Charles City Rotary Club’s annual Radio Auction will be Saturday morning, Feb. 1

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A large selection of merchandise, adventures, passes and gift certificates will be up for bid at the 15th annual Charles City Rotary Radio Auction, to be held Saturday morning, Feb. 1.

More than $8,600 value in 107 donated items will be available to raise funds for the Rotary Club’s community projects and scholarships, and for this year’s auction partner, the Floyd County Museum, with whom the club will split the proceeds.

Rotary member Tammy Elthon, who has led the organizational effort behind the annual event since it began, said there are 107 items available, which will be sold off two or three at a time so there is always more than one item available to bid on.

Between 100 and 110 items is the magic number each year, she said, with enough to keep things moving along but not so many that they can’t all be dealt with in the three hours available.

The auction will run from 9 a.m. to noon on KCHA radio, 95.9 FM, with bids accepted from people calling in to the auction number, 641-228-1000.

No bids will be accepted before the auction begins, and it must be concluded precisely at noon, Elthon said, as other programing on the station begins at that time.

“We’ll constantly be announcing where we’re at and where the price is,” she said. Rotary members will rotate with on-air duties and staffing three phone lines.

The auction will also be live-streamed on the radio station’s website, but Elthon cautioned that there is a couple of seconds delay between the radio broadcast and the streaming version, so for items where there is a bidding war that’s going fast and furious the people online may not be able to keep up with the latest bids.

Winning bidders will be able to pick up and pay for their items Saturday afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. at Elthon’s Circle K Communications office, 1003 5th Ave., Charles City.

“They can come out and pick up their items right that same day, which a lot of people really like to do,” Elthon said. “I’ll get rid of 70% of the items probably in those two hours.”

Circle K is open 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday in the days after the auction for any other items to be picked up.

“Once in a while I have to call a couple of people and remind them that, remember, I’m still out here,” Elthon said.

This is the fourth year that the service club has partnered with another community organization on the auction. The first dear it was TLC: The Learning Center, then Central Preschool, then PAWS Humane Society last year, and the Floyd County Museum this year.

Museum Director Mckenna Lloyd is expected to be part of the on-air team this year.

Partnering with other groups has opened the auction up to whole new sets of listeners, and those groups have also helped secure some auction item donations and spread the word about the event, Elthon said.

“We have always given the money back to the community – we’ll use our share for scholarships, which is a good thing,” Elthon said. “But it’s nice to have another group be able to buy something that maybe is out of their budget” because of the money raised through the auction.

“I think it’s a pretty well-oiled machine after 15 years,” Elthon said. “Last year it brought in $7,132, and I’m hoping for that again this year. I think as I total the items, the value of the items are way over that. And some items will bring above face value, and some will bring below. But it looks to be very similar. That’s my hope.”

Elthon pointed out a couple of premier activities that will be up for bid, including tickets to “Evil Woman” at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center in Cedar Falls, two pre-season Green Bay Packers football tickets where people get to meet the players and get autographs, and even a half-day guided fly-fishing trip in the Driftless area of northeast Iowa.

Merchandise includes a Weber gas grill, 55-inch flat-screen TV, a large JBL outdoor speaker, tools, appliances, and numerous gift baskets, gift certificates, services and passes – including a year-long pass to the Charles Theatre for two adults that includes a large combo concession for each show.

Elthon encouraged people to listen in – to bid on items or just for the show.

“It’s pretty fast and furious,” she said.

More information and a complete list of items available for bid can be found by clicking the Rotary Radio Auction link on the Charles City Rotary home page, www.charlescityrotary.org.