MURFREESBORO, TN (WGNS) - Kristin Demos never expected to be known as the “Queen of the Quackers,” but the nickname stuck after she spent seven years chairing a wildly popular duck race fundraiser for the Child Advocacy Center of Rutherford County (CAC). Two decades later, she’s back—this time helping lead a capital campaign to secure a permanent home for the organization. The campaign has already raised $2.7 million of its $3.1 million goal. The Child Advocacy Center was founded in 2000 and provides safety, justice, and healing for victims of child abuse, child sexual abuse, drug-endangered children, and their non-offending family members.
Demos first joined the board about 20 years ago, shortly after having her children. She and a group of Junior League friends dreamed up the Rubber Duck Derby, sending thousands of plastic ducks floating down the Stones River to raise money and awareness. The event grew into a full Family Fun Festival with 100 volunteers and plenty of muddy, messy river adventures. “We battled snakes, leeches and multiple gross items in the waterway,” Demos said, laughing. “But we came back every year.”
That determination traces back to her childhood in Knoxville, where she was the youngest of three and spent weekends helping her dad sell watermelons at the farmer’s market. Her father, a hardworking entrepreneur and man of faith, survived three heart attacks by age 39 and lived far longer than doctors predicted. “Watching my parents stay the course taught me everything,” she said.
Demos came to Murfreesboro to attend Middle Tennessee State University, joined the dance team, and worked at Demos’ Restaurant, where she met her future husband, Peter. After earning her sociology degree, she served as Campaign and Communications Director at United Way before stepping away to raise her children. Volunteering eventually led her back to the Child Advocacy Center of Rutherford County.
Over 25 years, the Child Advocacy Center has served more than 50,000 people, including 21,000 children. Last year alone, it served 3,298 individuals.
Today, with her children grown, Demos is Vice President of Brand and Marketing for Demos Brands and founder of Foundations First, her consulting firm. She continues to serve the community through multiple boards and organizations.
Her motivation remains simple: “The children the Child Advocacy Center of Rutherford County serves are our kids. Our community’s kids. It’s up to us to protect them.”
