Hiway16 Magazine... about people and places in north-central British Columbia, Canada

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Auction Fever

by Diana Roberts

Have you ever wondered how service groups get the money to do all the good they do in a community? Well, I'll tell you how the Rotary Club of Burns Lake does it.

The Rotary Radio Auction is the largest annual fund raiser for the club. It has been going on for over 30 years, and is still going strong as ever. This year the auction brought in $24,000, which is about what it's been the last few years.

The radio auction is held over the local radio station, CFLD. The Rotary Club of Burns Lake holds the auction on the first Wednesday and Thursday after Remembrance Day. It runs from 6:00 PM till 12 midnight each night. At the same time the Smithers Rotary Club also holds their auction, the cutoff for the radio is in Topley. Topley west gets Smithers auction and the east gets Burns Lake.

Leon McHugh, on the radio

Preparations for the auction begin in September and the club goes full speed ahead until the Auction in November. Every member of the club is involved, though some more than others. The head of the auction committee is a very busy person in these 2 1/2 months. This person has, of course, a committee to help them, but in the end, the success of the auction lays heavily on their shoulders.

Ron Nay, Auctioneer

Over the years, the auction plan has become a finely oiled machine, that works perfectly with the right leadership.

Notes have been kept from each auction, concerning things that did and didn't work.

Like any auction, the radio auction has to have it's auctioneers. Anyone who has listened to or attended the auctions know all the great auctioneers. Sometimes I think people listen to the auction just to hear their banter. They are definitely a lively bunch and a lot of fun.






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