Opening Speech 2026

Delivered by Isaac Torcellini at Duck Day.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to welcome you to an event that is focused on the weather. Like any person interested in weather, I’ve tried to take the temperature over the past few weeks. In taking the temperature of the general population, I discovered that hardly anyone was terribly excited about the snow last week. That was just the sense I got.

But the calendar has turned from January to February. A new month. A new horizon of sorts.

We enter into February, a month that is marked by beloved American traditions. We look forward to two events that offer the promise of new beginnings: the State of the Union Address and Groundhog Day.

One is a meaningless ceremony where society looks to and cheers on an incompetent prognosticator, who gives us a prediction of the next few weeks with absolutely no root in reality.

The other involves a groundhog.

What I think is remarkable about us Americans is that while we value tradition, we also simultaneously value ingenuity. Tradition was staying on the ground and watching the birds. Ingenuity was building planes. We still do both. Tradition was marveling at the mystery of the changing weather cycles, the force and power of storms, and the peace that a blanket of snow on a meadow invokes. Ingenuity is careful meteorological study that sees exactly what temperatures and precipitation will happen next. Once again, we do both.

We meet here today to do what Americans do best: preserve tradition and embrace ingenuity. What we are about to present to you today is an event rooted in American folklore. For centuries, our ancestors have braved the early February cold to defer the typically human act of weather speculation to an animal. We meet here today for a similar task.

However, the animal that we will hear from today is no ordinary animal. We are about to hear from Scramble the Duck. The tradition of a duck predicting the weather in Eastford has now occurred for over a decade. Scramble’s cheery waddle and quack is certainly a welcome sight. However, Scramble’s waddle and quack represent more than winter cheer. If tradition establishes anything, it establishes a legacy. With over a decade of accuracy, you can trust Scramble’s prediction to be perfectly accurate.

You may ask: why a duck? Well, Americans are well known for their love of tradition. If a human looked for a shadow, we would sense something was amiss. Deep down, the tradition of deferring the forecast to an animal on this day that is the halfway point of winter just seems right. On the other hand, we know that the truth of the prediction matters. The quacks that we interpret for you today have a legacy of accuracy. They come from a duck who is well educated, spends his time enjoying and studying the weather, and above all is working to maintain the honor of his prognostication discipline.

What we hear today will mark a new beginning or perhaps a continuation of the cold for another six weeks. Whatever the outcome is, Scramble is committed to accuracy. He is no ordinary animal. He is both willing and able to do his duty well.

I would be remiss in not mentioning Senator Jeff Gordon and Pat Boyd for their constant support, First Selectman Deb Richards for her support and permission to use the Ivy Glenn Memorial space, and Adam Minor and Tim Howard for their technological support.

And now: it is with great gladness that I present to you:

Scramble the Duck