LIMESTONE, Maine — For 60 years the Limestone Rotary Club has been hosting a fund-raising auction and for each of those years, every dollar generated from the fundraiser has had a direct impact on the town. Whether it’s because of the generous nature of county folk or a matter of the auction’s importance, donated items have been pouring in from Van Buren, Presque Isle to Houlton and everywhere in between await bidding for the auction on Friday, Nov. 5 at the Limestone Community School.
The idiom “don’t shop on an empty stomach” isn’t lost on the Limestone Rotarians, who have coordinated a pre-auction dinner of lasagna, salad, rolls — the whole works for $9. Dinner starts at 6 p.m. Auction items and the auction booklet will be available for viewing before dinner and the auction itself starts after the dinner service is completed.
Over $12,000 worth of merchandise has been donated by businesses near and far for the more than 350-item auction.
“We have a $300 WAGM advertising certificate, framed art from Dunn Furniture, a beautiful crystal vase from Monica’s Scandinavian Imports,” explained Rotary Auction coordinator Pat Zenzius, “and we have a lot of smaller items like gift certificates to popular restaurants and service stations where people frequently shop.” Gift certificate locations include Walmart, Ruby Tuesdays, Dunkin Donuts and Mikes Family Market — all very popular destinations.
While the bargains available are a no-brainer for consumers — a highbid of $10 could potentially yield a gift certificate of $20 or more — all bids are put to use by the Rotary Club to fund community service projects throughout the year such as the club’s Christmas Baskets project. With cooperation from other area organizations, Rotarians provide families in need with all the essentials necessary to create a mouth-watering holiday dinner in a Christmas basket.
The carpentry students of the Loring Job Corps Center have also put their skills to work in helping the community by creating a storage shed that the Rotarians are able to auction off with the proceeds going directly to a special project.
This year’s auction item is a pretty big deal, quite literally. Almost a comparable size to any college dorm room (or in some cases, a first apartment), Job Corps students have constructed a shed, which is available for viewing across from AL-BEAR’s in Limestone. The storage shed measures 10 feet by 10 feet with a 5×12 pitch on the roof and eight foot walls. The highest bid will be donated to the Maine Veterans Cemetery Avenue of Flags project.
“All the funds generated through the auction go toward Rotary projects, which include scholarships, the Limestone Library expansion project and the Town Clock project,” Zenzius said.
This year’s auctioneers will be Rotarians David King and Cliff Rhome — two charismatic gentlemen with quick wits and superb sense of humor that almost guaranteed that the auction will be anything but a snooze.
Past auctions have also had a fun, competitive feel about them for both kids and kids-at-heart. Youths enjoy the unique purchasing power a handful of dollars can bring to an auction, and adults can often save a bundle on Christmas and birthday presents. Popular items — like the model John Deere Tractor toys — have also been known to instigate a bit of a bidding war.
“It’s a live auction and really a fun event,” Zenzius said. “It’s a nice evening where people can come and support the club while going home with some nice things at the same time.”
