Now that December is here and the holidays are on the brain, it is time for Club CARE’s annual Nutquacker Suite on Dec 15.  This year, however, a battle has broken out between two club members, Bailey Jones and Lauren Gipe, to see who can sell the most rubber ducks for the race.  According to Gipe, the competition started after she sold the most ducks for last year’s race.  “Lauren beat me last year and I don’t like to lose,” said Jones, who has already sold 59 rubber ducks compared to Gipe’s 29 sales.  Jones credits her record sales to her attitude, saying “I haven’t really bribed anyone, I just strongly encourage them to buy because it’s for a good cause for the Ronald McDonald House.”  Gipe, however, said, “I give people cookies or offer them lollipops.  A fair exchange.”  

With this competition driving duck sales, Club CARE is hoping to have a successful event.  Courtney Moul, a three year Suite veteran, said, “The most exciting part of the race is the ending. Some of the ducks finish the race super closely. Some of them go off and never finish the race.”  The first three ducks to reach the opposite end of the pool will earn their students a prize of either $30, $15, or $5 for first, second and third places.  Moul also added, “This year students have the option to sign up for flextime and watch the race though which will be intense.”

For those students who choose to watch the race in the pool, they will see a wide variety of ducks making their way across the water.  Viking, shark, reindeer, snowman, Christmas light covered, and unicorn ducks are just a few new additions to the eclectic ducks left over from last year’s race.  The selling competition has been so great that 18 dozen extra ducks have been ordered this year to keep up with selling rates, something that has never happened before according to Angela Schneider, one of the club’s advisers. Schneider, along with Christa Daugherty and Doug Knol, assist members in fulfilling their club’s purpose: Community Awareness, Responsibility and Experience, or CARE.