November 12, 2012 Terrace Standard
DESPITE A power failure, the Rotary Club of Terrace broke its record for money made for local and international projects at the 52nd annual Rotary Auction Nov. 3rd and 4th.
“It went very, very well,” said chairman Brian Downie. “People were very supportive bidding on all of the items.”
And they had lots of choice with 455 items. After expenses are taken out, the club gets about $42,000. That’s thanks to almost 300 businesses that helped out.
“Some pretty loyal donors that are very keen to participate and then the last couple of years, we’ve been online so we can really do a much better job profiling the businesses,” he said.
Almost 8,000 internet bids came in and there was really strong pre-bidding so almost every item had some bids on it to start, said Downie. A power outage didn’t stop the bidding either as people came down to the Inn of the West so they wouldn’t miss anything and kept on bidding. The Salvation Army provided its mobile kitchen for power. In the auction rooms, there was lighting for the cameras, the phone and server, he said.
In the back room, the people had flashlights.
“It was fun. It was a unique experience,” said Downie.