December 27, 2007

Ducks for D.C.

By Shana McLean Moore
Staff Writer

Almaden’s Brett Varni is proof that Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial spirit is officially trickling down to the next generation of inspired minds.

Brett Varni is surrounded by the ducks he’s using to make money for a class trip to Washington, D.C.

Eager to participate in a school trip for Castillero Middle School’s eighth graders, Varni is trying to raise the $1,900 necessary to join his classmates on a tour of our nation’s capital this spring.

When brainstorming ideas about how to go about it, Brett and his mom came up with a clever idea to use Brett’s dad’s hunting decoy ducks to add some festivity to neighbors’ lawns while adding some dollars to Brett’s trip savings account.

Whenever the Varnis get a new order, they mobilize their duck unit, complete with a flock of realistic looking ducks adorned with cheerful yellow bows, a wood sign that reads “You Got Ducked!” and a personalized greeting set to rhyme that explains what the whole thing is about. That family is then encouraged to keep the ducks flying around Almaden to a different family’s lawn.

“We have ducked over 30 families so far, with another 15 waiting to go out,” said Brett, who charges $20 per ‘ducking.’ My goal is to duck 95 families to pay for my whole trip, so we have 50 more to go.”

“Because of the logistics, it’s really a family effort,” says mom Brandy Varni. “We put the ducks out at around 10 p.m. so they will be a surprise to the family when they wake up in the morning. When Brett has a lot of homework, his dad and I do the night work and Brett is the one to collect the ducks the following afternoon.” 

Little brother Travis Varni, age 8, helps Brett collect the ducks from time to time. “I like to help,” says Travis, “but Brett had better help me when it’s my turn to go.”

“People think it’s fun,” said Brett. “One family was so excited about the ducks that they called KEZR radio station and told them about it. People called us to tell us they heard about ‘Ducks for D.C.’ on the radio.”

People all over Almaden are getting “ducked,” by Brett Varni, a young entrepreneur who is earning the $1,900 necessary to go on his eighth grade class trip to Washington, D.C.

The Varni’s most unique ducking to date was when they surprised teacher Anne Nelson by ducking her second grade classroom at Los Alamitos. One of her friends thought she was the perfect candidate as a graduate from University of Oregon and a longtime Oregon Ducks fan.

Halfway to his fund-raising goal, Varni is excited about the trip. “It will be cool to see all the places we’re learning about in social studies this year,” he said.

There’s no doubt that he and the other Castillero students will get their money’s worth when they embark upon their six-day tour. The group departs for Washington, D.C. on March 23 and returns on March 29.

The students will visit the White House, Smithsonian, Washington National Cathedral, and Supreme Court, as well as each of the war memorial sites. They will also visit the memorials to Presidents Lincoln, Jefferson and Roosevelt. To round out the tour of the capital, they will visit Arlington Cemetery and the Holocaust Memorial. They will also venture out to Williamsburg and tour Jamestown, the Governor’s Palace and Monticello.

If you would like more information about how to “duck” a friend or neighbor, send an e-mail to brett@philsbbqsauce.com or call (408) 268-6355.