One for the books
Teya Porter, left, and Ryan Porter look over silent auction items at the Boys and Girls Club auction Saturday. The theme was “The Enchanted Library,” and the Porters were dressed as Green Frog and Black Sheep from the children’s book “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Attendees serve up dinner at the Boys & Girls Club dinner and auction Saturday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Auctioneer Chuck Yarbro Jr. calls out bids at the Boys & Girls Club auction Saturday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin Board President Kelly Price, left, introduces club CEO Jill Smith at the annual dinner and auction Saturday. This was Smith’s first time at the auction, having taken the reins on the club Sept. 1.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
MOSES LAKE — The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin’s 31st annual dinner and auction was a literary mishmash Saturday, where Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter mingled with the Cat in the Hat, the Dread Pirate Roberts and Buttercup and denizens of Middle-Earth.
“We’re bringing books to life,” said Resource Development Director Nicole Jackson, who did the lion’s share of planning the event. “Our vision from the get-go was to look out in the banquet hall and see books come to life around every table.”
One of the items traditionally auctioned off at the event is the right to select the next year’s theme, and last year Chuck Yarbro Auctioneers won that right. The theme they chose was “The Enchanted Library.”
The amount of money raised hasn’t been determined yet, according to CEO Jill Smith, but the 36 tables at Big Bend Community College’s ATEC Building were mostly filled. The silent auction items lined the halls of the ATEC building, and live auction items included trip packages, Mariners tickets and the right to design a custom burger for Rock Top Burgers & Brew, among others. Dinner was catered by CrazyLady of Quincy, and Chuck Yarbro Jr. led the auction.
The Boys & Girls Club operates six locations in Moses Lake and two more in Kittitas County, including a Teen Center at Vanguard Academy. The centers provide children a safe, fun environment after school and also supply meals, all for a nominal membership fee, with scholarships for families that can’t afford it. The auction is a major source of funding that makes that mission possible.
Between the silent and live auctions, Smith paused to pay tribute to North and Larson Heights Elementary Site Director Rikki Spies, who marked her 20th anniversary at the club this year.
“She gives her heart and soul to the kids,” Smith said in an interview Tuesday. “She’s the person who, if a child is picked up an hour and a half late, she’s there with them making sure they’re safe. She gives it her all and the kids adore her.”
Attendees serve up dinner at the Boys & Girls Club dinner and auction Saturday.
Auctioneer Chuck Yarbro Jr. calls out bids at the Boys & Girls Club auction Saturday.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin Board President Kelly Price, left, introduces club CEO Jill Smith at the annual dinner and auction Saturday. This was Smith’s first time at the auction, having taken the reins on the club Sept. 1.