One duck enough for Madison man

COLUMBUS - One in 11,000 isn't very good odds, but for a Madison man, it was good enough.

Brian Freudenburg of Madison wasn't really planning on buying a ticket for the annual Columbus Area United Way Eighth Annual Loup River Duck Derby. But when he made a trip to the UPS Store, he was asked to adopt a duck.

And all it took was that one little quacker to earn Freudenburg the top prize of a family vacation to Disneyland for its 50th anniversary celebration. The prize is valued $5,000 and includes three nights, air fare, hotel, park passes, car rental, meal and spending cash.

The Duck Derby was held Friday evening, but Freudenburg wasn't at the event. When the call came telling him he was the winner, he said he was surprised.

"I was floored. I was really shocked. I never won anything in my life," he said.

A total of 11,165 ducks were adopted out for the event, which is the first fundraising event for the United Way drive.

Freudenburg and his wife Rhonda don't know when they will use the cruise, but said their four-year-old son Braden will be excited to go.

For winning the top prize, the couple will be in the Columbus Days Parade today.

The second place prize of a Honda Four Wheeler ATV TRX 350 Rancher 4X4 from Curry Bros. Motorsports valued at $5,200 went to Joan Plummer.

The first and second place prizes were sponsored by the Columbus Telegram, Three Eagles Communications, Behlen, Ernst Auto Center and Ernst Toyota Jeep.

Coordinators of the event said they were glad to have great community support.

"I was happy to reach the 11,000 (mark), and I thought was going to be a stretch," said Elda Reinhardt, co-chair of the event. "The people in this community are so giving, it's remarkable."

All of the money raised for the event goes to the general campaign of the United Way. The campaign chairman, Chuck Sahs, said the Duck Derby gives the organization a great start to reaching the campaign goal of $650,000, a three percent increase of last's years. The campaign will officially kickoff next month.

The next major part of the campaign will begin later this month with the Pacesetters, which are the top giving companies. Sahs said he is optimistic the goal will be reached because businesses in the area continue to be so giving.

All of the money raised through the United Way goes toward supporting 19 service agencies. Those agencies include American Red Cross, Arc of Platte County, Big Pals-Little Pals, Boy Scouts of America, CASA Connection, Catholic Charities, Center for Survivors, Columbus Area Transit, Columbus Collaborative Team, Columbus Family YMCA, Emergency Relief, Lutheran Family Services, Platte County Food Pantry, Platte Valley Literacy, Prairie Hills Girls Scouts, Salvation Army, Student Health, TeamMates and USO.

Other winners of prizes given away at the Duck Derby include:

n Eldon Engle, $1,800 year supply of groceries from Hy-Vee.

n Ryan Stevens, $1,500 shopping spree from Wal-Mart.

n Tim Olcott, $1,100 Columbus Bucks shopping spree from BankFirst, Columbus Bank & Trust, Columbus United Federal Credit Union, Commercial Federal Bank, Cornerstone Bank, First National Bank & Trust, First Nebraska Bank, Pinnacle Bank, TierOne Bank, Union Bank & Trust and US Bank.

n Michael Novicki, 1/3 carat woman's right hand diamond ring 14 carat white and yellow gold valued at $930 from Riddle's Jewelry.

n Kelly Krings, LG 6100 camera cell phone with hands-free headset valued at $330 from Bolte-Styskal Wireless.

n Larry Bray, $200 hotel voucher and $100 gas card from AAA Nebraska.

n Carolyn Lueschen, KDS 17" flat panel computer monitor valued at $300 from Connecting Point/Radio Shack.

n Dann Matchett, Kodak digital camera with printer valued at $250 from Sears Dealer Store.

n Harley Davidson Sales, $250 in cash from Funwater Hot Tubs.

Reach Julie Blum at 563-7535 or jblum@columbustelegram.com.