Another year, another auction record
Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, June 30, 2004
As it went in the bicycle department, so it went in most other corners of last Saturday’s Rotary Auction and Rummage.
Over the nine-day drop-off period, an estimated 500 bikes of varying vintage were wheeled into the auction site at Woodward Middle School. About 100 of the machines proved to be junk, and went straight into the scrap metal tote for
recycling in Gorst. The remaining 400, volunteers say, were not just rideable, but of generally good quality; perhaps 100 of those were really quite nice, setting off a stampede of hopeful riders when the auction rope dropped at 8 a.m.
At last year’s auction, the bicycle department brought in about $5,700 over the six-hour auction event; this past Saturday, that take ballooned to $12,000. Thanks to returns like that, a local bank is still counting the auction loot – at least 30 moneybags for those who like to visualize such things, and ample poundage in coin that flowed into the coffers from nickel-and-dime sales in the final hours.
“There’s an awful lot of nickels and dimes,” chuckles Ralph Spillinger, who ought to know – as Rotary Club treasurer, the auction take flows, indirectly, through him. “A lot of people hang around as we get down to the end, knowing they’ll be able to pick up remarkable things for next to nothing.”
Every year, the inevitable question about the Rotary Auction is, “how much bigger can it get?” The question has yet to be answered with authority, because each event manages to eclipse the previous year in terms of quality and quantity of goods – and thankfully, more volunteers – and certainly in terms of revenue. Spillinger and other Rotarians report that such is true again in 2004.
Sales in the sporting goods department – which has seen skis pass through three or four families from year to year before they’re finally retired – went from $10,600 last year to $17,500 on Saturday. And with an estimated 20,000 titles to choose from, receipts in the book department grew to $11,500, up from $7,800 just a year ago.
The only department that rolled backwards was the used car lot. With no tony automobiles donated this year – we were sure that high gas prices would move someone to dump their SUV, but alas – sales fell off considerably, mired in four figures. And yet, the auction took in more money overall.
“That tells you how across the board, other departments really had to grow,” Spillinger observes.
And so, the grand total for the 2004 Rotary Auction and Rummage Sale is…$296,557.43. We should say, so far, as that figure comes with some contributions still outstanding; Rotarians say the gross could top $300,000 once all the money is accounted for. After expenses, the net is expected to be a cool $250,000, about 10 percent better than last year.
Of course…it’s not really about the money, but rather, what the money can do in the Bainbridge Island community in the coming year. The club has previously contributed significant dollars to community resources as diverse as the public library, the new swimming pool and the skate park at Strawberry Hill.
If you have any ideas how they should spend this year’s loot, call your local Rotarian. After they recover.
