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Duck race nets $50K for state-of-the-art heart lab

Andrew Powell, 14, fishes ducks out of the Lazy River Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016 at Holiday Springs Water Park. The duck race is a fundraiser for CHRISTUS St. Michael's electrophysiology lab.
Andrew Powell, 14, fishes ducks out of the Lazy River Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016 at Holiday Springs Water Park. The duck race is a fundraiser for CHRISTUS St. Michael's electrophysiology lab.

Thousands of toy ducks raised thousands of dollars for the CHRISTUS St. Michael Foundation on Saturday at Holiday Springs Water Park.

The annual Great Texarkana Duck Race netted about $50,000 in donations, said Susan Landreaux, the foundation's director.

With coming showers threatening a rainout, organizing sponsor Friends of the Foundation began the race early, 15 minutes before its scheduled start time.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK MCFARLAND --07/04/13-- Erika Setzler, 21, of Conway, was the female winner of the Firecracker Fast 5K race in Little Rock Thursday morning. Setzler's time was 17:07:50.

At the start signal, volunteers from Texarkana, Ark.'s Boy Scout Troop 8 let loose about 10,000 yellow plastic ducks, which floated around the park's Lazy River ride in a race to the finish.

Donors had adopted ducks, identified by numbered labels, for $5 each or $25 for six. Those whose ducks were the first six across the finish line won prizes.

Edwin Finn won first prize, a 2016 Kia Soul wagon. Second prize, a $500 Super 1 Foods gift card, went to Dave White. David Endsley came in third and won a 55-inch Sanyo television.

Susie Hoofman, Liane Hunt and Walter Winchell won fourth, fifth and sixth prizes, respectively. None of the prize-winners attended the race.

The duck race was the 27th held to benefit the foundation, said Francine Francis, CHRISTUS St. Michael director of marketing communications. Landreaux added that net proceeds from all the races over the years total about $1.5 million.

This year, the fundraiser benefits CHRISTUS St. Michael's cardiac electrophysiology lab, the first and only in the region. The lab treats problems with the heart's electric system, as opposed to its "plumbing," Francis said.

Mike Ingram with Friends of the Foundation was pleased with the outcome and praised the event's supporters.

"It went as well as we could have expected. We're so thankful for all our sponsors for making this possible," he said.

Francis echoed the sentiment.

"It couldn't have been so successful without community support," she said.

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