Rotary Auction raises funds
for worthy local causes
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
THE ANNUAL AUCTION brought out the 100-member Presque Isle Rotary Club in full force for three nights last week as the service organization partnered with businesses in the region to raise nearly $60,000 for various non-profits like Catholic Charities of Maine, the Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library and Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery. Sorting out the many bids that poured in during the 63rd annual event, from left, were Rotarians Kevin McCartney, Frank Bemis, Larry LaPlante, Ralph McPherson, Mike MacPherson (partially hidden) and Steve St. Pierre. More Rotary Auction photos will appear in a future issue.
PRESQUE ISLE – While some peoples’ personal finances may be strained due to challenging economic times, that didn’t keep them from supporting the 63rd annual Presque Isle Rotary Club Radio/TV Auction.
“I’m very happy,” said auction co-chair Jeff Pangburn. “I think it was a big success. In merchandise sales, we raised $34,700, which is a nice increase over last year’s $30,200, which was above the year before that.
“The early indications were – and our experiences from the last couple of years was – that despite any economic conditions, the community really embraces the auction. They really like to participate and bid on the goods, and have their names read on the air or have their kids’ names read on the air, and get some bargains,” he said. “We were confident that once we had the merchandise to sell, people would be there to tune in, watch and place bids, and we were successful again. We appreciate the community really taking part.”
Money raised from the auction, which was held Nov. 30-Dec. 2, will support several worthy causes including the Francis Malcolm Science Institute, the Northern Maine Museum of Science, C.A.N.C.E.R., Easton School Department, Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery, Mark & Emily Turner Library, and Aroostook Football.
The club’s “Special Project” this year was Catholic Charities of Maine. A goal of $20,000 was set to repair the roofing on the food storage warehouse. Catholic Charities serves 24 food pantries in Aroostook County, impacting 40,000 people annually. They also partner with other agencies to serve as a distribution hub for orders from the Good Shepherd Food Bank and USDA Commodities.
“We raised $24,000 for our Special Project,” said Pangburn. “When the Rotary Club selected Catholic Charities of Maine as the Special Project, the club made a commitment that it would be a club project, not just a Special Project. One hundred percent of our membership donated personally to that project. We have 100 members, and all 100 members donated. Club members donated $8,755 in cash, as well as some product donations, and the club itself gave $1,000. When we selected it, we made a commitment to get to the goal and I think the Rotarians really embraced it, saw it through, and surpassed it.”
Tim Poitras, tri-chair of the Special Project, was pleased with the community’s support of the roofing project.
“We were definitely happy that we surpassed the goal,” he said. “Because Catholic Charities of Maine benefits the whole county, we were optimistic it would be an ‘easy sell.’ Some of our Special Projects are more beneficial to just the Presque Isle community, but Catholic Charities has appeal to the entire region, and I think that why the community supported it so strongly.”
The eighth annual Presque Isle Rotary Art Auction, held in conjunction with the Radio/TV Auction, was also quite popular.
Residents bid on 14 original pieces from local artists generating about $1,300.
“In addition to the money raised, another goal is to get some exposure for local artists, get their name out there, and let people see their artwork,” said Pangburn. “We think we were successful in that.”
Despite a few technical glitches the first night, Pangburn said the online component of the auction was a huge success.
“This year we had a live streaming webcam of our quote board on our website,” he said. “We got a lot of good feedback about that. We would have several hundred views per night with an average of about 60 at a time. A lot of them were also watching the auction on TV, but some didn’t have access to the television coverage, so it gave another avenue to take part in the auction.
“We felt the live stream was absolutely worth doing and we’re going to look for ways to expand on that next year, and maybe talk about doing some more online components … maybe some online exclusive items to allow bidding online,” said Pangburn. “We’ll definitely be exploring those possibilities.”
In mid-January, Rotarians will not only award the local agencies their checks, but officially kick off the 2011 auction process.
“We’ll have our wrap-up dinner and we’ll issue the funds to the various charities and organizations that we support,” said Pangburn. “That event closes out the 63rd auction and kicks off the 64th.
“I’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all of our area merchants that supported us with the donation of merchandise and their services, as well as advertising and sponsoring the auction,” he said. “That really makes it click and they really stepped up big time this year.”
Pangburn will be the Rotary Club president next year, while this year’s other auction co-chair, Joy Barresi Saucier, will be the senior auction co-chair. A second auction co-chair will be named at a later time.
