Older Car Parade
Dear Editor: Here is a big honk, toot, and beep to all the owners and passengers of the older vehicles in this year’s July 4th Older Car Parade.
Thank you for your participation it was fun, with a nice turnout. Thank you to all those who gathered along the road and waved and cheered. One more thank you, to the drivers and passengers behind us for their wonderful patience and understanding.
Happy post 4th of July.
Jeff Budd, Sitka
Cannon
Dear Editor: Sitka’s parade was a wonderful community celebration. We especially enjoyed the U.S. Coast Guard contingency, which included families, as well as the Coast Guard personnel.
The one notable exception … the inclusion of a “cannon,” which emitted a dangerously loud and pointless noise, was totally inappropriate. How one equals making a deafening and scary noise as a reasonable and relevant expression of a celebratory spirit escapes us. It took away from the celebration and added a feeling of danger and pain. It did not fit in at all with the creative, generous, informative, happy celebratory spirit of our parade.
Norm and Toby Campbell, Sitka
Rotary Duck Race
Dear Editor: The Sitka Rotary Club is excited to announce the winners of our 37th Annual Sitka Duck Race! The winners are:
1st place, 0282, Carrie Fowler, pair of Alaska Airline tickets; 2nd, 2289, Professional Development Company, $500 cash; 3rd, 2,148, Sitka Pel’meni, $250; 4th, 0737, Sue Weitkamp, $100; 5th, 2,911, Stewart & Assoc. Real Estate, $100; 6th, 0165, Jake Parunyan, $100; 7th, 0969, David Voluck, $100; 8th, 0384, Mike Levy, $100; 9th, 2,422, Alecia Porter-Harris, $100; 10th, 1,586, Peter Karras, $100; 11th, 1,461, Richard Marshall, $100.
Also, 12th, 1,874, Southeast Dough Co., $100; 13th, 0819, Ray Covington, $100; 14th, 3,641, Kids First Day Care, $100; 15th, 0964, David Voluck, $100; 16th, 3,014, Auriella Hughes, $100; 17th, 2,144, Sitka Pel’meni, $100; 18th, 0226, Judy Jones Kimmell, $100; 19th, 0665, F/V Minke, $100; 20th, 3,376 EMS Kitchen, $100; 21st, 0310, Alaska Marine Lines, $100.
Also, 22nd, 0036, Paul Santore, $100; 23rd, 0601, Sitka Couriers LLC, $100; 24th, 3,336, Logan Beilke, $100; 25th, 1,087, Mary Ferguson (Baranof Bruins), $100; 26th, 0679 Stone Lantern House, $100; 27th, 3,679, Diane Fejes, $100; 28th, 2,475,Greg Baker, $100; 29th, 0401,Melody Crick Peters, $100; 30th, 2,365, Sweet Sisters Caramels, $100, Red Lantern Duck.
The Sitka Rotary Club and our Sitka Duck Race had a very successful year due in large part to our community supporters – 927 generous individuals and 101 businesses purchased tickets this year. Thank you, all! We would like to express our gratitude to Alaska Airlines for their generous, continuing donation of two roundtrip tickets anywhere they fly, to Sea Mart Quality Foods – this year’s prize sponsor, and First Bank – this year’s ticket sponsor.
We continued our Business Sponsor Initiative introduced in 2018 and grew that part of this year’s race to 101 business sponsors.
They were all very generous to our event: Sitka Checkered Tours; Sitka Studio of Dance; Youth Advocates of Sitka; First National Bank of Alaska; Coastal Collision Repairs and Towing; Wells Fargo Bank; Harry Race Pharmacy & Photo; KCAW-Raven Radio; Dumag’s Roofing Company; Keith Custom Construction; True Value Sitka; Haunted Sitka; Northrim Bank; The Pioneer Bar; LaBrea Precision LLC; Highliner Coffee Company.
Also, Precision Boatworks; AC Lakeside; Baranof Realty LLC; Waddell & Reed; Sitka Tours; Rainforest Writing and Editing; Old Harbor Books; The Alaskan Sailing Company LLC; Stedman Insurance Agency; North Star TV Network; Lemonstone Carpentry and Contracting; Sitka Shredding; Cooper Marine Services; Sitka Pediatric Dentistry.
Also, Sitka Bulk Goods; Sitka Pel’Meni; Greyhound Mining & Milling LLC; Tongass Threads Consignment Store; Neurobehavioral Consultants LLC; Beak Restaurant; Katlian Street Suites; The Professional Development Company; Alaska Marine Lines; Harbor Heights Penthouse; Catch Sitka Seafoods; Russell’s; Foreign Automotive; Sitka Sound Seafoods; Alaska Coach Tours; Kids First Day Care; Premier Training of Alaska; Munchie Mart; Guns of Alaska; Southeast Dough Co.
Also, the Back Door Café; Bare Skin Boudoir; Q & L Excavation; Stewart and Assoc. Real Estate; Sweet Sisters Caramels; Sitka Soup; Precision Boatworks; Sitka Bottling Company; Mim McConnell Re/Max Baranof Realty LLC; VicWongs It & Computer Consulting Support; Welcome Aboard LLC; Eliason Fisheries LLC; Sitka Swirls; Yuyo’s Pizza and Mexican Kitchen; Sitka Couriers LLC; Martin Enterprises Inc.; A Whale’s Song Expeditions; Mike’s Floors; Sitka Troubleshooting; The Daily Sitka Sentinel/Arrowhead Press; Stone Lantern House; Salon 264.
Also, the Law Offices of Alicia Porter; Newfangled Commerce; Sea Level Consulting; Napa Auto Parts; Genesis AK; Interiorworks & Mudry Construction LLC; Red Bear Construction LLC; Davis Realty; Sea Mountain Golf Course; Harrington & Huff, CPAs; Stereo North Furniture and Appliance; Alaska Computer Center; Alaska Tactical Solutions LLC; Tongass Tumblers; Garden Ventures; Baranof Bruins Youth Wrestling Club; The Nugget; Mangiare; Sitka Pregnancy Center.
Also, Ems Kitchen; Work & Rugged Gear Store; Laurel Renkert, CRPC, Financial Advisor at Waddell & Reed; Pacific Services; Spenard Builder Supplies, Sitka; Buckland Equipment; F/V Minke; A Little Something; Friends of the Sitka Public Library; and Sewing Solutions.
This year, thanks to the efforts of many and the generosity of our supporters, we sold out our entire flock of 4,000 ducks at 3:42 a.m. June 1, 2021. (A request to increase our duck inventory by another 1,000 ducks is pending before the Sitka Rotary Club board.)
While we were busy selling ducks for 2021, the proceeds we received from the 2020 Sitka Duck Race were distributed from July 2020 through June 15, 2021. The funds were distributed as follows: $500 to Babies and Books; $137 to Rotary Exchange Program; $402 for two Community Clean-Up Days.
Also, $1,000 to Sitka Pregnancy Center; $1,000 to Baranof Barracudas Swim Club; $500 to Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association; $800 to Sitka Trail Works; $1,000 to Sitka Sound Science Center (WhaleFest sponsorship); $250 to Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce; $360 for the third grade Dictionary Project; $480.47 for children’s books for several holiday events; $50 to Friends of the Sitka Library (Adult Spelling Bee); $462.68 for Sitka Pioneers Home Winter Holiday event; $100 to Rotary District 5010 Image Program.
Also, $792.89 to Annual Goddard Clean-Up and Maintenance Program; $1,189.58 to Baranof Elementary School; $1,000 to Sitka Counseling (Birds and Benches Project); $300 to Mt. Edgecumbe High School; $300 to Baranof Bruins Youth Wrestling Club; $2,000 to Outer Coast; $905 to Sitka High School Track & Field Team; $1,500 to KCAW Raven Radio; $500 to Sitka Conservation Society (Earth Day).
Also, $350 to Friends of the Sitka Public Library; $1,250 to Rotary District 5010 Rotary Cares for Kids; $1,000 to Sitka Sound Science Center; $300 to Rotary District 5010 RYLA; $987.30 to Sitka Homeless Coalition; $1,000 to Greater Sitka Arts Council (Porch Fest); $1,000 to Sitkans Against Family Violence; $1,900 to Sitka Marine Heritage Society; $750 to Betty Eliason Child Care Center; $1,000 to 3 to 5 Preschool Inc.; $500 to Sitka Conservation Society (Bicycle Repair Program); $500 to Mt. Edgecumbe Preschool; $500 to Waypoint for Veterans.
Also, $1,000 to Salvation Army – Sitka; $820.44 to Brave Heart Volunteers; $500 to Sitka Fastpitch Softball Club; $500 to Outer Coast Summer Program; $637.30 to Sitka Conservation Society (Carbon Offset Fund); $637.30 to Sitka Conservation Society (Salty Spoke); and $200 to Kids’ Fishing Day.
Thank all of you in Sitka and beyond, who through your purchase of Sitka Duck tickets, continue to allow the Sitka Rotary Club, now celebrating its 80th anniversary, to continue to fund local projects which help make Sitka the most wonderful place in the world! See you next year!
John Weitkamp, Cynthia Gibson, Co-Chairs,
Sitka Duck Race Committee,
Sitka Rotary Club
