20th AdironDuck Race at Oswegatchie

20 years of the AdironDuck Race have come to a close as we dumped an additional 6610 ducks down the Oswegatchie River on April 27, 2014.  More than 1600 visitors, guests, and volunteers were on hand to make the day a great success.  Even the unseasonably cool weather was not enough to keep our supporters away. 

The day started with the arrival of nearly 60 volunteers on Friday night, who together made light work of the clean-up process in preparation for the big day.  We start by thanking each of these individuals, many of whom drove several hours over hundreds of miles, from all over NYS, New England, and as far south as Virginia.  This event just is not possible without the many whom I am honored to call “Volunteer”.  These people are former staff members, friends of staff members, family members, and even complete strangers to the Oswegatchie community.   They are the heart and soul of Oswegatchie.  They raked, built finish gates and duck dumpers, raked, cooked, raked, moved wood, cleaned up the sugar bush, set up displays, raked,  and when all that was done they raked. 

Sunday started with a hearty Adirondack style pancake breakfast, featuring our own pure Maple Syrup, produced by Jamie Thibodeau.  As the morning ticked on we served 200 patrons an hour a great breakfast professionally prepared by the members and teachers of the Stockbridge Valley FFA.  Thank you SVCS FFA for 20 years of dedication to this job.  853 breakfasts served. 

Even though mother nature did not warm us up, we had several food vendors offering lots of warm foods, from Kettle Korn, to fried dough, to burgers and fries.  Children roasted marshmallows by the fire, jumped around in bounce houses, and were entertained by Troy Wunderles One Man Circus.  Others attended our Duckumenical Church Service, with the Pastor Raymond Lighthall, listened to stories of the Adirondacks from Bill Smith and perused many fine handmade gifts from the Adirondack Artisans Guild.  The newly constructed Foster Lodge was open for tours, and for perusal of and entry into our many door prize offerings. 

The highlight of the day was the dumping of the ducks at 1 PM.  A record setting 6610 ducks were sold this year, from FFA Chapters all over NYS.  The winners of the day are:

Grand Prize- Megan McGinley

1st-          Marge Tiffany

2nd-         Bob Shafer

3rd-         Barb Loomis

4th-         Mohawk Valley FFA

5th-         Melissa Staffin

6th-         Logan Marcinko

7th-         Brian Tabolt

8th-         Tucker Swartz

9th-         Mike Sheldon

10th-       Marge Tiffany

11th-       Julie Fairbanks

12th-       Larry Kloster

13th-       Genesee Valley BOCES

Gross receipts on the day were $46550 from sponsors, pancake breakfasts, miscellaneous sales, and the selling of ducks.    This money will be used to send FFA members to camp this summer, and will also support the purchase of many of the program items we need to make our program run smoothly. 

We were also showered with great media coverage as the Watertown Daily Time, WWNY TV 7, and Time Warner News attended.  To see some excellent press coverage of the event go to any of the links below:

http://www.wdt.net/article/20140428/NEWS03/704289928

http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/Thousands-of-Ducks-Raise-Tens-of-Thousands-of-Bills-256912891.html

http://centralny.twcnews.com/content/news/729708/rubber-duck-race-raises-thousands-for-oswegatchie-educational-center/

A full detailed report of chapter participation and complete sponsors report will be shared by the end of the week via this list serve. 

Thank you to all FFA chapters who supported this event and helped your students raise money for camp this coming year. 

With kind regards,

The Oswegatchie Team;

Bill, Robin, Jamie, and Todd

Todd M. Lighthall, Executive Director
NY FFA Foundation, Inc.
Engaging Youth in Agricultural & Career Success
315-346-1222
9340 Long Pond Rd.
Croghan, NY 13327
www.nyffafoundation.org