HOULTON, Maine — The 62nd Annual Houlton Rotary Radio, TV and Internet Auction returns Monday, Nov. 20 for three nights of fundraising.
The auction runs from 6-10:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Nov. 20-22. The event will air each night on WHOU Radio 100.1 FM. and televised on both Spectrum Cable Channel 16 and Pioneer Channel 100. It is also streamed on the Houlton Rotary Club’s website. The auction is held at Watson Hall at the Episcopal Church on Main Street and the public is welcome to attend.
This year will feature a new Facebook Auction and additional opportunities to support local projects.
New this year will be a Facebook Auction on the Houlton Rotary Facebook page. Several items will be available for bid each night exclusively on the Facebook page. The Facebook Auction will be run similar to a silent auction.
To participate, individuals can enter their bid in the message section of that given item. A different set of items will be featured each night. Monday’s items will go live on Sunday, Nov. 19. Bidding can begin as soon as the items are posted. Bidding will close at 10:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 20, when the regular auction concludes for the night.
Tuesday’s items will go live at 10:30 p.m. on Monday and the bidding for those items closes at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov 21. Wednesday’s exclusive items go live at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday with bidding to conclude at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 22.
Successful bidders will be posted as soon as possible. Items from the Facebook auction will be available for successful bidders at the storeroom along with the items from the regular auction.
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 this week’s issue of the Houlton Pioneer Times. The information is also available on the Internet at www.houltonrotary.org.
Each year, a major project or projects are funded by the Rotary Auction in addition to their many other charities. The major projects for the 2017 auction is funding for “Children’s Literacy, Hunger and the Arts”. Specific projects include Permanent Children’s Book Collections for Cary Library, the Backpacks for Kids Program, a Trailer for the Salvation Army to distribute food & supplies, Lighting and Sound Equipment for the Hodgdon School Music Theater Program and Learning Library for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education Center. Funds will also be used to support the Northern Maine Lacrosse, Putnam House and two benches for Houlton’s Downtown.
Other projects that will benefit from auction proceeds include Dollars For Scholars, Rotary Youth Exchange, Student Recognition Day and Little League.
The auction will feature a list of items for bid on each half hour. 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.
Items featured in the half hours include homemade foods, gift certificates, oil changes, potatoes, hand crafted items and a selection of other merchandise.
Nightly special items 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), 3-D Wall Art of area Lakes, Nintendo Switch Gaming Systems, a Keurig Coffee Maker, Kenny Chesney Tickets, a Hedge Trimmer Kit, a Guitar, a Drill Kit, photography, a Ukulele, Chainsaw Carvings, a Youth Saddle, a CB Radio, a Picnic Table, vehicle detailing, hand-crafted items, a skateboard, a member share at the County Co-op, pellets, cords of wood, loads of loam and gravel, tuition, faucets, 20 circuit panel, Christmas trees with $100 in scratch tickets, furnace tune-ups, 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 $15,900. The 3-night specials this year include an 18-foot by 24foot camp package from Ward Log Homes, a Queen Size Bed, a chimney liner kit installed, a Queen Size Mattress set, 1,000 board feet of cedar paneling, bundles of OSB, a year of free coffee, six cords of long length firewood, a rifle, a curio cabinet, a snowmobile suite, 150 gallons of fuel oil, round-trip airline tickets, a Yeti cooler hopper and advertising. 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 nearly $70,000 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 521-5894. Those outside the local area, but in state, may call toll free at 1-833-283-5894. 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 3-minute bell has been rung.
Successful bidders can pick up their items at the auction storeroom. The storeroom is located at Watson Hall in the Episcopal Church on Main Street. The storeroom is open daily during the auction from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is open the two 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 Friday, November 24 th at 5:00pm. The storeroom phone number is 521-5891. 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. Payment can be made by cash or check.
New this year, credit cards will also be accepted for payment.
For years, part of the annual auction has been the Boy and the Boot Endowment Program. People can, again, make a pledge to the Endowment Fund during the auction. The pledge represents a $1,000 contribution to the endowment fund of the Houlton Regional Health Services Foundation, which benefits local health care.
The $1,000 pledge is symbolic of $1,000 bequest by Clara Frisbee to the town in 1916 which was used to purchase the local Boy and the Boot statue. Individuals can call in to during the auction to make their pledge. Some payment options are available and some businesses offer payroll deductions. At the completion of the pledge, the contributor receives a limited-edition pewter replica of the Boy with the Leaking Boot Statue.
In addition, Rotary is offering two additional opportunities for people to give. Pledges of $100 will be accepted to benefit this year’s designated programs. In recognition of the donation, contributors will be featured on a banner that will be displayed at Watson Hall where the Houlton Rotary Club meets weekly. Donors will also receive a special “Rotary Partner” pin. Those wishing to help Cary Library can make a $25 pledge to purchase a book or books. The donor’s name will be placed on a nameplate in the front of the book to recognize the gift. Pledges for all three programs can be made by calling the Rotary Auction numbers. Further information is available on the Club’s website.
A $500 certificate for product has again been donated by Dead River Company and will be given away during the auction. Tickets are available from any Rotarian and will be available at the auction. Tickets are $1 each or books of six for $5. The product will be delivered anywhere within the Houlton-Patten Dead River district. The drawing will be held during the final night of the auction.
For more information, contact Auction Chairman Nate Bodenstab, Club President Matt Nightingale or any member of the Houlton Rotary Club. Information is also available at www.houltonrotary.org.
