Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – A number of Christmas presents under people’s trees this year likely came from the 61st annual Presque Isle Rotary Club Radio-TV Auction.
According to Jane Towle, senior auction chair, this year’s event, which was held Dec. 2-4, was a huge success.
Photo courtesy of Robert Grove-Markwood
JANE TOWLE, left, senior auction chair, co-hosted a 30-minute block of the recent 61st annual Presque Isle Rotary Club Radio-TV Auction with her sons, Jake, 14, and Justin, 16. Officials called the auction a “huge success.” Auction proceeds will benefit the Presque Isle Fire Department, Special Olympics, Martha and Mary’s Soup Kitchen, Pine Street Elementary School, American Red Cross—Pine Tree Chapter, Presque Isle Police Department, and the Nordic Heritage Sport Club. More auction photos will appear in a future edition of The Star-Herald.
“We are very, very pleased with the outcome of the auction,” said Towle. “We surpassed our goals thanks to the generous bidding of the community.
“We’re at about $27,500 for the auction items,” she said. “We had less donated to us this year, so we actually surpassed last year’s goal because we had less dollar amount items to work with.”
This year’s auction featured several big-ticket, three-night special items including a snowblower, a granite hearth pad, and a girl’s four-wheeler.
Things ran smoothly once again, said Towle.
“The auction has been going for 61 years, and it runs like a well-oiled machine,” she said. “Time Warner Cable and Channel X Radio did an excellent job of broadcasting. It’s really a cooperative effort to pull off three nights of a live auction.”
Towle got to host one of the 30-minute blocks Dec. 3 with her sons, Justin, 16, and Jake, 14.
“The Family Night is always a lot of fun,” she said. “Each year, we try to have some of the Rotarians and their high school age kids host a segment. We think it’s important for high school kids to get an idea of what civic duty and community service is all about.
“The kids love it and we think the viewing audience loves it,” said Towle. “I had a lot of fun with my boys. We had a lot of laughs.”
Originally only one of Towle’s sons was going to co-host with her.
“When I left the house to go to the auction that night, my two boys were having a wrestling match on the living room floor,” she said, “and whoever lost was going to be the co-host. I walked out the door and told my husband, ‘Whatever you do, just show up with one of those boys.’ I guess they both lost because they both came, and it worked fine.
“Having our children help host brings younger viewers in because they’ll tell their friends at school who will want to watch and see if they mess up,” said Towle. “That’s why my younger son did not want to do it right up until the last minute. Once he got on he had a ball. He can’t wait for next year.”
This year, auction proceeds will benefit the Presque Isle Fire Department, Special Olympics, Martha and Mary’s Soup Kitchen, Pine Street Elementary School, American Red Cross—Pine Tree Chapter, Presque Isle Police Department, and the Nordic Heritage Sport Club.
Towle said this year the majority of the items up for bid were gift certificates donated by local merchants.
“When Katahdin Trust Co. turned the old storeroom into offices, we made a decision that we would try to go to an all gift certificate auction so that we wouldn’t have to store items. In the past, any merchant that donated an item, we would pick it up or they would deliver it and we’d have it in the storeroom all set up and ready to go,” she said. “Over 90 percent of the items this year were in gift certificate form. In years past, it’s been half, and next year I predict it will be 99 percent. That way there won’t be people handling the items; there’s a risk of damage when people handle the merchandise.
“Going to a gift certificate format was very popular among the people who were donating because it brought people into their stores to pick up their item,” said Towle.
Officials wish to thank all those who made this year’s auction a huge success.
“I’d like to thank the business community that donates so generously, as well as the viewing community who bids so generously,” she said. “People are not afraid to bid full price, which is what we like to see. A number of businesses are also cash donators, as well as advertisers. We’re able to pull it all together and make it work.”
