Schools
Many thanks for doing such an incredible job once again! You have been a huge factor in our success the last two years, and we very much appreciate having you as a part of our team.
We are extremely happy about the Fund a Scholar number, the live did much better than last year, the raffle tickets sold out very quickly (next year I hope they all sell out before the event!), and the super silent auction was very successful.
Overall, we were delighted! Melissa and I will miss working with you next year, but hope to see you sometime in the future! We have really enjoyed it.
Deiadre Rauch, Gala Co-Chair 2013
The Potomac School (Mclean, VA)
Some of the Wakefield School team members shared key reasons they liked working with Red Apple Auctions.
“This was our 15th year of having an auction,” Lisa the Auction Chair says, “Sherry was the best auctioneer we ever had. She engaged the crowd, everybody was excited I’d highly, highly, highly recommend Sherry’s energy. She’s worth every penny.”
“While she [Sherry] has a charming personality before the auction, you just rocked it onstage,” Leslie added.
Ahhhh, thanks guys!
Susan attended this public school foundation auction of about 300 guests. She lived for many years in Texas and attended the Dallas’ Cattle Baron’s Ball.
She commented that this was the first time she’d seen a female auctioneer. “You make this event 5X more fun than I can ever remember it being,” she said, “It was more money, more quickly, with less pain.”
Well stated, Susan.
For the first time EVER the Haverford School hired a professional charity auctioneer for our annual fundraising gala. Now we can’t imagine doing it any other way. Sherry was absolutely awesome from the moment we first contacted her through the final wrap-up one week after the Gala was over. Despite the fact that we have been doing this for years, we learned so much from her.
By following her recommendations, we not only netted more from our event, we had a more professionally run and FUN event that has people enthused about next year. Sherry infused our event with much needed new energy, new ideas and new ways to raise funds for our cause!We MORE than got our money’s worth with Red Apple Auctions.
P.S. the auctioneer assistants that Sherry brought with her to the event were superb and helped us exceed our goal for the raffle – an unexpected and added bonus.Sue Ellen Cummins and Sara Jones Biden
Co-Chairs of the Haverford School 2012 Gala (Haverford, PA)
I’d been to benefit auctions before, but certainly hadn’t chaired one. Our school had a lot of women who wanted to help in various capacities, but no one wanted to lead the charge. So I agreed to fill the Auction Chair role.
Red Apple Auctions had been referred to me because the Auction Chair two years ago used the company and set a new record in the process.
Several people had commented on Red Apple’s professionalism and ideas, and they loved Sherry and the floor team who worked the event, so they urged me to hire them again.
When the company helped Shayna and Corrine two years ago, the school hit an all-time high of $108k.
And now this year, we hit an all time new record of nearly $147k! On auction night it was around $143k, but by the time the dust settled, it was at $147k.
Our school has never even come close to these figures. We just surpassed so many goals. Even my own personal goals.
Everyone was talking about the auction. They are still talking about the auction and it is over a month later! Even as I write this, I’m covered in goosebumps just thinking about how fabulous it was.
I get high-fives in the hallways. I can’t believe it. People were so generous and it was phenomenal.
Everyone keeps saying how it wasn’t just an auction … it was a great party. And I did this without ever having chaired an auction before.
Prior to the event I appreciated how Red Apple Auctions was there for me every step of the way. Sherry was available to me always, and at our disposal as much as we needed her.
Her ideas were fresh and FUN! She helped us come up with new ideas on raising money and making the most of what we had.
Then – at the event – our crowd loved the auctioneer and the floor team, who were all again very personable and looked very professional and kept everything moving forward.
The biggest “ah-ha” I got out of this entire experience was watching Bill call during the live auction. I thought to myself this is what a professional auctioneer should sound like. He got the crowd motivated and excited. He was funny and entertaining.
The entire evening was a smashing success and it was largely due in part to Red Apple Auctions. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Maria Castellano, 2010 Auction Chair
Christ Church School (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
It was my second year at the school, and I volunteered to take over the Auction Chair role.
It was an intimidating endeavor, but I knew we would be in great hands under the guidance of Sherry and Red Apple Auctions.
Sherry had been selected by the gala chair the previous year and the positive feedback we received was overwhelming. She grew the event to whole new level, a level of which we could not have achieved without her innovative ideas and advice.
Sherry helped us every step of the way, throughout the year, interpreting for us the science behind what makes an auction successful.
Silent, live, online—Sherry’s knowledge of how the event works is multi-faceted.
It’s also worth noting that having Sherry back a second time enabled us to build upon what we established the first year. It made my job that much easier—she knew the school, our goals, our families—and therefore our time together was that much more productive.
And she was FABULOUS on auction night!!
Crowds of people came up to me afterward to say what an incredible job she did. She made a huge impression and breathed the kind of vitality into the live auction that only a professional could.
Speaking of, families were concerned when we initially made the move from parent auctioneers to a professional.
Sherry’s preparation and presentation are well-organized, but her approach is warm, personal, and makes everyone feel very comfortable. There is no doubt that we made the right decision.
Sherry should be so pleased with, and proud of, what she has created in Red Apple Auctions. I’m so glad our school found her in 2008, and I look forward to using her again, for the third time, this coming year!
Kristen Franklin, Chair 2009 and 2010
Aidan Montessori School (Washington, DC)
Barbara attended this school auction for the first time.
“Sherry, you made the show. It was fantastic. You made my night!” She admits to being a big bidder, in part because she had so much fun laughing.
Religious organizations
I participated in the auction last weekend and just wanted to give you a big thanks for what you have done.
I’m not on the committee that organized the event or anything, but I just wanted you to know that you made it so much fun! I was blown out of my seat when you auctioned the first item.
You are incredible at getting the audience involved, relaxed, and willing to open their pocket books! I couldn’t help but have the biggest smile the entire event.
Hollie Pollan, auction attendee
Colonial 1st Ward Service Auction (Mount Vernon, VA)
Being our first year (2008) to have a professional auctioneer, we didn’t want attendees at the dinner to feel like they were being coerced.
Sherry worked with us in advance to understand our needs and give us input on how to improve the auction.
On the night of the event, she was right on target. She made the auction fun for everyone and adapted well to our needs.
Brent McLaughlin, Executive Director
South Florida Urban Ministries (Miami, FL)Happy client since 2008!
For the 3rd consecutive year we had Red Apple Auctions help guide our church’s silent and live auctions, and for the 3rd consecutive year they have helped us improve on the year before…. both in dollar amount AND in quality of the event.
Our event caters to a young, single adult church crowd who are working their first jobs, or are finishing up a graduate degree. With the economic downturn we went through this year, you could imagine how apprehensive our crowd would be.
Well, Red Apple was GREAT.
They were able to stress the value of charitable giving and donations in such a fun and positive way that our participants were happy to raise money for such a good cause.
We are looking forward to having Red Apple Auctions back next year and are ready to break more fundraising records!
Bryan Gauch, Service Committee Chair
Colonial 1st Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Alexandria, VA)
Nonprofits
When we first launched the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation Gala, I wasn’t convinced we needed an auctioneer.
With our roots in professional baseball, we have no shortage of free announcers at our disposal. The many outstanding newscasters who cover our games are comfortable onstage, engaging as speakers, and work well with our crowd.
After our initial auction, we were convinced that we had not maximized our earnings and that we needed to engage a professional auctioneer. So we started the process of interviewing auctioneers.
We talked with many of them who simply didn’t have the je ne sais quoi needed for this gala.
I’ve experienced some pretty poor auctioneers at various events over the years. I didn’t want our auctioneer to be one of “those guys” who lowered the quality of our evening by trying to beat money out of people.
Our gala is an elegant affair raising money for important projects, and many of our guests have been very generous patrons of our organization. We needed an auctioneer who understood this balance.
When we met Sherry, we found that auctioneer. The auctions have achieved the right tone, and we have appreciated her team’s work throughout the night.
This year we’re going to be trying some new activities in the silent auction so we’ve been meeting with her to talk about the pros and cons of our ideas. Sherry has given us the guidance that we needed to ensure a fun event with strong revenues and happy guests.
Marla Tanenbaum, Chair
Washington Nationals Dream Foundation (Washington, DC)
Thank you for what you did!
The entire audience raved about your talents; I could not imagine doing an auction without Red Apple Auctions.
Your support, skills and ideas are an impressive component of your services. You also add a personal touch that can only be described by the people who have worked with you.
Megan Deutsch, Asst. Director of Development
Threshold Services (Silver Spring, MD)
Sarah and Chris have been to the Arlington Academy of Hope auction in past years, but this was the first time Sherry served as the auctioneer. “What specifically did you like, guys?” I asked.“Your charisma! And how you build the excitement! You could just see it in the crowd!” they said.
I can’t put my finger on it, but something about these two tells me they’d be fun to hang out with.
Pamela came out to support Lupus.
“Sherry was incredibly entertaining,” she said, “She got people to bid up without them feeling uncomfortable.“
Great job Thursday night!
Everyone has been raving about how much nicer it was with you at the helm.
Thanks for making us look so good!
Angela Balsamo, Fashion Show Auction Chair
American Business Women’s Association, Maryland Capital Chapter (Annapolis, MD)Do you want to look good in front of your friends? Colleagues? Handsome strangers? Ahem…
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