The Kiwanis Club of Olds will be marking a major milestone Nov. 24 when it holds its 50th annual fall auction in conjunction with Rosehill Auction Services and Olds Auction Mart, which has provided auctioneering services for the event ever since it began, officials say.
The auction begins at 6 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion branch 105 in Olds. Beef on a bun and refreshments will be available.
Money raised from the event goes to support a wide variety of needs in the community: everything from helping to fund new playgrounds and the Kiwanis Music Festival to supporting the Mountain View Food Bank and Mountain View Emergency Shelter.
Hugh Bodmer, who is in charge of publicity for the Kiwanis fall auction, says the club is proud that the event has hit the 50-year mark.
“It's our major annual fundraiser,” he says.
“And to have the Rosehill family continue that association for the entire 50-year period is unbelievable. I mean, that's pretty incredible support when you think about it.”
Bodmer has been told that when the auction began, it was held outdoors for the first few years, then later in the Rosehill auction facility.
“It seems to be almost like it's ingrained in the Olds community. People kind of look forward to it to do their Christmas shopping, I guess,” he says.
Bodmer and Carol Johnston, who is coordinating the auction along with her husband Bill, say so far, they haven't really planned anything special to mark the 50th anniversary of the fall auction. But that may change.
Johnston notes last year, a big dinner and other celebrations were held to mark the club's 60th year of existence in Olds. But this anniversary “just sort of came up.”
“Maybe we should have a special item; I'll have to think about that,” she says.
Bodmer and Johnston are keenly aware that Olds is still suffering from the economic downturn brought about by the collapse in oil prices a couple of years ago.
However, they say revenues generated by the auction have been surprisingly strong over the past few years.
“Given what's going on in our economy, I'm still fairly confident – I'm certainly hopeful -- that we'll get around that $15,000 mark,” Bodmer says. “We've kind of been between 15 and 17 (thousand dollars) for the last four or five years.
“I mean, people are pretty generous. And there are also individuals who give us cash – not just items. There are landlords and developers – those kinds of people – who certainly do business in town but don't have a storefront per se,” he says.
Johnston isn't sure what to expect, but she too, is hopeful.
“Each of the last couple of years we've said, oh, we thought the auction (revenues) would be down. But last year it was up and it was probably one of the better years we've had in the last five,” she says.
“It's interesting, you know, because our letter goes out and the next day, we get -- I don't know – half a dozen phone calls; companies who know that the auction is coming and they donate every year. Many have donated for years. So we get a phone call: ‘your item is ready,'” Johnston adds.
Greg Sanderson, co-owner of Rosehill Auction Services and Olds Auction Mart, says the company is proud to have been involved right from the start.
He says the reason they continue to be involved is simple.
“Community support. We like to support the Olds community,” Sanderson says. “They've treated us well over the years and we'd like to give back to the community. Olds is a good town.
“It's enjoyable,” Sanderson adds. “People come out. People who are buying stuff, they like to support the community as well, right? A lot of the same people come every year.”
"It seems to be almost like it's ingrained in the Olds community. People kind of look forward to it to do their Christmas shopping, I guess." HUGH BODMER PUBLICITY REPKIWANIS CLUB OF OLDS
