This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Ducks Race In The Name Of Charity

The Buffalo Grove Rotary Club's fundraiser floated 600 yellow ducks in a race down Buffalo Creek.

As many as 600 plastic yellow ducks floated lazily down a section of Buffalo Creek Monday, taking with them sponsors’ hopes for victory in the ’s first .

And when they hit the finish line in , about a quarter mile from the start, winning sponsors walked away $500 for first place, $300 for second and $100 for third.

Under the direction of Rotarian and duck race chairman Stephen Legge, the race was held in conjunction with .

Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It began at the Raupp Boulevard bridge over Buffalo Creek when race officials, led by Rotary Club President William Balling, dumped the ducks out of a green-and-yellow garbage can into the shallow waters of Buffalo Creek.

The yellow duckies were picked up by a slowly moving current and carried east toward the finish line, pursued from the shore by running race watchers.

Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A hitch developed within site of the finish, however, as the ducks became stuck in what appeared to be brush sitting in the shallow waters, creating a huge log jam of yellow.

Balling and Shannon Legge waded into water and freed the duckies so they could float to the finish, where they were greeted by about 50 cheering onlookers.

The top three finishing ducks were sponsored by Jenny Debunks, first place, Grace Dudley, second place, and Monica Tolva, third place.

Tolva, the only sponsor on hand to collect her winnings, was excited to walk home victorious. She planted a kiss on the cheek of her husband, Jeff, after her name was announced as a winner.

She said her winning duck was part of a Quack Pack, in which she sponsored six ducks for $25.

“I bought them in a Quack Pack because they sounded cute,” Tolva said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?