An Interview With Big Duck Duo: Bill Solms And Scott Robbins

Every year, the Estes Park Rotary Duck Race appoints a new leader, known as the ‘Big Duck’ and an assistant leader, the ‘Little Duck,’ to the Duck Race Committee. This year’s Big Duck, Bill Solms, and Little Duck, Scott Robbins, have been jointly planning the 35th annual Rotary Duck Race. We asked both of them to reflect on this year’s Duck Race and its impact on the community.

Q. What strikes you as the most amazing thing about the Estes Park Duck Race?

A. The most amazing thing about the Estes Park Duck Race is the remarkable level of community engagement in the event that has allowed it to continue, uninterrupted, as the largest single fundraising event benefiting multiple Estes Valley charities and nonprofit organizations since 1989. For some of our organizations, the Duck Race is the difference between being able to continue to carry on their mission, or not. We are delighted that the ducks will be racing in the river again this May, with a full Festival including live music and other entertainment, face painting, balloon art and the annual 5K Duck Waddle.

Q. What is the Race Day highlight, in your opinion?

A. The moment when 8,000 little yellow rubber duckies are dropped into Fall River at Nicky’s Resort from the duck cage that is suspended high in the air is truly exhilarating. Suddenly, the river turns bright yellow with a big splash, and away go the ducks down the river! It is a Duck Race moment that should not be missed. Another highlight is finding out how much revenue the charities and nonprofits have generated for their annual budgets from duck adoption sales and knowing all the good it will do for people in the Estes Valley.

Q. Many local residents and groups participate in the Race volunteering, entertaining, selling adoptions, serving as sponsors, walking the river, etc. Does that make a Big Duck honk with happiness?

A. Woo-hoo! The Duck Race has grown over the years to the point that our Rotary club could not sustain this event without the help of our volunteers and partnerships. Our partners at Visit Estes Park and the Estes Park Nonprofit Resource Center have been indispensable. The festival does not happen without our business sponsors, merchants, and all the volunteers from the commu- nity and our participating organizations.

Q. Here’s your chance to send some thankful quacks before the ducks drop.

A. There are so many people to thank. We are especially grateful to Claire’s Restaurant and Bar for being our Named Sponsor for the second year. This has enabled us to have the Rocky Mountain Channel and Nick Molle promote duck adoptions and live-stream the Duck Race with no net cost to the Duck Race. Visit Estes Park has done an incredible job managing our Facebook page and promoting the Duck Race through press releases and other publicity outreach. The Estes Park Nonprofit Resource Center is organizing and running River Security this year and is responsible for overall coordination of volunteers. These are major undertakings involving over 100 volunteers. River security is crucial to the safe operation of the Duck Race. The generous donations from our many Major and Associate Sponsors are helping to underwrite the event expenses, allowing us to return $22 of every $25 duck adoption to the charities. Delaware North has donated the vacation package prizes at Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks again this year, as they have done for many years. We deeply appreciate all of these wonderful folks, without whose help we might not have been able to keep the Duck Race tradition going. We appreciate our town’s supportive merchants who have donated hundreds of wonderful prizes for duck adopters to win. Those prize contributions would not have happened without the tireless efforts of our merchant outreach team. We continue to be impressed by the 64 participating organizations and their enduring commitment to selling duck adoptions to benefit their causes, and their providing at least one volunteer per organization to help with the Duck Race this year. Some organizations have provided up to six volunteers! The Estes Park Police Department Auxiliary is donating their services for crowd and parking control. The Rotary Club of Estes Park’s Tech Team has volunteered their services over the past two years to create a much-needed new Duck Race software system. Through their efforts, we have been able to make all duck adoptions online thus making it easier to adopt and simpler for the organizations to promote. This year we have continued to move other aspects of race management onto a single information management platform to make it easier to manage the race in future years. And of course, the Duck Race couldn’t happen without the dedication of the Duck Race Committee and the Rotary Club of Estes Park, dozens of whom have spent months organizing the Duck Race so far. Their work will continue through race day on May 6, to make this event a success for our charities and a really fun day for our whole community.

Q: Can you describe the experience of leading a fundraiser that is expected to raise over $160,000 for Estes Valley Participating Organizations?

A: The Duck Race is an Estes Valley institution, and it truly is a privilege to help carry on such a revered tradition. Even though there are a lot of moving parts in organizing this festival, we have been overwhelmed with the level of support and cooperation we have received from all the stakeholders. The Town of Estes Park has been a delight to work with as have the other stakeholders previously mentioned. Countless people have talked to us about their experiences attending and supporting the duck races over the years. Local participants are committed to maintaining the charm and personal feel of the event while at the same time welcoming technological improvements like livestreaming the race to enhance the experience on race day and make recordkeeping and duck adoptions more efficient. It is absolutely a lot of work but that work is made lighter by the “many hands” that help out. The best part is all the people you work with who also love what they are doing for the Duck Race. It is a labor of love all the way around. Connecting with sponsors, merchants, volunteers, nonprofit organizations, and forming lifelong relationships with committee members is a huge reward that we will remember and cherish. Something new and interesting has happened nearly every day we have served as Big Ducks. We have loved interacting with so many people in different departments of the Town, including Mayor Koenig – all of whom are supportive of the mission of the Duck Race and have been so helpful. We deeply admire and respect all the Big Ducks who have served before us. It’s a privilege to join that group and do our part to give back to this beautiful community.

Q: Do you have advice for future Big Ducks?

A: We highly recommend it to anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to lead a team of highly committed and competent people with a true appreciation of the place this festival has in the community. Bring in people to help who are as enthusiastic about fun and service as you are, and with everyone working together, the Duck Race can go on for another 35 years or more!

Also, step up and try it. It will involve many months of work, and lots of creativity, flexibility and a sense of humor, not to mention the need to keep many moving parts organized -- and lots of late nights! But it’s easy when you keep in mind why we are doing this, and the good that can be accomplished. And when the Duck Race is over, go get a cookie or ice cream or taffy in town, and walk around Lake Estes wearing your Duck Race vest with some of the other volunteers, reminiscing about how much fun it was.

Q: What do we need to know about this year’s Race Day?

A: Race Day will start off 9:00 a.m. with the 5K Duck Waddle. We expect to sell over 8,000 duck adoptions this year, with $22 of every $25 adoption going to whatever charity or nonprofit organization the purchaser selects. All duck adoptions will be made online only, and it’s fast and simple to do by going to our website, www.epduckrace.org. Anyone can adopt a duck from their cell phone, iPad, computer, or other device in just a couple of minutes. And with every duck adoption, the purchaser is doing so much good! Who knows, adopters may also win one of the hundreds of prizes donated by our local merchants or one of our big prizes: $10,000 cash, $6,000 cash, $4,000 cash, a 3-night vacation package at Yellowstone, or a 3-night vacation package at Glacier National Park. It’s a community festival, a major fundraiser, and a day full of fun with hundreds of chances to win prizes, all in one!

Q: Do you need volunteers on Race Day?

Yes! Please email me at BigDuck@epduckrace.org to help make Race Day a success.

The Estes Park Rotary Duck Race Festival is held annually on the first Saturday in May. The Annual Duck Race continues a tradition started in 1989, which has returned over $3 million to local Estes Park charities and groups. 2023 marks the 35th annual Duck Race.

Please join the Elementary School Bobcats on the Run Club in running a 5K around Lake Estes. There will be a food truck, music, running, and fun! Meet at the marina pavilion. Picnic style - bring your own chairs or blankets. Parking is limited - carpooling is encouraged. Come cheer on our hard-working runners! Contact: ashley_silva@psdr3.k12.co.us or lori_caban@psdr3.k12.co.us for more information!

6 MAYO

¡LINCES EN LA CARRERA 5K!

Lago Estes

sábado 6 de mayo a las 10:00am

Únase a los Bobcats on the Run Club/El Club de Carrera de los Linces de la Escuela Primaria para correr una carrera de 5 km alrededor de Lake Estes. ¡Habrá un camión de comida, música, carreras y diversión!

Reúnase en el pabellón de la marina. Estilo picnic/almuerzo campestre: traiga sus propias sillas o mantas. El estacionamiento es limitado; se recomienda compartir el transporte.

¡Vengan a animar a nuestros corredores!

Contaashleysilva@psdr3k12cousoloricaban@psdr3k12cous