Annual toy duck race helps Ripon Rotary provide scholarships – Manteca Bulletin
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A little over 500 toy ducks were once again dumped i to one of the local canals in Ripon on Thursday.
This was all part of the fifth annual Ripon Rotary Club Duck Race benefitting trade school scholarships to graduating seniors at Ripon High, Ripon Christian High and / or Harvest High.
Providing support for this fundraiser on this day were the Ripon Consolidated Fire District, the South San Joaquin Irrigation District, and the Ripon Chamber of Commerce.
Local firefighters, using a ladder truck, had the honor of pouring out the colorful toy ducks from a large plastic garbage can into the semi fast-moving waters of the canal with crews from SSJID having the task of collecting them using various nettings.
The green toy surged ahead of the white duck to take first place in 2025 Duck Race.
Among the prizes for those who sponsored a toy duck – based on the finishing order – included a choice of a Benelli Italian shotgun from Barnwood Arms; $100 gift card from Ripon Social Restaurant; one case of wine from McManis Family Vineyards; a gift from Ace Hardware; a gift basket from Bank of Stockton; a one-month golf membership compliments of the Fairway Club; or an item from Ripon Jewelers.
“It was nice of our local firefighters to take an hour off of their busy schedule to help (with the duck race),” said Rotarian John Mangelos, who also praised the efforts of SSJID for chasing down and collecting the ducks along the waterways.
In recent years, Rotary has awarded $1,000 scholarships to those pursuing vocational schooling – plumbing, electrical, heating & air conditioning, and firefighting, to name a few – upon graduation.
