Rotary auction is fan favorite

  HOULTON, Maine — A time-honored tradition in Houlton is alive and well as the 55th Houlton Rotary Radio and TV Auction is having yet another successful campaign.
Tonight (Wednesday) is the final night of the 55th annual Rotary Radio and TV Auction. Sponsored by the Houlton Rotary Club, the auction will run from 6-10:30 p.m. this evening. It is broadcast on WHOU 100.1 FM and Houlton Cable Channel 13. A live webcast can also be accessed through www.houltonrotary.org.
    Scott White, Rotary president, said the auction is the group’s major fund-raising event of the year and involves the largest gathering of Rotary members.
“We have 68 members and will probably have 50 who will be here at some point to work the auction,” he said. “It’s amazing how it all comes together. So many people do different things to make it happen. It runs like clockwork.”
Michael Clark, a longtime Rotarian who runs the video camera for the television broadcast, has been involved with the auction for the past 32 years.
“It started out as just a radio auction,” Clark said. “We expanded it to television in 1977, but it was only available to about half of the people in Houlton. We had one camera in one little, tiny room and would bring items in and out for people to see.”
Today, the auction can be viewed on the Internet, which has allowed a much wider audience to view and participate in the auction.
“We had people bidding tonight (Monday) from as far away as Florida,” Clark said. “That is the kind of support we get for this event.”
About $60,000 in merchandise was donated to the auction this year.
“We really don’t know how well we will do until the last night,” Clark said. “A lot of people wait until the last night to bid on the big ticket items.”
Clark said the auction has evolved over time.
“I remember back in the day, people would have friendly bidding wars over silly items,” he said. “I remember one time a loaf of bread went for $75. People would have fun bidding against each other. That sort of thing doesn’t seem to go on so much anymore.”
Proceeds will be used to support a new building for the Northern Maine Soap Box Derby, the Riverfront Park project and the Cary Library for its ongoing efforts for the digitalization and preservation of older issues of The Houlton Pioneer Times.
Other projects that will be supported from the proceeds include Dollars for Schoolars (SADs 29, 70 and 14, Southern Aroostook Community High School and Greater Houlton Christian Academy), Cary Library, Salvation Army, Student Recognition Day and the Rotary Youth Exchange program.
In addition to the half hour items and Wednesday night special items that are featured for the evening, this is also the final opportunity to bid on the “Three Night Specials” that have been running since Monday. A complete listing of items for bid can be picked up at area businesses or at the auction room at Watson Hall on Main Street. The list is also posted on the Internet at www.houltonrotary.org and searches can be done to find a specific item. Successful bidders are also being listed at this site and a search option is available.
Bids can be made for any items by calling the Rotary Auction room at 521-0086. Those outside the local area, but in state, may call toll free at 1-866-239-3914. 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 board. They 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 sponsored this year by Katahdin Valley Health Center, which is also 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 three 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 Saturday, Nov. 27 at 1 p.m. The storeroom phone number is 521-0127.
Also part of the annual auction is the Boy and the Boot Endowment Program. Individuals may call in during the auction to pledge a Boy and the Boot statue.  The pledge represents a $1,000 contribution to the endowment fund of the Houlton Regional Health Services Foundation, which benefits local health care.  Some businesses also offer payroll deduction programs for the pledges. At the completion of the pledge, the contributor receives a limited edition pewter replica of the Boy with the Leaking Boot Statue.
Another giving opportunity is being offered again this year. Individuals will be able to call in during the auction to sponsor an auditorium seat to help provide new seating for the Houlton Community Arts Center project. One seat can be sponsored for a $300 pledge. Two seats can be sponsored by a $550 pledge ($275 each). Three seats or more can be pledged at $250 each. Name plaques on the seats and a recognition plaque will recognize all sponsors in the facility.
The raffle winner of $500 of No. 2 fuel oil, donated by Dead River Company, will be drawn on the final night of the auction.