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caption:
Corralling
Putnam Mayor Barney Seney and Hale YMCA Youth & Family Center Executive Director Amanda Kelly took to a canoe to scoot wayward Pluck-a-Duck ducks back toward the nets at the Hale Y's indoor pool. More photos on page 4 and short list of winners on page 2. Linda Lemmon photo.
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The first duck plucked went into a bag marked #1. And so on. Then volunteers matched the ID number on the duck to the winner's ticket. Linda Lemmon photo.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
It’s amazing what a few thousand tiny ducks wearing SCUBA gear can do.
Like raise almost $20,000 to help organizations across northeastern Connecticut.
Their cuteness belies their effectiveness as fund-raisers.
According to Beth Markowski-Roop, committee chair and chief duck wrangler, a record number of ducks were sold: 5,962.
She said “We’re still tallying the online sales, but it is over $19,000 for the Putnam Business Association and will support its advocacy and efforts for local businesses and PBA members, and also its local community events that bring thousands into Putnam and are free for the community to enjoy, such as Zombie Fashion Show, Savor the Flavor and Fire & Ice Festival and more.”
The committee congratulated all of the winners and Markowski-Roop said: “A huge thank you to all of the sponsors and our community for making this event so successful! You can pick up your prizes at Putnam Re/Max Bell Park Realty in Putnam, 9-3 Monday through Friday or this coming Saturday from 9-1.
The effort had plenty of volunteer help. She said: “We had eight dedicated Pluck-A-Duck Committee members and sooo many volunteers from wonderful local companies and organizations (25+ volunteers). The two-day event was six months of planning and hundreds of hours volunteered.”
Considering the considerable drought, the only viable “secret pond location” was the pool at the Hale YMCA Youth and Family Center. At the grand “plucking” Aug. 22, Amanda Kelly, the Hale Y’s executive director, said “When we were first approached we said ‘How are we going to make that work?’ And ya know what? We made it work.”
Markowski-Roop said: “We were very excited by the Hale YMCA’s support and assistance for making this year’s event a success. (Plus, their pool is a current pool with a natural current that thoroughly stirred the ducks. The local rivers and ponds have little-to-no-water and simply weren’t a safe or viable alternative).”
Despite the stirring, a good number of the ducks started hugging the lane marker out of reach of the net on a long pole. Mayor Barney Seney and Kelly got into a canoe and wrangled them back toward the edge of the pool to be plucked.
Markowski-Roop said 21 non-profits were involved and sold 3,883 tickets for $9,710. The non-profits (and the amount earned) are: TEEG. 230 Tickets Sold. $575; The Last Green Valley. 48 Tickets Sold. $120; Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse. 130 Tickets Sold. $325; The Arc Eastern CT. 178 Tickets Sold. $445; NAMI Windham County NWC. 100 Tickets Sold. $250; Northeast Opportunities for Wellness. 323 Tickets Sold. $807.50; Putnam Lodge of Elks #574. 70 Tickets Sold. $175; Putnam Rotary Club. 280 Tickets Sold. $799; Boy Scout Troop 21. 128 Tickets Sold. $320; Access Emergency Shelter/The Access Community Action Agency. 100 Tickets Sold. $250; Northeastern Insurance Professionals. 180 Tickets Sold. $450; PAWS Cat Shelter. 200 Tickets Sold. $500; Opportunity Works CT Inc./ Floral and Gifts of OWC. 2 Tickets Sold. $5; Bags of Hope CT. 300 Tickets Sold. $750; Hale YMCA Youth & Family Center. 363 Tickets Sold. $907.50; The Killingly Business Association. 47 Tickets Sold. $117.50; Nutmeg Acres Wildlife. 140 Tickets Sold. $350; Natchaug River Young Marines. 504 Tickets Sold. $1260; Northeastern CT Arts Guild. 260 Tickets Sold. $650; Brooklyn Schools PTO. 171 Tickets Sold $427.50; Putnam Lions Club. 130 Tickets Sold. $325.
Markowski-Roop added: “We want to truly thank everyone who helped make this event a success! From our incredible sponsors, to non-profit organizations and local businesses assisting with tickets sales, to businesses who generously donated a record-number of prizes, to those who purchased Pluck-A-Duck raffle tickets, to our volunteers who worked tirelessly, WINY Radio for their support and promotion, this event will help so many organizations throughout our Quiet Corner, and the local community events that draw thousands to our town and businesses. Thank you and Quack Quack!”
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