Glamor for a cause
Auctioneer Chuck Yarbro Jr. points to a bidder at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin auction Saturday night. Eighty thousand dollars was raised at the live auction alone, Yarbro told the crowd.
Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin board member Rory Knapp, left, pours a glass of wine for Naomi Bridgeford of Moses Lake at the club’s dinner and auction Saturday night. More than 50 wines were available for tasting, according to club Director Kim Pope.
Photographer Rich Coneaux gets Cynthia Mathis, left, and Diane Pellham into position for a photo at the Boys & Girls Club auction Saturday evening. The theme for the event was “A Night at the Oscars.”
Amanda Harder of Miller’s Fine Jewelers in Moses Lake checks out Bob Tatum’s gem in the Deluxe Diamond Draw at the Boys & Girls club auction Saturday. Other finalists were (from left) Jenny Treutle, Taylor Alvarado, Rebecca Mabius and, off-camera, Blake Rollins. Four of the gems were cubic zirconia, and one was a 1.4 carat diamond valued at $5,000. Mabius turned out to be the diamond winner; the other four each received a $250 gift card for Miller’s.
MOSES LAKE — The glitterati were out in full force at dinner and auction Saturday night.
About 300 people turned out to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin at the organization’s annual dinner and auction. The theme for the evening was “A Night at the Oscars,” and the organizers went all out. There was a red carpet at the entrance to the Big Bend Community College ATEC building, and paparazzi snapping photos of attendees as they entered. The dinner and auction were sold out.
“I am always honored that so many of my friends in the community share my passion for caring about our club kids,” said Boys & Girls Club Director Kim Pope.
The dinner was catered by Pillar Rock Grill and featured prime rib by chef Sameh Farag. A plethora of wines was available for tasting in the foyer, about 50, Pope told the Herald last week.
The full amount raised wasn’t available at press time, but Pope said it was more than $200,000. The live auction alone raised $80,000, auctioneer Chuck Yarbro Jr. told the crowd.
The auction was a hybrid one, with bidders online making their bids through a screen at the auctioneer’s podium. Bidders paid for party packages, trips and dinners donated by community members, as well as some more exotic offerings. Rock Top Burgers & Brew donated the right to design a custom burger and have it featured at the restaurant. The club itself offered privileges for next year’s auction, including the head table, the “tail table” and the choice of next year’s theme. The tail table will be the official party table, decorated with party favors, according to the auction booklet.
Bidders were not frugal with their donations, either. A ladies' day out for 12 sold for $4,000, and dinner for eight to 10 people at the home of Tony and Jennifer Webb went for $14,500.
While the attendees dined, they were treated to a video featuring two alumnae of the Boys & Girls Club, a 15-year-old who hoped to work at the club when she was old enough, and Brigid Vargas, Affiliate Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Moses Lake. Both spoke passionately about what the Boys & Girls Club meant to them.
“I came from a single-parent home as well as a low-income home,” Vargas said. “And so when organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs started coming to us, it changed everything for kids like me, because they could finally be a part of something and didn't have to pay. For some kids, they never thought about money. They never thought about finances. But I was very aware my mom got up at the crack of dawn, had a couple jobs, would come back (at the end of the workday). So I knew if I wanted to do something, it was probably not going to happen. But when Boys & Girls Club came in and said, ‘Hey, we're going to do activities, we're going to have this and lunch, it was like ‘Oh my, there's so much freedom.”
There were side fundraisers as well. Small Oscar statuettes were available for $100, entries into a drawing that let the winner snipe one of the live auction items. There was also the Deluxe Diamond Drive, offered by KBSN/KDRM and Miller’s Fine Jewelers in Moses Lake. Participants paid $50 for a plastic ring with a number attached. Five numbers were drawn, and those five finalists were each given a gem. Four of those gems were cubic zirconia, and the fifth was a 1.4 carat diamond valued at $5,000. The finalists waited on stage while Amanda Harder, of Miller’s, checked the gems to determine which was the real one. Rebecca Mabius had the real diamond; the other four finalists won $250 Miller’s gift cards.
“I am so overwhelmed by what the people in our community do,” Pope said.
“Thank you so much for caring about the kids that felt that no other people cared for them,” Vargas said. “Thank you for seeing us. Thank you for seeing the kids of today because you will see them in 10, 20 years. And maybe they'll be in a chair like this thanking you for caring enough to donate $100, $200, $3,000, however much. I thank you, and I know one day they'll thank you.”
Joel Martin can be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.
