Rotary auction Nov. 23-25
HOULTON, Maine — In honor of the 60th anniversary of the auction, the Houlton Rotary Club is dedicating this year’s event to the six longest term members — Bob Anderson, Forrest Barnes, Mike Clark, Bob Blanchette, Rod Palmer and Torrey Sylvester.
The auction was started by the Houlton Club in 1956. After visiting the Presque Isle Rotary Club to learn how their successful fundraiser was run, then-Vice President Floyd Haskell brought the auction idea back to Houlton. Haskell served as chair and with Otis Putnam as the outgoing president, the two men started what has become a tradition for the community.
Both Haskell and Putnam have since passed away. In fact, there are no current members of the club who were around for that first auction when $8,000 was raised for Ricker College. But, Houlton Rotary’s six longest term members have been around for many of the auctions. They combine for nearly 300 years of Rotary service. And, most of them continue to be actively involved in the auction.
All of these Rotarians have seen the auction go through major changes. In the Houlton Rotary Radio Auction early days it was broadcast live on WHOU, as it has been every year of its existence. During the 1970s, the auction took its first foray into television when it was broadcast for a few years on the Ricker College TV station. Around the turn of the 21st century, the auction returned to TV on local cable access and is now also broadcast on the Internet. This has allowed viewers around the country to participate in the auction and bid on items … and join in on the fun.
The annual auction has been known as a fun activity for locals to listen to and watch during Thanksgiving week. It is also enjoyable for the Rotarians working the event. When the six honored Rotarians gathered for a photo they were asked to remember some of their favorite memories of auctions past. Four of them, almost simultaneously mentioned Jack Ketch’s “gotchas.” Ketch was known for pulling pranks on the Rotarians on the phones by disguising his voice. Bob Anderson specifically mentioned Ketch’s prank on Francis Pierce. This is just one example of the fun times Rotarians have had while raising money for worthwhile projects in the community.
And, raising money is what the auction is all about. The annual Radio and TV auction serves as the Houlton Club’s major fundraiser each year and has funded many worthwhile projects over the 60 years. Our honorees were also asked to remember some of the projects they are most proud of. Again, there was almost unanimous response about the assistance to Houlton Regional Hospital.
The club has supported HRH for years including the annual Boy and the Boot program, which was started by Houlton Rotary. People can still call each year during the auction to make a $1,000 pledge by purchasing a pewter replica of the Boy and the Boot statue. Other projects mentioned were the amphitheater, Riverfront Park and Derby Hill. They also noted that many of the early auctions went to assistance for Ricker College.
The six honored Rotarians have worked at the auctions over the years. They have all helped solicit the items that are featured in the newspaper supplement. Sylvester, Barnes and Anderson have served as on-air auctioneers and worked the phones. In the modern TV era of the auction, Mike Clark has served as the primary cameraman for the broadcast and spent hours preparing ads to be shown on screen. Blanchette has worked behind the scenes writing computer programs and handling the statistics of the event.
In addition to all their work on the annual auction, this group has also served the club in other ways. All of these men have been recognized as Paul Harris Fellows — the highest honor that can be bestowed by a club. Four of them have served as club president (Anderson from 1965-66, Barnes from 1966-67, Clark from 1971-72 and Sylvester from 1976-77). Clark also served as Rotary District Governor for a year and assisted with many district projects.
They have all exemplified the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” by participating in various Rotary projects and through involvement in numerous community organizations. A few of the organizations that have benefited from their service and expertise include the Credit Union (which Rod Palmer helped start), Houlton Regional Hospital and the Health Services Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce, Town Council, Masonic Lodge, Cary Library and others too numerous to list, They have also supported their churches and raised beautiful families.
These Rotarians are all successes and the Houlton Rotary Club is better for having them as members. We look forward to their continued involvement in the club and participation at many auctions to come.
