The 74th annual Hopkinsville Rotary Auction concluded its six-day run Saturday with a new record, raising $560,074, auction chair Kelly Gates reported.
The effort beat the previous record of $536,335 reported in 2022. Last year Hopkinsville Rotarians reported raising $523,671.
The auction raises money for college scholarships and grants to local projects, mainly benefiting youth and students.
The annual fundraiser at the Memorial Building relies on three revenue streams — the main auction consisting of hundreds of donated goods and services, cash donations to the Hour Club and Goat Club, and food sales. The 2024 tally included: $107,347 from the main auction with 776 items sold; $37,799 in food sales; and $414,928 from cash donations to the Hour Club and Goat Club.
Gates, who works for Christian County Public Schools and oversees workforce programs for students, will become the next president of the Hopkinsville Rotary Club.
The auction chair in 2025 will be Landon Stallons. He is a vice president in commercial banking for Planters Bank.
This story was updated to include a breakdown of money raised this year from the three main revenues streams.
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.
