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You are here: Home / Blog Post / Getting started with a family reunion auction
Jul 11

Getting started with a family reunion auction

Sherry Truhlar 2 Comments

family reunion auction items - birdhouse

My Dad made this wren house, which was fabricated from an old wheelchair, switchboard parts, and reclaimed wood and metal. It sold at our most recent auction.

This (somewhat) lighthearted post was written in 2009 for readers of my e-zine, Benefit Auction Ideas. Subscribe here.

Every two years, I am under contract to conduct an auction in a tiny rural Kansas town.

It’s terribly unorganized – by far, the worst I conduct.

The items have values ranging from $3 to ~$55, no items are marketed in advance, and the displays are plain. Most guests bring their donations directly to the event, throwing them on a table for others to see. Frankly, many of the items would be relegated to a silent auction at any other gala. 

Although the meal is good and the guests jovial, they are a motley group of characters.

Many of them are incredibly loud, on occasion interrupting me while I’m selling to either make an unsolicited comment about a donated item, or tell a potentially embarrassing story about the individual who donated it.

The children distract bidders as they roam freely through the venue.

And if I were to be brutally honest, some guests are notoriously cheap. Items which might sell for well over $100 at any of my other events sell for $20 here.

I’ve conducted this auction three times, starting in 2005. After each event, I ask the auction organizer when I will be paid. She laughs.

Welcome to my family reunion auction.

To be fair, this is written a tad tongue-in-cheek. Certainly I love all of my family, but my mom’s side is particularly fun. Many of my mom’s six brothers and sisters have passed, but their progeny – still very Bohemian – carry on the tradition of being loud, enjoying cards and board games, and telling great stories.

Most of you reading this article are involved with planning events for schools or non-profits, but I am sure that everyone reading this is part of a family. Whether it’s a family you created for yourself through partnership, or a family into which you were born, I suspect that you have reunions.

With summer get-togethers like reunions in full-swing, I want to write about why you might want to start – and how to conduct – a family reunion auction.

Like most reunion auctions, ours was launched to cover the costs of holding the event.

The money collected from the auction is used to cover shared expenses. It covers costs like renting the facility and purchasing utensils, coffee, and related supplies. My cousin Mark buys the meat (for which he’s reimbursed) and graciously smokes it to a melt-in-your-mouth tender on his farm. We also buy fun prizes to award for “oldest attendee” or “traveled the furthest.” Winners of various other games also receive small gifts like Bath & Body Works hand lotions and sanitizers.

Our first auction in 2005 raised $600+!

Because the reunion expenses were only ~$200, an account was opened at the credit union to hold the extra cash. Reimbursements are now made from that account. Since that first auction was so successful and easily covered our costs, we’ve since put less emphasis on encouraging everyone to bring an item.

Mom advertised the first auction by sending out a blast email to the family, asking them to bring something for our inaugural family auction. As the concept was new, she fielded many questions about what was an appropriate item. She gave examples of items she’d heard about from other families who also conduct auctions.

Now when guests arrive at our reunion, we put their donated item on a separate table with a sign that states “Auction Items.” Guests walk by the table to browse.

After lunch, I begin the sale. Although I mentally sell the items in what I know to be the best-selling order, we don’t number the items, write descriptions, or use bid numbers. The clerking is managed by one of my cousins, and everyone pays him in cash or check after the event. It’s a low-tech, low-effort auction, yet it still makes money.

Items sold are generally handmade by the donor or have some personal significance to the family. Here are some items I’ve sold:

* Canned tomatoes
* A dozen kolaches
* Crocheted items
* A basket filled with all Kansas products (wine, snacks)
* Wahoo game board with marbles and dice
* Bird house
* A collection of freshly picked garden vegetables
* Reprinted photos of Grandma and Grandpa
* A scrapbook of Grandma’s saved sayings, recipes and other clippings, including some in Czech
* Basket of cookies
* Old postcards kept by Grandma and Grandpa
* Painted Christmas ornament

In short, our family auction has served its purpose and become a tradition. My guess is that with your growing experience in benefit auctions, incorporating an auction into your reunion would be easy.

For your auctioneer, I encourage you to find the most outgoing member of your brood.

Or perhaps you have a relative who IS an auctioneer? If so, you’re set.

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Copyright © 2012 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved

About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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Comments

  1. Twyla says

    May 22, 2022 at 10:21 PM

    I’m going to try this out at this year’s family reunion. Lord, give me strength. LOL 😉 ♥

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      May 22, 2022 at 10:31 PM

      I think you’ll like it, Twyla! If you think of it, find your way back here and let me know how it goes. Good luck!

      Reply

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Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

Krystal Fenwick

Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

Diane Albano, Director of Development
St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)

Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.

Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)

Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!

Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)

I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!

Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)

If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.

Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member

The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.

Darrell, a long-time attendee

We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.

Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)

2012 Oakcrest Anne and CarolinaSherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year!… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9NakF4TWkxSGRXVnpkSE10UW5Wc2JHbHpMVXRMTFdGdVpDMU5hV05vWVdWc0xVcHZjMlZ3YUM1dGNEUT0vP2NvbnRhaW5lcj1ldnAtV0JBVTkwTlVBUyI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+PGRpdiBpZD0iZXZwLVdCQVU5ME5VQVMiIGRhdGEtcm9sZT0iZXZwLXZpZGVvIiBkYXRhLWV2cC1pZD0iTWpBeE1pMUhkV1Z6ZEhNdFFuVnNiR2x6TFV0TExXRnVaQzFOYVdOb1lXVnNMVXB2YzJWd2FDNXRjRFE9Ij48L2Rpdj4= They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”

Staci Meruvia 150 ptYou have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, …… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.” 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 The following… Read The Rest “Geri”

Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRdE1qQXhNUzFPU0ZOUVEwRXRTWEpsYm1VdWJYQTBMVEU9Lz9jb250YWluZXI9ZXZwLTVHMlVHQlFGN1YiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjxkaXYgaWQ9ImV2cC01RzJVR0JRRjdWIiBkYXRhLXJvbGU9ImV2cC12aWRlbyIgZGF0YS1ldnAtaWQ9IlIzVmxjM1F0TWpBeE1TMU9TRk5RUTBFdFNYSmxibVV1YlhBMExURT0iPjwvZGl2Pg== “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal… Read The Rest “Irene”

Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

Cynthia Steele Vance_150X180As a former Fox News Anchorwoman, I am often called on to perform at auctions. So, I know first-hand that auctioneering can be a difficult job. Sherry Truhlar is one of the best in the business.… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

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