BRANCH COUNTY — Thousands of rubber ducks floated down the Sauk River Saturday, with the top prize going to Virginia White of Coldwater.

Dutcher Funeral Home donated the top prize of $2,024.

Organizers from the Coldwater Noon Exchange Club sold 2,365 ducks for $5 each, and other sponsorship dollars raised over $20,000 for community projects.

Started 31 years ago as the Great Hospice Duck Race, the fundraisers shifted after ProMedica Healthcare closed the local hospice program.

The owners of the first 25 ducks to finish the race from the Sprague Street bridge to a collection chute just south of the spillway dam won prizes donated by local individuals, businesses, and organizations.

Second place went to Joe Balogh, who won a half ounce 24 karat gold bullion coin donated by Union Pallet and Container.

Shanna Buckley’s duck placed third. She won $1,000, donated by Swift and Skidmore Grain Reclaiming LLC.

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Local officials participate in a separate Ducknitary Race, won this year by retired District Court Probation Director Flip Johnson.

For the second year in a row, Branch County Probate Judge Kirk Kashian finished last to win the “Lame Duck” prize.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Over 2,300 rubber ducks race Sauk River for charity