Cape West Rotary holds its 40th annual auction

Westfield West Park mall's J.C. Penney Court was a busy place Saturday, and its focal point was a white board listing slated auction items for the bidders attending Cape West Rotary's 40th annual auction. The board listed bids for both items in a short time frame and items with a lengthier bid time. Rotarians manned phone lines for call-in bidders near the tables displaying auction items.

On the sidelines, live bidders sat and watched price changes on the items they wanted, and filled out bid tickets which were delivered by Rotarians to the auctioneers.

Leslie Walker, a Rotarian at the hand-in bid table, said this was the first year members of the public didn't take their own bids up to those manning the telephones.

A separate table for hand-in bids cuts down on distractions when things get hairy. Everyone said it's the last five minutes that makes the auction interesting.

Jerry McClanahan watched the Southeast Missourian one-year subscription start at $50. He joined in the bidding war as things heated up. "I'm going to pay a subscription anyway, so I helped bring the bid up. It closed at $150," he said. McClanahan said donors of goods and services on the auction block come out on top all around.

Auction keeps growing

"What makes this unique is that merchants give the product away for a bit of advertising that may lead to more business for them, and the donation is a complete write-off to charity," he said.

Involved in the auction for about 30 years, the major change McClanahan has seen is the size of the auction. Originally it was held at KZIM studios. "Once we outgrew that we started holding it at the mall in 1981 when they opened," he said.

First-time bidder Mayakka Rowe of Cape Girardeau came out to bid on items for a friend who is working today. She bid on some practical items for herself and feels good about spending her money knowing it will be used for good causes that will stay in the community. Just as her list of items to bid on was planned out, so was her time. She arrived at 11 a.m. and left at 2 p.m. when the three-day pet-boarding coupon, money bouquet and savings bonds were auctioned. Attending the auction was fun, Rowe said.

"With having two kids you have to budget really well. Today is just for me, and my husband said if you see something you want, just buy it," she said.

Randall and Linda Royce came out to see how their donated gift baskets were doing. Linda Royce said, "We made a majority of the gift baskets. We enjoy doing it and it's a lot of fun. People know us and leave us items for the baskets they no longer want because they know we make them" for charity.

The themed gift baskets cost about $8 to make and are valued at about $35. The couple likes to help with local charities.

Work is worthwhile

The major items were valued from $199 to $2,700 and included a semester's tuition at Southeast Missouri State University, a Bent Creek season pass, tires, a private wine tasting for six, and radio and TV time. These items were given extended bidding time.

Jennifer Bradshaw, marketing coordinator for Crain Enterprises, and Old Town Cape executive director Tim Arbeiter co-chaired the auction. Three shifts of about a dozen Rotarians manned phone lines for the event. Set-up takes a crew of six, and on Monday, item pickup takes another crew of five.

But the work for the club is worthwhile. Last year about $10,000 in profit benefited the Boys and Girls Club of Cape Girardeau, the YELL Foundation, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and others. Profits are used locally.

This year's auction grossed $16,082, with an approximate net of $14,000 after expenses. The 297 items on the auction block were valued at more than $28,000.

Bradshaw, 26, who became a Rotarian this year to get back into volunteering, said, "It's fun to see it all go together."

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611 ext. 133