SERVPRO of Bartow County Supports Advocates for Children's Annual Duck Derby

6/18/2019 (Permalink)

Advocates for Children were able to raise over $100,00 for the children and families of Bartow County!

SERVPRO of Bartow County sponsored the 17th annual Duck Derby benefiting the Advocates for children.  The event, held on May 11, 2019, included the Duck Derby and Duck Dash 5K & Kids Fun Run.  The impending, inclement weather held off long enough for the 5k and fun to be a success!  The winners, Tyler Jones and Sherry Spinks, with times 17:54 & 19:51, took home the gold duck trophies!  

Afterwards, it was time for the Duck Derby at Sam Smith Park. With no water source at Sam Smith park, one might wonder how the Duck Derby could take place in the middle of a field. With the help of Gerdau, a temporary waterway was built in the middle of the park just for the derby. Guests watched the 3 heats of over 6,000 derby ducks tumble down the waterway. Lucky ducks from each heat were selected as winners.

18,000+ Rubber Duckies Sold of Advocates for Children!

Advocates asked Gerdau Plant Manager, Rodrigo Canova, and Vista Metals Plant Manager, Jim Stewart, to select the winning duck for the main event.  Susan Simonton’s duck was the big winner of the day winning Susan the $10,000 grand prize. In addition to the grand prize, eleven additional prizes were awarded consisting of Braves tickets, an IPad, concert tickets, a drone bundle, a beach bundle sponsored by Country financial, many gift cards and a spectacular basket from Cartersville-Bartow County Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Julie Peace, Samson Salono, Alison Biles, Cathy Menerey, Frank Pratt, Jamie Row, Julie Casler-Tyrell, Carol Anne Craton, Chris & Brandy Seats, Dan Kramer & Fincher Services were the winners of the additional prizes. The Very Important Duck (VID) race was held before the main dash.  The VID package, selling for $250, offered great odds and prizes valued at $1,000, $500 & $250. Chris & Brandy Seats, Phillip Ray and Matt Sellers were the winners!

The Quacky Cash competition offered one of three cash prizes to local high school seniors who sell the most ducks.  The seniors had to sell a minimum of 500 ducks and must be a resident of Cartersville/Bartow County. Taylor Tyree, a senior at Woodland High, took the prize with a total of 2,455 sold.  Second place was Colbi Ballard, a senior of Cartersville High, with a total of 1,938 ducks sold.  Third place went to Kaylee Jones, also a senior at Woodland High, with a total of 1,350 ducks sold.  All in all the seniors of all 7 high schools sold 9,139 ducks which was 53% of all duck sales.

Guests had a plethora of culinary choices, from BBQ and cheesesteaks to frozen desserts. Great restaurants and caterers like Johnny Mitchell’s Smokehouse, Chuck’s Curbside and The Big Dipper provided food services for the entire event. The food was a major draw for the event and patriots avidly voiced their opinions of how great the food was and how they thoroughly enjoyed it all.

In summation the Duck Derby and Duck Dash 5k Fun Run was a complete success! Advocates for Children raised over $100,000 for the children and families of Bartow County and Greater North Georgia area. SERVPRO of Bartow County is proud to have had the opportunity to support such a great cause and event!