Auction sets record for scholarships

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, May 3, 2006

POULSBO — A packed house, an entertaining auctioneer and a bevy of items added up to a record-setting event for the Poulsbo-North Kitsap Rotary Club Saturday night.

The group’s 24th annual auction held at the Poulsbo Sons of Norway lodge initially raised more than $90,000, including scholarships, to help the local community but final numbers won’t be known until later this week.

“It was just a great event and we had a lot of fun,” said club President-elect Brad Camp, who chaired this year’s event.

Going into the auction, the club had hopes of raising $18,000 for scholarships to support deserving local students, but what transpired as the evening wore on was amazing, Camp said.

“We got to $18,000 and they just kept going all the way to $25,000, which was a record,” he said.

The additional money means the club will be able to offer more scholarships in the upcoming year, Camp said.

The auction featured several trips and catered boat cruise packages, which sold well, he said, noting that an additional cruise was offered at the auction.

“You could feel the energy in the room and people were just feeding off of each other,” he said. “We’re still totaling the numbers and we may have set a record.”

The goal for this year’s event was $100,000 and by Sunday afternoon more than $90,000 had already been tallied.

“The auction has been building each year and it’s gotten a little bigger and little better,” Camp said.

Once the exact figures are known, Camp said the next step will be to assess what the community needs before Rotary embarks on its next big project.

“We’re continuing our support of the transition house and Fish Park,” he said. “My goal for the next month is to do an assessment of what the community’s needs are.”

With that assessment in hand, Camp said a plan of action will be developed as the club continues its tradition of giving back to the local community.