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You are here: Home / Audience Development / An ice-cold venue and Olympic entertainment was a fitting tribute to an honoree
Jul 21

An ice-cold venue and Olympic entertainment was a fitting tribute to an honoree

Sherry Truhlar Leave a Comment

Ice-skaters-at-Adirondack-benefit-auctionI had a memorable auction last week in upstate New York. I want to tell you about it and share a couple of observations.

But first, let me share a story from my early days in USA’s capital.

Nearly 15 years ago my parents were visiting me in Washington, D.C. In preparation of their visit, I’d purchased tickets for us to watch a performance at the Kennedy Center.

Just a week before they arrived, I also won a prize from a radio station. It included tickets to an afternoon performance at a community theater production.

Both performances were on the same Saturday. As the show ended in Arlington, I was scooting them out the door to high-tail it to the Kennedy Center.

I don’t recall the names of the productions we saw, but I do recall one distinct memory.

Though the community theater production was well-executed, it felt even more amateurish when compared against the Kennedy Center show. Watching the two performances back-to-back starkly highlighted the actors’ differences in experience and quality. It was like night and day!

I had a bit of déjà vu this past weekend.

To get you up to speed, first watch this video clip from one of my first-year clients at a hospital benefit in the Adirondacks. It shows the top-notch entertainment from the auction, including an Olympic gold medalist.

I had two “a-ha” moments, which I’ll share after you watch this video showing the exceptional entertainment the auction planner organized.

Here’s what struck me.

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A-ha moment #1

Even though you’re not getting the full onsite experience, I’m wondering if you might have reacted as I did, even as you watched the video.

When that little kid — the initial skater — took to the ice, it was impressive! Here’s this tiny gal … gliding across the ice … moving in ways that would quickly land me on my rear end.

But then the older skaters arrive. And they are moving faster and doing jumps.

Then the national champions skate. And they are skating even faster. Despite their more complex routines, they make it look easier.

Then the Olympic gold medalist appears. Oozing a certain je ne sais quoi, he’s on the ice for less than a minute when he does an impressive flip (I didn’t get that flip into the video – sorry).

My point: 

If you had the chance to watch benefit auctioneers perform back-to-back like you watched these skaters perform (or as when I watched the two theater productions years ago), you’d immediately know who to hire for your auction. 

But as this isn’t an option, watch several videos of your potential auctioneers working to get a good sense of how each one commands a crowd.

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A-ha moment #2

I’ve worked many auctions that had an honoree. But I can’t remember ever working an auction that had such a fitting tribute to an honoree.

(A tribute to an honoree at a deaf school in Massachusetts last year came close. Maybe I’ll cover that in a future blog post.)

We can’t all honor ice skating champions. And we likely don’t all have access to Olympians for entertainment.

But I think there’s more potential than what meets the eye.

I’m going to challenge you to think about your options. 

For inspiration, consider that for several years, this event had a traditional sit-down dinner gala with a dance band.  And because of a lack of large venues in her area, the planner had traditionally held this gala in the same place — in a room located just a few steps away from the ice rink.

Moving the crowd into the rink and onto the ice was new. Eliminating a band to put on a skate show was new. 

The guests loved it! Dozens of attendees were chattering about how it was the best gala they’d ever attended. 

My point: 

Are you overlooking the obvious in your area? 

Is there an unusual venue that hasn’t been used, but could be adapted to set your event apart? 

Can you tie in an honoree’s passion via the entertainment? 

Give it some thought.  It will set your auction gala apart.

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Got some ideas? Feel inspired? 

Share your thoughts below.

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Copyright © 2015 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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What auction planners say

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
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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
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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
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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)
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Sherry, 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! Some of the tidbits: You added EXCITEMENT and ENTERTAINMENT… You added EXPERTISE and FUN… You helped the evening FLOW, in a wonderful and positive direction… You were FUN,… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

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Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? 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.”

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You 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, … she got the bidders to bid without being rude/pushing, … I loved observing her, I just watched her, … she did a great job.’ It was… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

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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.” The following year, she herself ‘stepped up’ and became one of the gala… Read The Rest “Geri”

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Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal with people in a way that isn’t intimidating — men, women,… Read The Rest “Irene”

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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 off… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

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As 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. She is skillful at managing an audience and keeping them focused on the task at hand – which is… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

Cynthia Steele Vance
Guest at The Potomac School 2014 auction (McLean, VA)
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