Rotary Auction kicks off Monday

Nancy Ketch Special to the Houlton Pioneer Times, Special to The County
13 years ago

HOULTON, Maine — The 56th Annual Houlton Rotary Radio and TV Auction starts this Monday and continues through to Wednesday. The event airs from 6-10:30 p.m. each night on WHOU Radio 100.1 FM and on Houlton Cable Channel 13. 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 fundraiser for the Houlton Rotary Club. A supplement detailing the auction items for each half hour, special items, phone numbers and store room hours is in today’s issue of the Houlton Pioneer Times. The supplement sponsor for this year is Madigan Home Health Care. 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. This year’s on-line sponsor is Houlton Water Company.
Each year, the Rotary Auction in addition to their many other charities funds a major project or projects. The major projects for the 2011 auction are funding for upgrades to the Just For Kids playground, supporting the Backpacks For Kids Project and Aid For Kids organization and contributing to the new welcome sign being developed by Southern Aroostook Development Corporation.  Other projects that will benefit from auction proceeds are Dollars For Scholars, Cary Library, Friends of Aroostook, Rotary Youth Exchange, Student Recognition Day and the Salvation Army.
The auction features a list of items for bid on each half hour (6-10:30 for nine half hours per night).  Items on the half hours generally range up to $110. 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, S. W. Collins and Community Health and Counseling Services.
Nightly special items generally ranging between $110 and $350 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 Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL), laminate flooring, an Amazon Kindle, visits from Santa, a chainsaw, a weed wacker, a snowmobile jacket, golf lessons, snowsled pants, a pink John Deere wagon, Christmas trees with $100 in scratch tickets, lifetime Houlton Fair passes, a chainsaw, firewood, a cast iron park bench, chipping services, photography, a bicycle, advertising packages, gift certificates and a variety of other items.
There are also three-night special items, which will be featured throughout the auction and this year range up to $14,500. The three-night specials this year include a 32’X20’ camp package from Ward Log Homes, a 30” snow blower, an entertainment center, a Bison pump, a television stand, hardwood flooring, sanding and refinishing of a hardwood floor, a kayak, cedar picket fencing, advertising packages, an ice auger, Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL), a rifle, a watch, 100 gallons of fuel oil, a Red Sox ticket package, a chain saw and an energy efficiency audit.  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 $52,000 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 532-4585. Those outside the local area but in state may call toll free at 1-866-348-4077. 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 status board. The status board will be available for viewing on line. The bids 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 3 minutes before the close of each half hour. No bids are accepted from the auction room after the three-minute bell has rung.
Successful bidders can pick up their items at the auction storeroom sponsored this year by the Katahdin Valley Health Center. The storeroom is also located at Watson Hall in the Episcopal Church on Main Street. The storeroom is open daily during the auction from 9:00am to 10:00pm 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. 26 at 1 p.m. The storeroom phone number is 532-4620. When picking up items, individuals are encouraged to give their name to the storeroom clerk and bring a list of their item numbers with the amount of the successful bids to match up with the storeroom records.  Items must be paid for in full at the time of pick up and payment must be by cash or check.
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 p.m., Scott Dionne and Ryan Bushey; 6:30 p.m., Paul Adams and John Tribou; 7 p.m., Andy Mooers and Matt Nightingale; 7:30 p.m., Dean Clark and Elizabeth Dulin; 8 p.m., Tony Bowers and Kim Thompson; 8:30 p.m., Forrest Barnes and Marguerite Lawler; 9 p.m., Dana Delano and Jon McLaughlin; 9:30 p.m., Matt Nightingale and Leigh Cummings; 10 p.m., Butch Asselin and Kim Thompson; Tuesday, 6 p.m., Joyce Fitzpatrick and Leigh Cummings; 6:30 p.m., Tony Bowers and Kim Thompson; 7 p.m., Paul Adams and Elizabeth Dulin; 7:30 p.m., Matt Nightingale and Tom Moakler; 8 p.m., John Tribou and Scott White; 8:30 p.m., Andy Mooers and Chris Anderson; 9 p.m., Dana Delano and Jon McLaughlin; 9:30 p.m., Jim Brown and Max Lynds; 10 p.m., Ryan Bushey and TBD; Wednesday, 6 p.m., Joyce Fitzpatrick and Tony Bowers; 6:30 p.m., Tammie Mulvey and Leigh Cummings; 7 p.m., Andy Mooers and Frank Thompson; 7:30 p.m., Tom Moakler and Tammie Mulvey; 8 p.m., Dana Delano and Jon McLaughlin; 8:30 p.m., Forrest Barnes and Torrey Sylvester; 9 p.m., Jim Brown and Chris Anderson; 9:30 p.m., Tammie Mulvey and Scott White; and 10 p.m., Scott Dionne and Ryan Bushey.  The auctioneer listing is subject to change.
Also part of the annual auction is the Boy and the Boot Endowment Program. 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.
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.  Tickets are $1 each or books of 6 for $5. The fuel oil will be delivered anywhere within the Houlton-Patten Dead River district. 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 Ryan Bushey, club president Scott Dionne or any member of the Houlton Rotary Club.