On Saturday, April 25th, St. James’ entries in the annual Ducks for Bucks Race will splash their way toward the winners’ gate. The 1:00 PM start time will be proceeded by a Kids Carnival, available food and entertainment starting at 11:00 AM. Lake Elizabeth gets transformed into a sea of yellow ducks that will race, depending on the weather, pushed by the wind or by Fremont Fire Department fire hoses. Either way, your duck can be a winner.
How is that so? All the thousands of ducks are dumped in the water. Then the wind pushes them toward the chute through which the ducks must pass to win. If there is no wind, or it’s blowing in the wrong direction, the Fremont Fire Department gives the duckies a powerful nudge with blast from a fire hose. The ducks sail toward the chute. The first duck through is the winner! But there are many winners as we, at St. James’, discovered last year. Laura Winter, Evelyn Martinez and Tom Blalock’s daughter were all prize winners of cash or valuable prizes with St. James’ ducks. In addition, St. James’ had its own drawing for special prizes for those who buy their ducks from St. James’. Watch for the growing list of prizes posted in the Parish Hall. 
How to win and why to sponsor a duck? Sponsoring a duck first. For every duck “sponsored” for $5, St. James’ gets 3 of those dollars until 250 of them are sponsored; then St. James’ get $4 for each one thereafter. Last year, St. James’ received a check from Kiwanis for $1,906 for the ducks sponsored through St. James’ for the race. How to win? Fill out the forms provided by your Duck representatives, Tom Blalock, Marlene Benedict and Bruce Roberts. Depending on how many ducks you want to sponsor – $5 per duck or 6 ducks for $25 – for as many as you want to sponsor, we take cash, check, or two famous credit cards. It is fun to watch the race, you may win a prize and…ultimately you support St. James’. In addition to getting the forms from your Ducks for Bucks reps, you can find them in the Parish Hall, or outside the Church Office. The deadline for returning the forms is Monday, April 20.