Winning chili makers (L-R) Walt Strangman, Carol Kane, Don Fipps
Event chair Matt Kurth with Suzy Wagner, whose duck had the fastest return to shore
Marty Peters with one of many "duck retrievers"
District Governor Mel Gallegos and his wife Jude joined us for some beer and chili
Face (and other body part) painting was popular with everyone
Chris Stewart crushed a lot of ice for Sno Cones
Canine Companions for Independence puppies in training, Thyme and Ressa, had a fun time
Some more scenes from the day- to see them all, click here
 
Matt Kurth certainly earned Rotarian of the Month recognition for heading up the Chili & Quackers event held on October 20, 2018 at the Powerhouse Park in Del Mar.  We had a beautiful day for the event and the turnout was fantastic. After expenses we raised $5,770 that will go to support our club projects.  We had 14 chilis in all- the recipes for many are available on our Facebook page as part of publicity posts that Dugan Moore made over the past weeks.  For the kids attending, Karin and Jim Davies broadened the game offerings, and we had both face painting and balloon animals.  The Del Mar lifeguards were on hand to give CPR demonstrations and launch the ducks from one of their rescue boats. Brett Mattei got there very early for initial setup and helped decide where the ducks should be launched to ensure their safe return.  Chris Stewart and Brody Fleming manned the snow cone machine. Miles Fleming, Patti Kurtz, Scott MacDonald and Philippe Lamoise, were busy with on-site sales; Philippe also designed our website that enabled easy pre-purchases.  Garrie Rhodes staffed the drinks tent and Mark Matthess again grilled hot dogs. Val Myers gathered the prizes (over a dozen this year), and Sharyn Daly coordinated all the rentals.  Suzy and Karl Wagner brought on board several restaurants and Chad Brown secured the permits for alcohol sales. Dan Smargon led the cleanup team, which got great help from the Troop 713 Boy Scouts. John Baranowski was the MC for the day. Congratulations to Suzy Wagner for having the fastest duck, and to Don Fipps, Carol Kane, and Walt Strangman who took first, second and third place, respectively, for their chilis, and, no surprise, Randy Gruber again took top prize in the restaurant division.  Thanks to everyone who helped (and apologies to anyone I missed!) to make this such a great event.  We’re already thinking of ways to make next year’s installment even better.  Click here to check out my photos and also visit the gallery at Del Mar Times.