Local News - April 2003

Rotary Auction appeals to all tastes

By AL DOZIER, LTN Staff Writer

It’s Rotary Auction time, a spring ritual in Lincolnton now in its 10th year.

 Rotarians have fanned out over Lincoln County and beyond in their annual search for  merchandise. It will all go on the auction block starting Thursday of next week.  Some 200 items are expected to be auctioned off each night from 6 to 11 p.m. through Saturday.

The auction will be televised on Cable Channel 10 and you can phone in your bids.

The auction seems to get bigger each year, a tribute to a community that has supported it for a decade, according to Gaye Howard, who helps run the affair. She remembers how small the event started out. Expectations were big, but few people dreamed it would become as big as it is today.

“It’s amazing how far we have come,” she said.

More than $125,000 worth of merchandise was logged on the auction computer Thursday, and items were still coming in.

Like hot wings? Bid on a wings party for 10 at Hooters.

How about a 3-day vacation to Jamaica? Or try another location while bidding on various hotel lodging offerings.

Maybe a plane flight over Lake Norman, at Christmas when holiday lights shine over the water.

A lot of memorabilia will be available, as usual.

 One recent item turned in by Judge Tom Bowen is an autographed golf plaque from the late Payne Stewart.

Movie star Linda Hamilton, who has friends here, will pitch in some of her own memorabilia, an attractive dinner ring.

There’s a jacket autographed by country music singer Vince Gill and a wide assortment of NASCAR items autographed by the likes of Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson and Todd Bodine.

You can even buy live animals: a Sicilian donkey or a pygmy goat.

You can grab a meal at the auction canteen while you’re shopping. Tickets are $6 in advance (from Rotarians) and $7 at the door. The canteen is catered by local restaurants.

The proceeds from the auction go to low-interest college loans for Lincoln County students.

The loans amount to $2,000 each and are available to any Lincoln County high school graduate who maintains a “C” average.

 Students pay the interest in semi-annual installments and the full note six months after graduation. Arrangements may be made to set up a 60-month payment plan.

Josh Collins,  a Lincolnton High School graduate who now works at BB&T, remembers how easy it was to obtain the loan when he was attending Appalachian State University.

“I used it twice, a $2,000 student loan,” he said. “If you are at an in-state school, that pays half your tuition for a year. It was nothing stressful — super-easy. You just have to stay above a C.”

Local high schools have information on the program. You can also learn about the loans online at www.rotarylinc.org.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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