HOULTON — There were two guests present at the Aug. 17, Houlton Rotary Club meeting. Attending with Forest Barnes was Anne Barnes and Elizabeth Dulin’s guest was Kelley Ashley.
Two upcoming board meetings were announced. A Rotary Auction committee meeting and a board of directors meeting. Because of the District Convention, the board of directors will meet on the third Thursday in September.
PREPARING — Houlton Rotarians Nancy Ketch, left, and Bob Blanchette held a training session Aug. 17 for the 60th Annual Rotary Radio and TV Auction.
Nancy Ketch and Bob Blanchette took over the meeting with a training session for the 60th Annual Rotary Radio and TV Auction. Members received their sets of donor cards which are due back to Nancy by Sept. 14. Legibility was stressed by Blanchette when members fill out their cards and he welcomes the use of a typewriter when the cards are filled out. Ketch mentioned the bright yellow label with her contact information and the due date in bold lettering. The 60th Annual Houlton Rotary Auction will be the during the week of Thanksgiving on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
Ketch’s goal is to have the printed newspaper supplement of auction items ready in October. When seeking larger contributions, Rotarians were coached about the Three Night Specials and the Nightly Specials which are the higher value items to be bid on at special times in the three evenings.
The Rotary Auction is a terrific fundraiser for the projects that Houlton Rotary supports each year. This year’s discretionary projects are the Riverfront Park, Backpacks for Kids, the Bird Farm Amendment plan, the Bird Farm running track improvement, the Houlton Recycle Book Project, the Southside Soccer Ball purchase, Just For Kids Playground benches, Aid for Kids, and the Town and Country Clothing Store Thermometer Restoration. Standard Projects are Dollars for Scholars for the area high schools, Little League, Moosestompers, the Paul Harris Fellows Foundation, Salvation Army, Cary Library and a small discretionary fund. This list will be available on the Houlton Rotary Club website.
Ketch continued the training addressing the topic of gift certificates and the need to have something in the “storeroom” to note whether the gift certificate is to be picked up at the donor’s place of business or if the certificate is readily available. The store room connects one item per one donor card. Julie Delano offered a room at TD Bank to store larger items until the store room is open at the Episcopal Church for the Auction nights.
Ketch also stressed that each item be identified perhaps with a photocopy of the donor card. Ketch will provide the membership with a master list of all vendors that have donated to the auction. If an item is not donated before the September deadline and printing of the supplement Nancy said that add-ons are welcome and would only be listed at the auction. It is just nice to have the list printed for the radio audience to study and call in their bids. Ketch and Blanchette have developed a fine tuned process in organizing the paperwork of the 60th Annual Houlton Rotary Auction. It should be noted that Matthew Nightingale, as vice president is in charge of the event and is having regular committee meetings in preparation for a wonderful and very traditional community event. Matt can be reached at 521-0455, ext. 11011 and Houlton Rotary President Jane Torres can be reached at 532-4216 for any questions about the auction.
