiletries, and Spivey Hill Challenge, a 5K and 1K event.

“The Spivey Hill Challenge… started from the vision of the late Dr. Jamie Epperson who sought to honor Mr. and Mrs. Bill Spivey,” Gear Up Graham and Spivey Hill Challenge board member Shana Wolfe said. “Over time, the SHC has evolved to honor the late Spencer Street, a board member and community leader in his own right, and Dr. Epperson herself. Dr Epperson was passionate about helping two local charities: Shine On For Women and Garments of Grace. We are so grateful for the Rotary Club for their continued sponsorship in both of these events.”

The duck derby has third-party sales which provide a portion of all duck sales back to the various organizations which sell them.

“Not only is it a fundraiser for Rotary with that, those third-party sales also go back to (for example) GISD, they also get a cut of those. So this is an opportunity for us to access more people, more duck sales, but also directly just give back to them as well,” Swaringen said.

Returning this year, third-party participants will choose a representative for a canoe race in the Firemen’s Park duck pond.

The Rotary president said the event is a massive undertaking for the club which has its members come out in full force.

“We have lots of Rotarians that have a hard time making our weekly lunch, but we see them here, or we have (some) that are there at lunch every single week and they’re also doing this too. A big chunk of our club all pitches in,” Swaringen said. “It doesn’t work without the entire club pitching in. We’ve got a handful that carry the load and then it’s just manpower after that.”

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