The first-annual Paddle for Clean Water took place on a cool Sunday morning at Flathead Lake’s King’s Point. Over 100 people participated in the event, which aimed to raise money for the Flathead Lakers, a conservation organization in Polson. Even with the chilly start, nobody backed out. In fact, they had a few extras. One of the organizers, Dana Johnston, said she was happy with the turnout.

“I was really surprised. We had low expectations: we thought maybe we would get 30 to 50 people our first year.” 

The event was a poker paddle around the islands off of King’s Point. At each island, the participants picked up a card for their hand. Due to Sunday’s windy conditions, the course was shortened to take away open stretches of water and make the course safer.

Kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, paddle boats and even a few swimmers launched off to try their luck at a poker hand. Some people went alone, while others had a friend or a dog.

After the poker paddle, participants returned to King’s Point for a barbecue, beverages and live music by Dark Horse. The best hand went to Ryan Windauer.

People came from all over western Montana and beyond, including Lisa Mott of Helena.

“We were up at Lake Mary Ronan and decided to come down,” she said as her dog, Pogo, peaked out from her life jacket, wearing a life jacket of his own.

“He’s 15 but he still likes to come along,” she said.

Johnston said the feedback from the event was positive, and that the event went smoothly. 

Another organizer, Heidi Sedivy, came up with the idea.

“We had been trying to find a fun event that would make us be known as a fun organizer,” Sedivy said. She had seen poker runs and brought it up at a board meeting. One of the reasons for trying to do fun events like this was to bring in a younger group.

“We have an aging group,” Johnston said.

They hope to get younger people interested in joining the organization.

The Flathead Lakers have been around since 1958. The organization was founded to protect clean water in Flathead and other places. Today, there are over 1,500 members.

Executive Director Robin Steinkraus, said money raised from the event would go towards education.

“We’re going to focus the funding from this event to student education programs,” she said.

Every year, students from around the region visit the Flathead Lake Biological Station to learn about different aspects of the lake. The funding from this event will help with that field trip.

After expenses, the event raised almost $5,000 for the organization.