Auction deemed a success
Staff photo/Mark Putnam
ROTARY ROYALTY — Brittany Bearden, a University of Maine at Presque Isle student and reigning Miss Maine Collegiate America 2011, helped kick off the bidding Nov. 29 during the opening half hour of the annual Presque Isle Rotary Auction.
Sharing the spotlight with the local queen are 2011 Rotary Auction Co-chairs Joy Barresi Saucier and Ralph McPherson.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
PRESQUE ISLE — Disadvantaged children in Aroostook County will soon find it easier to receive dental care thanks to the success of the recent Presque Isle Rotary Club’s Radio/TV Auction.
Photo courtesy of Kevin McCartney
DIALED IN — Phone operators, from left, Theresa Fowler, Joe Clukey, Steve Freeman, Frank Keenan, Mary Hunter and Claudia Stevens were kept busy during this year’s Rotary Auction as thousands of people placed bids on a variety of items. This year’s event grossed nearly $32,000.
This year’s special project goal of $25,000 was earmarked for the establishment of a non-profit dental clinic to serve the needs of underprivileged children in the area. The St. Apollonia Dental Clinic will fill an overwhelming need in Aroostook County where an estimated 30 percent of residents have not had a dental visit in the last two years. Proponents suggest that disadvantaged children are at higher risk for dental disease, yet are least likely to have access to dental care. Currently there is only one dental clinic for qualifying persons in Aroostook County and it is located in Eagle Lake.
Funds will be used to purchase equipment including dental chairs, treatment consoles, digital radiography, a compressor and vacuum.
Staff photo/Mark PutnamBEHIND THE SCENES — Floor directors, Gene Lynch II, left, and Tim Doak, help the annual television/radio/Internet Rotary Auction run according to script, making sure to identify and promote local merchants who help make the fundraiser a huge success.
“The Rotarians stepped up as they’ve done in the past not only to support the auction with all of the work that goes into making it run, but also in terms of support of the St. Apollonia Dental Clinic,” said Joy Barresi Saucier, who co-chaired the auction with Ralph McPherson. “We had 100 percent participation by Rotarians pledging financial support for that project for a total of over $7,500.
“The special project was chaired by Rotarians Gina LeBlanc-Eggert and Frank Bemis and they did an exceptional job with this project along with Dr. Norma Desjardins, clinic director, and her husband, Paul, to raise over $35,500 for that project in total,” she said.
Staff photo/Mark Putnam
ALL SMILES — Celebrating the creation of a much-needed dental health clinic in central Aroostook County, are members of the Presque Isle Rotary Auction “Special Project” Committee, from left, Gina LeBlanc-Eggert, Dr. Norma Desjardins and Frank Bemis. The local service club committed to raise at least $25,000 for the St. Apollonia Dental Clinic in Presque Isle during the three-night auction. That goal was surpassed as more than $35,500 was raised for the special project.
Rotary President Jeff Pangburn said the club has “a strong history of reaching our fund-raising goal.”
“This time the community really seemed to embrace the project,” he said. “I think projects that address basic needs like dental health for our neediest citizens seem to resonate with the public. We’re very pleased with the response that we got with that fund-raising effort.”
While the success of the special project is being celebrated, officials are just as pleased with the performance of the overall auction.
“It went very well,” said Barresi Saucier of the 64th annual event. “As usual, the community was very supportive of the auction and provided some wonderful donations. We had over 700 items listed in our auction booklet, and the community stepped up and supported the auction by bidding and purchasing those items.”
FAMILY AFFAIR — Grace Bemis, the daughter of Rotarian Frank Bemis, collects bids from club members Dana Boardman and Toby Plummer, right, during the first night of the annual three-night charity auction at the Northeastland Hotel.
“We grossed nearly $32,000 which was a very good percentage of return on the value of the donated items,” said Pangburn. “We had the highest percentage return on market value that we’ve had in at least 10 years.”
This year’s regular auction proceeds will be donated to several worthy organizations including Homeless Services of Aroostook, Central Aroostook Humane Society, Presque Isle Garden Club, Wintergreen Arts Center, Northern Maine Fair Association, Grace Interfaith Food Table (GIFT) and Atlantic Salmon for Northern Maine.
Proceeds from the auction will also support many other community projects throughout the entire year through the Rotary Youth Fund, Scholarship Fund, General Fund and World Community Service Fund.
For the first time, the auction also featured Internet-only items. The special collectors’ items included everything from a New England Patriots replica helmet to a script of “Almost, Maine” signed by playwright and Presque Isle native John Cariani. Organizers said they decided to offer Internet-only items as a way to create more opportunities for community members to bid on the special collectors’ items.
Staff photo/Mark Putnam
ROTARY RUNNER — Helping deliver the latest bids to the on-air Rotary auctioneers from the telephone committee volunteers is Zippel Elementary School student Eleanor St. Peter, whose mother Sharon Campbell is a longtime Presque Isle Rotarian.
“The Internet-only items certainly were a success and received well from the community. We actually had people calling in on the phone because they wanted to bid on those items and we had to redirect them to the Internet,” said Barresi Saucier, noting that the items were sold through eBay Giving Works. “We are now an official eBay Giving Works charity, so folks can go onto our website and they can donate now, and they can sell products on the Internet and give part of their profits to us, which we’re really excited about.
“About 60 percent of the items that we sold on eBay did go to local folks,” she said, “although we did have some winning bids from New England and as far away as Texas.”
Officials have already begun planning for next year’s 65th annual auction.
“The planning really never ends. We’re collecting our ‘lessons learned’ from this year and those get passed onto the next person, so we’re always learning and making the process better,” said Barresi Saucier, who will be the new Rotary president starting in July.
“We still have a lot of celebrations and recognitions to do,” she said. “We typically have a wrap-up supper in January or February where we get to give the money that we raised to the benefiting organizations; that’s a lot of fun and a great way for us to celebrate the Rotary year that we’ve had and the work that goes into it and the good work that those organizations do.”
Photo courtesy of Kevin McCartneyFINAL PREPARATION — Jane Towle goes over last-minute changes with auctioneers Leigh Smith, center, and Dr. Don Cassidy during the recent 64th annual Rotary Auction.
Pangburn and Barresi Saucier said the auction wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of a number of people.
“Thank you to all the businesses and community members that support our auction every year to make it possible,” said Pangburn. “Thank you also to the participants for watching and listening and calling in bids.”
“I’d also like to thank the community organizations that are receiving the funds for the good work that they do every day,” Barresi Saucier said. “Nearly all of these organizations run on volunteer hours and donations, and the work that they do is amazing and that’s why we do what we do.”
For more information on the Presque Isle Rotary Club, log onto www.presqueislerotary.com.
