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You are here: Home / Blog Post / Salut! Wine auctioneer Sherry Truhlar raises money for symphony
Jun 02

Salut! Wine auctioneer Sherry Truhlar raises money for symphony

Sherry Truhlar Leave a Comment

Co-chair Laura and a guest stand beside me. Laura cut this out of the paper and sent it to me.

Co-chair Laura and a guest stand beside me. Laura cut this out of the paper and sent it to me.  (Thanks, Laura!)

Welcome to wine week! Every post this week ties to alcohol. Here’s the post explaining it.

Last month I headed to Texas to work with the Amarillo Symphony Guild at Vintage Amarillo, the organization’s fundraising wine auction which supports symphony programs. And how cool is this — I made the paper! From our outfits, you can likely gather that it was a 1920’s theme.

You know why I like working as a wine auctioneer? Wine is one area I have to study in depth, and I love learning.

The wine industry is enormous, so I’m learning about it bit by bit. By the time I get on that stage, I know the lots I’m selling inside and out.  I know the quality of the vintages, the history of the vineyards, and likely a couple of pop culture stories about the wine. My rusty French is pulled out from the depths of my memory. It takes a lot of prep time, but I like the back stories I find.

Here’s how this two-day Texas wine auction was organized.

I learned to play piano on a nice Yamaha. This wasn't a Yamaha.

I learned to play piano on a nice Yamaha.
This wasn’t a Yamaha.

Preview Party

The first night was a preview event, held in a private patron’s home.  This was more casual, a “garden party” style might be one description.

I sold a handful of items and the co-chairs debuted the auction catalog showcasing some hard-to-find wines and exceptional experiences we would be selling the following evening.

The items was nice, but — wowser! — I was blown away by the exquisite room. They call it The Russian Room, for good reason. I was told it’s an exact replica of a room in Russia. Perhaps a room in The Winter Palace?

 

Tres elegant.

Tres elegant.

As I hate dusting, you’ll not find this Baroque style in my own home. But I can appreciate the effort and time that went into re-creating this space.

Look at that photo! Hard carved floors. Elaborate mirror frames. Subtle lighting. The antique piano. Simply stunning.

 

Gala Wine Auction

The 30-lot auction was a mixture of wines and other items. Some tidbits:

Here's the ballroom venue for the dinner.

Here’s the ballroom venue for the dinner.

  • The largest format sold was a Methusaleh of Silver Oak.
  • The 6 bottles of Dolce made for a luminous display. No doubt the liquid gold in the bottle was just as sweet.
  • To celebrate the 75th Masters Tournament in Augusta, GA, Armand de Brignac released a ‘Limited Green Edition’ of its popular champagne. The Ace of Spades bottle and its pewter label were fun to study up close.
  • Four winning bidders will be taking off in two WWII aircraft — a 1942 Steerman biplane and a PT-22 — before enjoying a champagne brunch in the hanger. (Coincidentally, a couple of weeks after this auction, I watched a fly-over in D.C. of WWII aircraft, celebrating the 70th anniversary of VE Day.)
  • “Dinner at West Egg” was a nod to the 1920’s theme. A fabulous meal paired with wines that we might imagine the Great Gatsby himself serving, including Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1999 and Graham’s 40 year NV port.

And other fun ….

A super quick sightseeing tour with Glenna and John.

A quick sightseeing tour at Palo Duro Canyon State Park with Glenna and John.

At the preview party, I met two guests who were persistent in inviting me to see the local sights.

“It’s your first time to Amarillo,” they said, “We’re famous for three things — Cadillac Ranch, Big Texas Steak Ranch’s 72-oz. steak eating competition, and Palo Duro Canyon State Park. You gotta see one before you leave.”

Persistence pays.

At 11 AM, Glenna and John picked me up for a drive-through tour of Palo Duro Canyon. We drove for what seemed like 20 minutes across nothing but flat terrain. Having seen a lot of this growing up in Kansas, this landscape was a real yawner.

But then the earth opens up and … voila! … we see an enormous canyon. It’s the second largest in the USA, with only the Grand Canyon being larger. Knowing Texas’ desire to be bigger in everything, I bet this 2nd place finish annoys many.

Beyond the beauty and seeing all the hikers and bikers out and about, our timing was pretty good in another way.

We saw the Hollywood movie Kreep being filmed. One of the actors — Lymari Nadal — walked into her trailer as we drove by it. We didn’t recognize any of the actors, but using Google on our phones, we got up to speed on the show and cast.

Good people. Good auction. Good trip.

P.S.  Friends, I placed a $450 bid on a bottle of champagne and was outbid multiple times! That bottle sold way over value. Good for the auction, but … hmph … I was trying to buy a unique gift for someone.

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About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and education, 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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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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