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Sunday, Jul. 18, 2010

Museum auction draws big crowd

WARNER ROBINS — What do a Botox treatment, a kayak, a coffin, a pallet of sod and a hot air balloon ride all have in common?

Well, they were all one of the more than 500 items up for bid at the 25th annual Museum of Aviation Auction, Raffle and Taste of Local Cuisine held Saturday evening.

Nearly 2,000 people packed the museum’s Century of Flight Hangar for the annual fundraising event, which featured a silent and live auction, a raffle for more than $27,000 in prizes, an open bar and a sampling of food from local restaurants.

Pat Bartness, the museum’s fundraising director, said he estimates this year’s auction raised more than $200,000. That number is roughly on par with the amount the event raised last year.

“All the money we raise comes from the items donated and ticket sales to the event, and it goes to support the museum’s various educational programs,” Bartness said.

This year, the grand prize for the raffle was $25,000 cash.

“The reason it’s $25,000 is to commemorate the 25 years we’ve been doing this event,” Bartness said.

Other big prizes included six cars donated by local dealerships and smaller cash prizes of $2,000 and $500.

Janice Hartley of Warner Robins has been attending the auction with her husband every year since it started. Hartley said that while she hopes to win an auction for a bicycle this year, what she’s really holding out for is the $25,000 prize.

“I’ve been here enough years, so it’s got to be close to my time to win,” Hartley said.

Margaret Cox, who’s also attended the auction every year, said she likes the event so much that she donated some of her own African art and pottery for the silent auction.

“The museum’s such an important part of our community, and I think it’s vital for all of us to give back to it however we can,” Cox said. “This is sort of my way of doing that.”

Some of the auction’s hot items included diamond jewelry, mink coats and a variety of antique furniture.

While for most people in attendance the auction meant the chance to win big and outbid the competition, for Judy Mason and her husband Charles of Warner Robins it was simply a fun way to spend an evening with friends.

“We just like to come and have a good time. This is always a fun event,” Mason said.