The Hopkinsville Rotary Club will have its 72nd annual auction April 18 to 23 at the Memorial Building, 1202 S. Virginia St.
Every year the auction features hundreds of goods and services, including country hams, sports memorabilia, furniture, appliances, gift certificates, special events and the occasional live animal. The money raised at the auction funds the Rotary Scholars program at Hopkinsville Community College, in addition to college loans and charities that the club supports.
Rotarian Andrew Wilson, a Hopkinsville mortgage broker, is the auction chairman. The theme this year is “A Volunteer Tradition.”
The main auction will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and from 6 p.m. until the last item is sold on Saturday.
The auction will be broadcast on WHOP radio, 98.7 FM, on Spectrum Cable channel 376 and on the Rotary Club’s website.
Bids can be placed in person at the Memorial Building or by calling 270-885-7500.
The club still needs donated items for the auction, Wilson told Hoptown Chronicle. Donors can call 270-886-3034 to make arrangements for items to be picked up, or they can be dropped off at the Rotary Club office at the Memorial Building during regular business hours.
Rotarians also raise Hour Club donations in $179 increments — the cost of one hour of community college tuition — during the auction week. Traditionally, a large portion of the auction proceeds comes from Hour Club donors.
The auction diner in the Memorial Building will be open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and for dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Special dinners will include smoked chicken on Thursday, a fish fry on Friday and ribeye sandwiches on Saturday.
The club also needs help making desserts for the Sweet Shop. Call the Rotary office at 270-886-3034 to arrange donations.
Wilson said he is not setting an auction goal this year. The 2021 auction raised a record $397,832, the club announced on the final night.
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.
