50th edition of the Prince Rupert Rotary Auction comes to an end

Richard Wright, Scott Farwell and Mayor elect Lee Brain
prepare to bring down the curtain on the
2014 Rotary Auction 

Three days of bargain hunting have come to an end for Prince Rupert residents as the Prince Rupert Rotary Club but the wraps on another successful Rotary Auction, this years edition the 50th anniversary of the popular North Coast event.

Wednesday evening provided for some remembrances from long time Rotarian John McNish,who provided a fascinating history lesson on how the Prince Rupert tradition got its start and grew over the years.

Through the four hours of the final night a rotating panel of hosts kept the pace moving quickly with deals to be had, many of the selling points punched up with a string of puns and humorous anecdotes, all of which served to keep the show on pace and the bids coming in.

Telephone Call takers were kept busy though
the three days of the 50th Annual Rotary Auction

As the final hour approached, the 750 tickets went to sold out status and the anticipation grew towards the final draws of the night, with the grand prize for those that made purchases over the three nights a trip for 2 courtesy of Hawk Air.

A flurry of last minute offerings brought things to a close at the 10:30 mark, as the final panel of the night of Richard Wright, Scott Farwell and newly elected Mayor Lee Brain handed the final draws of the night over to Rotarian Brian Munson.

The results of those draws can be found below:

Facebook Draw for a 100 dollar Safeway certificate was awarded to Tenille Spencer.

For the 750 Ticket Draw the results were as follows:

1500 Dollar winner --- Doug Kydd
750 Dollar winner  -- Frank DeBartolo
250 Dollar winner  --   John McNish

As for the Grand Prize of the Trip from Hawkair --- The lucky ticket holder was  Joy Sundin.

Rotarian Brian Munson prepares to announce
the Grand Prize Winner of the trip from Hawkair

The Rotary Auction provides funding for Rotary Club projects around the Prince Rupert region and is the main fundraising activity for the Service Club. Putting on an event such as a three night television auction takes a fair amount of planning and a large number of volunteers, with many working through their four hours each night to keep the whole process rolling.

Judging by the efforts of all involved and the involvement of those from home who made their bids on products provided from a wide range of sponsors, the 50th edition from all appearances appears to have been quite a successful adventure.

You can learn more about the Prince Rupert Rotary Auction from their website, including some background on how to pick up your items if they were not able to be delivered.

More on how the event was pulled together can be found on the Rotary Auction Facebook page.

There won't be much of a rest for the Rotarians, up next is their annual Christmas tree sale with the proceeds going towards their community based programs.  That will be taking place in early December with more details to come in the weeks ahead.