In the same year the Hopkinsville Rotary Club celebrates its centennial anniversary and its 70th consecutive fundraising auction, local Rotarians also face perhaps their biggest challenge in the group’s history. How to keep the Hopkinsville Rotary Auction going in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
They’ll tackle the challenge starting Monday at the Memorial Building downtown.
“We were really close to canceling,” auction chair Scott Cowan said. But it was hard to give up on a tradition that has raised approximately $11 million since its inception for college scholarships.
So the members decided, “Let’s try it, no matter what. The need is still there,” he said.
The most obvious change will be the lack of a live audience and in-person bidding. Because of health restrictions that require social distancing, the auction will be conducted over WHOP radio (98.7 FM and 1230 AM) and through a livestream on the club’s website. All bids will be taken over the phone by calling 270-885-7500.
Only people running the auction will be allowed inside the memorial building. Auction hours will be 7 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. until the last item is sold Saturday.
Last year the auction broke its $300,000 goal and reported at the conclusion raising approximately $330,000. That included $81,100 from roughly 700 auction items, $1,800 from a mini-auction and general store, $28,000 from the diner and sweet shop and $219,200 from the Hour Club and Goat Club.
Of those revenue sources, only the main auction (currently with around 400 items) and the Hour Club will remain this year, along with the sale of Boston butts from a grill crew set up outside.
The number of auction items are down considerably this year, in part because many of the items have been classified as experiences, such as trips, and those aren’t feasible during the pandemic. School participation it out this year; traditionally, schools raise thousands of dollars every years and send students to report their efforts through the week.
Donations to the Hour Club are made in $174 increments, the equivalent of tuition for one credit hour at Hopkinsville Community College. Donors to the Hour Club may call the Rotary office, at 270-886-3034, to make a contribution or they may go online.
It’s not too late to donate auction items, Cowan said. That can be arranged by calling Rotary office.
Viewers will notice some changes in the Memorial Building if they watch the auction’s livestream.
Rather than facing each other and sharing a common mic at a circular table, the four auctioneers will face forward at one long table. Each will have their own mic and will wearing a mask when they are not announcing bids. Volunteers taking bids over the phone will wear face shields, said Cowan.
Some of the auction items include grills, ovens, country hams, hearing aids and trampolines. The new Oak Grove Racing, Gaming and Hotel has donated a night’s stay and the chance to ride in the pace car for one its races.
A cashier will be set up in the Memorial Building’s front lobby. Winning bidders will go there during the week to pay and pick up items.
The theme for the auction is “A Tradition of Service Above Self.” Money raised supports the Rotary Scholars program at HCC, which provides local high school graduates who achieve a minimum grade-point average and other requirements with full scholarships to attend the college for two years.
The Hopkinsville Rotary Club has 104 members.
Cowan said plans for this year’s auction were approved by County Health Director Kayla Bebout.
See our coverage of the 2020 Rotary auction:
- Hopkinsville Rotary Club postpones annual auction until Sept. 14
- Hopkinsville Rotary Auction, minus the live audience, starts Monday
- Hopkinsville Rotary Auction pulls in more than $50,000 on opening night
- Rotary Club gets a matching offer from Planters Bank to boost auction
- Halfway through Rotary Auction’s novel run, chairman makes plea for Hour Club donors
- Rotarians hit the $100,000 mark and head into final two nights of auction
- Rotary Auction pulls in a surprising total
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
