DU board member Mike Woodward asked the crowd to raise their paddles for conservation and make a contribution for the ducks. “It's the old adage, ‘If you don't ask you're not going to get it,'” Woodward said. “It's good to stand up in a room like that and give people the opportunity to pause and really think about stepping up to the next level.” Several attendees stood up and “raised their paddles” for conservation with generous gifts.