Sunrise Rotary's 14th Annual Great Duck Race Another Huge Success
Photos and story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Although the skies were a little threatening at the commencement of the jUNe Day ceremony and the Great Duck Race, the rain held off bringing hundreds to the annual Westport Sunrise Rotary Club's largest annual fundraiser. Such was not the case at 6:00 AM when three dozen hard working volunteers arrived amid a torrential downpour to begin the complicated setup.
Mr. Paul proudly told WestportLocalPress, "We sold just over 3,000 ducks and raised more than $70,000 that we will give away to charities. There were people as far away as Australia and Japan purchasing tickets and supporting 35 local Westport area charities. This year’s Great Duck Race had 25 sponsors who helped make this event possible and support the works of the Rotary Club."
Donny Corona of sponsor A.J. Penna carefully drove his front loader from the Jesup Green parking area where duckies were still being loaded until the very last minute. Corona then slowly "poured" the 3,000 ducks into the sluice for their journey to the finish line.”
The finish line found Sunrise Rotarian Steve Violette who selected each of the first ten ducks to enter the chamber of the sluice. They were then carefully placed in plastic bags numbered one through ten. Violette actually created the Duck Race 14 years ago and devised the giant sluice last year. Ducks are dropped from the bucket of the front loader into the sluice, then it is unsealed allowing the water to form a current directed to the finish line and emptying into the storm drain. Westport Fire Department was on site with a fire hose to hep direct the flow toward the end point.
Photos and story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The Winners of the $10,000. cash prize money were:
First place duck belonging to Theresa House brought her $5,000.
In second place was Elyse Oleksak whose duck brought home $1,000.
The rest of the prize money, $500 each went to Rady Johnson, Lily Ayers, Andrew Dinitz, Janet Beers, Steven Benardete, Neil Santos, David Press and Helen McAlinden.
Photos and story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Sunrise Rotary President Bruce Paul told WestportLocal, "Each year several winners have donated their prize money back to Westport Sunrise Rotary and this year was no exception. We are thrilled with their generosity and support." The prize monies donated back will pass on to the 35 charities supported by The Great Duck Race event. Said Paul of the contributions, "People can be really thoughtful."
Photos and story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
jUNe Day: When The World Comes To Westport
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
On Saturday June 24th Westport held it's 58th annual welcome to the people of the world in conjunction with The United Nations Association of Southwestern Connecticut and the International Hospitality Committee. Delegates to the UN as well as staff members were given a warm welcome once again and were offered the opportunity to visit some of Westport's exceptional amenities such as Wakeman Town Farm, Compo Beach, Earthplace and the Longshore Golf Course among others. They also got to witness first-hand a Westport Institution, The Sunrise Rotary's Great Duck Race. The fierce rivalry on the Soccer pitch is also an annual event where The Westport Football Club took on the United Nations team, comprised of soccer players from all over the world at the Saugatuck school. (story and photos to follow)
The jUNe Day program began with a greeting from Mr. Willard Hass, President, NA-USA Southwestern CT Chapter. Mr. Hass was followed by First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker who welcomed the international contingent to Westport. A message from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was delivered by the Guest of Honor, Mr. Christian Saunders. Mr. Saunders is the Under-Secretary-General, Special Coordinator on Improving the UN Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The important highlights from the message of UN Secretary-General Guterres which which were delivered by Under-Secretary-General Saunders were:
For over five decades, on the last Saturday of June, the Town of Westport has welcomed UN staff members, delegates and friends to mark a special occasion: the anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter.
The UN Charter is rooted in a simple idea: what happens to one member of the human family affects us all. Groups like yours understand that overcoming complex global challenges like conflicts, climate change, hunger, poverty and inequality requires all countries working together, as one.
We need globally minded citizens to stand together and lend their voices to call for action in support of the world’s most vulnerable people, and to build a better, fairer, more peaceful and sustainable future for all.
Mr. Sherif Mohamed United Nations Staff Union, Member of the Executive Board followed with closing remarks given by Mrs. Michaela MacColi, jUNe Day Chairperson.
Izzy Dines Out
Puppies as we all know are usually the very epitome of adorable. Samoyed puppies have to be on the list of MOST adorable puppies. Izzy, the 14 week old Samoyed here proves that point. On this night he accompanied his humans to The Whelk, well-known restaurateur Bill Taibe's upscale Saugatuck dining hot spot for an al fresco fine dining experience. He became a magnet for dinner guests passing by and for people enjoying an ice cream treat at Saugatuck Sweets, just across the plaza. Izzy, who was dapperly attired in his red harness and matching leash, reveled in the attention and enjoyed feeling the love from his new admirers.
The Samoyed dates back to 1000 BCE, and he hasn't changed much in appearance or temperament in all that time. The breed is named for the Samoyede people, a nomadic tribe that lived on the tundra of northern Russia and Siberia, near the Arctic Circle. The tribe used the dogs they called bjelkiers to herd reindeer, pull sledges, and occasionally hunt bears.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Osprey Update: It's Triplets!
One of the Osprey returns to the nest at the Terrain/Fresh Market platform on the Post Rd. in Westport.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The two Osprey chicks in the photos above are two of the apparently three which successfully hatched recently at Westport's famous Terrain/Fresh Market platform, located between the two stores on the Post Rd. Osprey fans have reported seeing a third but we could not catch a glimpse of baby number three, perhaps because he hatched later than these two and is not big enough to see over the edge of the nest as his siblings are able to do.
The mouths of the the chicks are open wide as they yell relentlessly, “feed me, feed me” which many Moms can relate to. Terrain’s customers can hear them calling out loudly as they go to and from their vehicles. Staff often tell their customers about the birds with a distinct sense of pride that they are here.
Above, right and left, the male Osprey hangs out in his favorite perch, a tree behind Terrain before fortuning to the nest to help deal with “babies”
The first chick may hatch as many as five days before the last one, and the oldest chick often dominates over the younger nestlings. The chicks will fledge about 55 days after hatching but will use the nest as home base until they migrate in September. Young ospreys will stay dependent on their parents until the young are able to fish for themselves.
While most baby animals are adorable, these little ones have been compared to baby Velociraptors from Jurrasic Park films. Some of us do actually think they are cute however we may be in the minority.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.