Arts Place says thanks for auction

To the editor:

The year 2020 has definitely been an interesting year which has pushed many of us to rethink the way we normally do things in order to make them happen.

Arts Place is no exception.

Under the motto “Keep calm and holiday on,” Arts Place held its 38th annual Holiday Benefit Auction in three different stages — with a silent Facebook auction during the week of Nov. 16, 2020, with two radio auctions on Friday evening and Saturday morning, Nov. 20 and 21, 2020, and then finally, with a Facebook Live auction on the evening of Cyber Monday, Nov. 20, 2020.

Close to $13,000 was raised in total, which surpassed any of the Holiday Benefit Auction committee’s expectations.

We hope to be able to hold a “normal” auction in 2021, including all of the usual traditions that the patrons of Arts Place have come to love, such as the services provided by Loy Real Estate and Auction and the free food and beverages provided by many volunteers such as Arts Place Corporate Board members, the Humane Society, The Glass Bonsai and Jay County Beverage.

Here and now, however, we would like to express our gratitude to all those who made this year’s auction such a tremendous success. So many businesses, artists and private donors contributed to the auction with traditional as well as creative, and sometimes innovative, gifts.

Many thanks also go to our bidders, both veteran and newcomers, who came out to support the auction with their generous bids during its different stages. Our committee members, Elizabeth Hudson, Michelle Goldman, Sarah Lingo, Bonnie Maitlen and Mindy Weaver, who worked tirelessly alongside us, have our most sincere gratitude.

We are also so grateful for Arts Place staff members Carolyn Carducci, director of development and corporate records, and Erin Weirrick, sales and marketing coordinator, who were wonderful in developing and executing the different stages of the auction and keeping us going.

And then, this year, a tremendous thank you goes to Rob Weaver and WPGW Radio. Rob volunteered both his time and his radio station to be the platform for both a fun evening and morning of live bidding. His radio auction brought something truly exciting to this year’s event. We could not have done this without his generosity and expertise.

The Holiday Benefit Auction 2020, like so many other events, was a true testimony to the generosity of our community and region, which never ceases to amaze.

With our utmost gratitude and appreciation,

Kristen Gibson and Anni McClung

2020 Holiday Benefit Auction Committee co-chairs