BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Photos by Bob Ealum and Sarah Stephens – EAN
Beautiful weather welcomed visitors yesterday to Village Green Park in Millbrook for Ducks, Jeeps and Tunes!
The West Elmore Lions Club hosted its second annual Duck Race, this year in memory of Shana Faulkner, who passed recently but was a vibrant, active community servant and well loved throughout Elmore County. She was the beloved wife of Art Faulkner. Many family members and friends gathered for a group photo, which you can see on this page.
The ducks were dumped into the water simultaneously with the help of Millbrook City Council President Michael Gay and Elmore County Commissioner Desirae Lewis Jackson.
As they floated down the creek to the finish line, the 350 ducks drew cheers and excitement.
Three winners were the first to cross and they belonged to 1st Leona Sedinger, 2nd Burke Oswalt, and 3rd Russ Sanders. Sanders graciously donated the prize money back to the Lions Club.
In all, $1,000 was paid out in prize money. The money raised from the race will go to benefit Lions Sight which provides glasses for those in need as well as eye tests throughout the schools. Part of the funds will also benefit local charities in our area.
The Lions Club meets every third Tuesday of the month, currently at El Cerrito’s in Millbrook. They are actively seeking new members. If you are interested, you can talk with any member, or visit their Facebook page. An application for membership can be obtained at Kelley’s Accounting Service of Millbrook.
Next up was the Jeep competition. Area Jeep owners were invited to bring their Jeeps to participate in the day’s event. There is a fun tradition where rubber duckies are shared between Jeep owners, so it was a perfect finish to the Duck Race activities.
Taking first place in the competition were 1st Place Lynn Popwell, 2nd place Shelia Conway and 3rd place Heather Chrisco. Honorary mention went to Stuart Peters. The winners were given handmade duck trophies, thanks to the talents of Millbrook Special Events Director Danae Morgan.
The Grand finale for the afternoon was the talented band H2O, who took the stage and had feet tapping.
Kids enjoyed the Kids Zone, bubbles were flying through the air, the food truck was Fire Meets Wood and the crowd was enthusiastic!
Many other events are coming to Village Green Park soon, so stay tuned. If you get a chance and want a nice walk, visit the park during Fall and check out the beautiful decorations. The Parks and Rec Department, as well as the Special Events department, is constantly adding more festive decorations.
