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You are here: Home / Blog Post / Winning big ticket items comes naturally to auction team member Julie
Oct 12

Winning big ticket items comes naturally to auction team member Julie

Sherry Truhlar Leave a Comment

auction team Julie school auction

Julie is always well-versed in the sports and travel sections of our auctions — her favorites!

Earlier this year, auction team member Iris guest posed in my blog. Today, meet Julie.

If you’ve ever spoken to Julie at one of our auctions, you know she’s got a wicked sense of humor! What you might not know is that she is a master at winning sweepstakes.

Julie regularly wins stuff. Great stuff.

I suggested she write about her expertise, as some of you might be intrigued. Maybe Julie is onto an unconventional auction procurement process here. 😉

+++++

Does anyone ever win those sweepstakes?

They sure do! I’m living proof.

After 20 years of service in the US Army, I retired at age 46. Since I was no longer keeping the world safe for democracy, I needed a hobby. I decided to enter sweepstakes.

I would find a few to enter here and there and would occasionally win a T-shirt or key chain. That is not exactly what I had in mind.

I found a couple of sweepstakes newsletters and subscribed. I soon learned that there are lots of people who enter sweeps in earnest, and those people were winning lots of cool stuff.

Auction team Julie tennis

The first “big” win for Julie was a trip to the US Open in New York, NY.

Once I got serious about my new hobby, it began to pay off.  Here are some of my favorite wins.

My first nice prize was a trip for two to the US Open Tennis Tournament in New York.

My friend and I were flown to New York, met by a car and driver at the airport, and put up in a fabulous NYC hotel. A long white stretch limo took us to Flushing Meadow for the tournament.

The sponsor of this sweeps was Heineken, and our seats were in the Heineken corporate box!  We could reach out a touch the players. We could sit outside or inside in air-conditioned comfort and watch through the glass. We had two waiters who waited on us hand and foot with food and beverages. Plus, we had our own restroom.

My next big win came from Cadillac.  I won a walk-on part to a Broadway show last year!

The coordinator gave me my pick to appear in any show on Broadway. I chose RENT. The stage director sent me the musical score of the number to be sung during my scene. I downloaded the song onto my iPod and listened to it night and day so it would be drummed into my brain. (I didn’t want to be the one to bring down RENT.)

auction team Julie NYC Adam Kantor- Mark Cohen

Julie’s debut on Broadway! Here she is backstage with RENT’s Adam Kantor (a cast member).

My scene was a group therapy scene in which everyone in the group says their name. I got to say my name and sing with the cast!

Before going, I was called by the wardrobe lady who advised me on what clothes to bring so they could choose what I should wear. The prize also included round-trip airfare to NYC for four people, two rooms in a wonderful NYC hotel, and four house seats for my performance. Plus, my biography and photo was included in that night’s Playbill.

I rehearsed with the cast 30 minutes prior to the curtain going up. They couldn’t have been nicer. I was seated in the wings next to the stage manager during the performance so I could watch him call the show. They wired me with a microphone and got me onstage for my scene. It was a full house and it went great.

I was also brought out onstage at the end of the show for a solo curtain call. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Shortly after returning from my Broadway debut, I was notified that I had won a trip for two to Hawaii.

This trip was sponsored by American Airlines and included round trip airfare to Honolulu and five nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We had a blast.

Next I won a trip for two to London, courtesy of Orbitz which was promoting the James Bond movie, Quantum of Silence.

Auction team Julie England

Enjoying the trip to London, champagne in hand in The London Eye.

We were flown to London, met by a chauffeur driving a new Mercedes, and driven to the Grosvenor Hotel. We had tours to Hampton Court, Stonehenge, and Bath. We also got a champagne ride on The London Eye and dinner for two in the West End with tickets to a musical.

We could choose when we wanted to go on the trip so I chose to go during the Queen’s birthday celebration. We watched the parade from Buckingham Palace and got to see Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla, Princes William and Harry, Princess Anne, and all the other royals. It was spectacular.

Last month, I won a trip for two to Paris, which was sponsored by Cinemark theaters and tied to the movie promotion Julie and Julia.

The prize includes roundtrip airfare for two to Paris, six nights in a hotel and $2500 spending money. I can go anytime in the next 12 months. I think I’ll go this spring. I know from experience we’ll be treated well.

So am I the luckiest person on earth?

No. I really work at this. I consider it a job. I enter both online and via postal mail. I spend two hours a day entering online and a couple of hours a week doing mail entries.

The hardest part is finding the sweeps. The newsletters are a great source for finding sweeps, plus I do my own research. I only enter the ones I want to win because the tax burden can be steep. You must pay income taxes on all your winnings.

I read and follow the fine print of the official rules. If not, you will be disqualified. I enter consistently throughout the lifetime of the sweeps.

I have had long dry spells when I don’t win big but just get the T-shirt and keychain. But when those big wins come in, it makes it all worthwhile. I love to travel and usually enter the ones that offer trips to places I want to visit.

I have won many other nice prizes, but I won’t bore you with the details. I’ve got to get busy and enter more sweeps!

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Copyright © 2009 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

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”

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

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