Sterling Rotary Club puts ducks on sale for annual race

Ducks went on sale Tuesday for the Sterling Rotary Club’s seventh annual Duck Race, putting another familiar summer fundraiser on Sterling’s civic calendar. The club’s annual duck race has become a recurring local draw in Logan County, with money staying tied to community service rather than a far-off cause.

The race fits the Rotary Club of Sterling’s broader pattern of local giving. A 2023 Rotary fundraiser called Pluck-a-Duck was designated for “scholarships, other programs,” showing the kinds of needs the club has helped cover in Sterling. That local focus helps explain why the duck race keeps coming back: the sale is simple, the event is family-friendly, and the payoff is aimed at projects residents can see close to home.

This year’s event also marked a milestone in its own right. The seventh annual duck race followed a sixth annual race held Sept. 20 during Sugar Beet Days, tying the fundraiser to one of Sterling’s best-known community celebrations. That connection has helped make the duck race part of the city’s summer civic fundraising season, not just a one-time novelty.

The club behind it has deep roots. Earlier Journal-Advocate coverage described the Sterling Rotary Club as over a century old and active in the community, always looking for ways to give support. The Rotary Club of Sterling is affiliated with Rotary International and District 7610, linking a local volunteer group in Logan County to a larger network while keeping the fundraiser grounded in Sterling priorities.

For readers in Sterling and the rest of Logan County, the practical point is straightforward: duck sales were open, and the race continued a tradition that has already shown it can channel attention and money toward scholarships, youth needs and other local programs. In a county where small civic events often do the work of larger institutions, the duck race has become one more way Rotary keeps money circulating close to home.