Boys and Girls Club receives support

$105,000 raised at Saturday auction

MOSES LAKE — Saturday's Boys and Girls Club auction fund-raiser and dinner was a first for some, including Gary and Diane Jackson of Moses Lake.

The Jacksons were among more than 260 people who came to the Grant County Advanced Technologies Education Center (ATEC) at Big Bend Community College to show support for Boys and Girls Club programs in the Columbia Basin.

"We're anxious to see how much money they raise," Diane said.

Other guests like Nikki Gonzalez voiced support for Boys and Girls programs that her own children have utilized.

What's important is that the money is going to support the kids, Gonzalez said.

More than $105,000 was raised at the event, exceeding the $100,000 goal for the evening.

"It was my first auction," said the Moses Lake Boys and Girls Club executive director Brad Overberg. "I was very impressed with the night and the generosity of the crowd."

Overberg started as executive director of the Moses Lake Boys and Girls Club site earlier this year, replacing Ryan Graves who moved to work at a Boys and Girls Club in Oregon.

Overberg said some items received bids in excess of $2,000. The highest bid on items were not available for print before deadline.

A popular part of the evening was the sixth annual diamond draw. Guests had an opportunity to purchase $20 tickets for a chance to win a $2,000 diamond from Miller's Fine Jewelers and KDRM. The diamond went to Rhonda Anderson.

After last year's auction, Graves reported that the annual event had increased dramatically from the previous six years when 90 people attended and $28,000 was raised.

Funds go to support programs such as Money Matters, that teaches children how to use and be responsible with money, Power Hour for students who need help with homework and Internet safety classes on how to surf the World Wide Web.

"We want to make sure the programs we're running our supporting the community," Overberg said.