Sharpen your bidding skills for 53rd Rotary Auction

    The 53rd annual Houlton Rotary Radio and TV Auction will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 24, 25 and 26. The event will air from 6:30 until 11 each night on WHOU Radio and on Houlton Cable Channel 10. Due to the large number of items donated this year, the event has been extended by an extra half hour. The auction is held at Watson Hall at the Episcopal Church on Main Street and the public is welcome to attend.
    The auction is the major annual fund-raiser for the Houlton Rotary Club. A supplement detailing the auction items for each half hour, special items, phone numbers and store room hours appears in this week’s Houlton Pioneer Times. The information is also available on the Internet at www.houltonrotary.org. There will be links from the Web site to view the auction live on the Internet. Details will be provided on the site.
    Each year, a major project or projects are funded by the Rotary Auction in addition to their many other charities. The major projects for the 2008 auction are the Houlton Community Arts Center project which is the planned expansion of the fine arts wing at Houlton High School and the “Field of Dreams” project which is the proposed new Little League fields for the area’s youth. Other projects that will benefit from auction proceeds are the Dollars For Scholars, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Rotary Youth Exchange, Houlton Bambino League, Student Recognition Day, Cary Library, and the Salvation Army.
    The auction will feature a list of items for bid on each half hour (6:30 p.m. until 11 p.m., nine half hours per night). Items on the half hours generally range up to $100. Bidding on these items is only accepted during their individual half hours with the high bidder being awarded the item at the close of the half hour’s bidding. Corporate sponsors for each night of this year’s auction are Crawford Homes, Hogan Tire and Madigan Home Health Care.
    Nightly special items generally ranging between $100 and $300 are also featured. These items may be bid on throughout a given night. Successful bidders at the close of each night will be awarded these items. The nightly special items include hardwood flooring, wood pellets, a hot air balloon ride, an iPod Nano, advertising packages, loam, firewood, a selection of furniture, a trimmer, clothing, a coffee brewer, gift certificates and a variety of other items.
    There are also 3-night special items, which will be featured throughout the auction and this year range up to $13,450. The 3-night specials this year include a 20-foot by 32-foot camp package from Ward Log Homes, a 56-inch DLP HDTV, an oak hutch, a pellet/corn stove with a ton of wood pellets, a Bison pump, a drop front desk, floor refinishing, pellet stove hearths, a John Deere rotary mower, 100 feet of fencing, advertising, half a pig (various cuts such as pork chops, bacon, ham and much more), a 14K diamond heart ring, 12 yards of stone, a handmade quilt, and a miter saw with a stand. Bidding is accepted on these items all three nights. The successful bidders at the close of bidding on Wednesday evening will be awarded these items.
    The retail value of the items donated by area businesses and individuals is over $53,000 and add-on items are still coming in. Add-on items can be contributed by contacting a Rotarian. For this year’s auction, the retail values for all items as listed in the auction supplement have been rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
    Bids can be made for any items by calling the Rotary Auction room at 521-0801. Those outside the local area but in state may call toll free at 1-877-921-0801. The Rotary Club is asking bidders to make minimum bids of at least 50 percent of the listed value for the items. Some items may carry a higher minimum, which will be indicated in the supplement. Bids will be taken in whole dollar increments to assist programming and tracking of bids.
    Individuals calling in give the Rotarian on the phone the item number they are bidding on and the amount of their bid along with their name and phone number. The bids are then posted on a board. They are subsequently taken to the on-air auctioneers who will read the bids and indicate if they are high, low or even. The auction room is located in Watson Hall and the public is welcome to visit. Bids can be placed from the auction room until three minutes before the close of each half hour. No bids are accepted from the auction room after the three-minute bell has been rung.
    Successful bidders can pick up their items at the auction storeroom sponsored this year by the Houlton Water Company, which is also located at Watson Hall in the Episcopal Church on Main Street. The storeroom is open daily during the auction from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and is open the three days following the auction. Specific hours are listed in the auction supplement. All items should be picked up by the close of the storeroom on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 1 p.m. The storeroom phone number is 521-0809.
    Members of the local Rotary club run all aspects of the auction including serving as on-air auctioneers. The Rotarian auctioneer schedule is as follows: Monday, 6:30 p.m., Fred Grant and John Tribou; 7 p.m., Leigh Cummings and Joyce Fitzpatrick; 7:30 p.m., Tom Moakler and Elizabeth Dulin; 8 p.m., Joe Fagnant and Torrey Sylvester; 8:30 p.m., Chris Anderson and Melinda King; 9 p.m., Dana Delano and Matt Nightingale; 9:30 p.m., Andy Mooers and Bob Aucoin; 10 p.m., Scott White and Chris Putnam; 10:30 p.m., Tony Bowers and Jon McLaughlin; Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., Vicki Smith and Marguerite Lawler; 7 p.m., Leigh Cummings and Joyce Fitzpatrick; 7:30 p.m., Tom Moakler and Elizabeth Dulin; 8 p.m., Andy Mooers and Bob Aucoin; 8:30 p.m., Torrey Sylvester and Woody Barnes; 9 p.m., Ryan Bushey and Steve Nelson; 9:30 p.m., Scott White and Dana Delano; 10 p.m., Chris Putnam and Tony Bowers; 10:30 p.m., John Tribou and Fred Grant; Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Elizabeth Dulin and Torrey Sylvester; 7 p.m., Leigh Cummings and Joyce Fitzpatrick; 7:30 p.m., Andy Mooers and Bob Aucoin; 8 p.m., Jack Ketch and Nancy Ketch; 8:30 p.m., Butch Asselin and Scott White; 9 p.m., Frank Thompson and Fred Workman; 9:30 p.m., Dana Delano and Jon McLaughlin; 10 p.m., Jim Brown and Pete Blanchette; 10:30 p.m., Fred Grant and John Tribou.
    Also part of the annual auction is the Boy and the Boot Endowment Program. This will be the last year the program will be offered. Individuals may call in during the auction to pledge a Boy and the Boot statue. The pledge represents a $1,000 contribution to the endowment fund of the Houlton Regional Health Services Foundation, which benefits local healthcare. Some businesses also offer payroll deduction programs for the pledges. At the completion of the pledge, the contributor receives a limited edition pewter replica of the Boy with the Leaking Boot Statue.
    A new giving opportunity has also been added to the auction this year. As an extension of the direct contribution that will be made to the Houlton Community Arts Center, individuals will also be able to call in during the auction to sponsor an auditorium seat to help provide new seating for the building project. One seat can be sponsored for a $300 pledge. Two seats can be sponsored by a $550 pledge. Three seats or more can be pledged at $250 each. Name plaques on the seats and a recognition plaque will recognize all sponsors in the facility. There is also an ad in today’s edition of the paper you can mail to us with your pledge. The Rotary address is: P. O. Box 425, Houlton, Me 04730
    In addition $500 worth of no. 2 fuel oil donated by Dead River Company will be given away during the auction. Tickets for the fuel oil are available from any Rotarian and will be available at the auction. Books of tickets can also be purchased online through the Houlton Rotary Web site. Tickets are $1 each or books of 6 for $5. Online sales are limited to the $5 books of tickets. The drawing will be held during the final night of the auction
    The Houlton Rotary Club extends its thanks to all of the generous businesses and individuals who contributed items to this year’s auction and encourage the public to call in and enjoy the auction by bidding on the many items available.Further information on the Rotary Radio and TV Auction is available by contacting auction chair John Tribou, club president Fred Grant or any member of the Houlton Rotary Club.