The name alone does not begin to describe everything that happens during the Hopkinsville Rotary Auction.
Yes, it’s an auction. But that’s just for starters. There’s so much packed into the weeklong fundraiser that a newcomer might experience sensory overload and wonder how in the world they are supposed to participate.
Whether you attend in person, or remotely, here’s what you need to know.
Location, Location
The auction happens in the Memorial Building, 1202 S. Main St. To an auction rookie, it might look like the Rotarians need a bigger space for this spectacle packed floor to ceiling with merchandise, electronics, advertising signs, dining tables, cooks, auctioneers, telephone operators and spectators. And that’s just indoors. There are more dining tables outside and a crew smoking meat around the clock.
The building has a ton of memories packed in it, so don’t look for the auction to leave it anytime soon.
How to Watch and Listen
For the last two nights of the auction, bidding is open from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and from 6 p.m. until the last item is old Saturday. It’s not unusual for the auction to run until midnight on the last day.
Hundreds of goods and services will be sold. Three auctioneers take turns announcing bids, and an auction pit boss determines when the bidding will stop and a winner is announced.
You can watch the auction in person. There’s no admission fee.
You listen on WHOP FM, 98.7, or on the radio station’s website.
Or watch a livestream on Hopkinsville Rotary’s website or Facebook page.
How to Bid
Each day, Rotary members post a list of items that will be auctioned that night. It can be downloaded by clicking “Nightly Item List” in the Auction menu on the group’s website. Printed lists are also handed out at the Memorial Building each evening.
See something you want? You can place bids in-person and from home.
At the Memorial Building: Fill out a small bid sheet and hand it to one of the youth volunteers in the big chair at the edge of the auction pit.
From home: Call 270-885-7500. There are eight operators answering lines. To make sure your bid is received quickly, give the operator the number assigned to your item. The item number is listed on the boards you’ll see on livestream and on the item list. Auctioneers repeat the item numbers frequently for the radio audience.
Anyone listening to the auction, no matter their location, can bid and win items.
A cashier is available at the Memorial Building to accept payments and hand over items during the day and at night during the auction. If you are out of town, you should make arrangements for someone in Hopkinsville to pick up your item.
Spend Big
Several of the auction’s most valuable items are listed separately on The Big Board. Bids for these items are taken on a separate website run by Bolinger Real Estate and Auction. This year the Big Board includes two Taylor Swift tickets.
How to Give
Most of the money raised during auction week comes from donations to the Hour Club and the Goat Club. This money goes into college scholarships and to the Hopkinsville Rotary Foundation, which in turn makes grants to programs benefiting the community.
Make a donation online to the Hour Club. (A $182 donation covers one credit hour of tuition at Hopkinsville Community College.) Or call 270-886-3034. Want to see who has given? The donors are listed here.
Want to make a smaller donation? Do that through the Goat Club.
Another Way to Help
If you own a business and want to donate merchandise or gift cards for the auction, call 270-886-3034.
Let’s Eat
The Rotary Diner will serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The dinner special Friday is fried catfish. Saturday you can get a steak sandwich.
Yes, they swipe cards at the Rotary Diner and the Sweet Shop.
For lunch carry-out orders, call 270-885-8424
What’s Possible
Last year the Rotary Auction’s final tally was $536,335, which set a new record.
Who Does the Work?
Hoptown Chronicle has been featuring “Faces of the Auction” to highlight some of the volunteers who make the event work.
2023 Auction Tally
The following totals reflect the money raised through the main auction, Rotary Diner and Sweet Shop, and the Hour Club. Through the first three nights, the auction total was down $11,260.74 from the same point last year, when the organization set an all-time fundraising record.
| Monday | $124,159.50 |
| Tuesday | $60,120.50 |
| Wednesday | $78,226.00 |
| Thursday | $52,090.93 |
| Grand Total | $314,596.93 |
2023 Rotary Foundation Grants
In 2021, the auction’s fundraising power spurred the creation of the Hopkinsville Rotary Foundation, which makes grants to programs that benefit the community. This week’s distributions have included:
Monday
- $5,000 for educational programs at Jeffers Bend
- $3,500 for special needs swimming lessons and equipment at Hopkinsville YMCA
- $100,000 for an inclusive playground on Pardue Lane
Tuesday
- $5,000 for the Christian County Literacy Council to assist with publishing a book for local children that will be dedicated in memory of Carolyn “Mrs. Pickle” Haddock — a long-time supporter of the Rotary Auction
- $15,000 to the Pennyroyal Arts Council for youth camps and arts programming
Wednesday
- $8,000 to establish EarlyAct clubs at Crofton, South Christian, Indian Hills and Pembroke elementary schools
- $12,000 to Gateway Academy to renew its support of the “Industry All Stars” programming
Thursday
- $5,000 to the Christian County Agri Business Association for the Rotary Impact Agriculture pathway
- 25,000 to the Christian County and Hopkinsville high school bands, to be split equally between the programs, to upgrade musical instruments
If You Go
When: 6-10 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. until the last item is sold Saturday
Where: Memorial Building, 1202 S. Virginia St.
Watch and Listen: On WHOP Radio 98.7 FM or on Hopkinsville Rotary’s website
Bid: Call 270-885-7500
Eat: At the Rotary Diner for lunch 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and dinner 5 to 8 p.m.
Donate: On the club’s Hour and Goat Club site
Don’t miss: Fried catfish for Friday’s dinner
This story was updated to reflect final auction totals.
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.
