Sweet Home turned out with generosity Saturday night for the Boys & Girls Club Fall Auction held at the local club.
The event, sponsored by Melcher Logging and Timber Harvesting Inc., drew nearly 200 people for a dinner of barbecued chicken and pulled pork.
The “Redneck Red Carpet Affair” theme was faithfully represented in attendees’ attire, which included pop-can curlers, overalls, cut-off short shorts, and all manner of flannel shirts and camouflage.
“It was a great night and Sweet Home showed their support for their kids,” said Kris Latimer, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Santiam.
Money raised exceeded by more than $30,000 the club’s goal of $109,000, Latimer said. That is equal to a quarter of the Sweet Home branch’s annual budget, she said. The Sweet Home branch earlier this year was threatened with closure due to lack of funding.
Live auction items included an original metal elk skull mount that sold to two buyers for $4,300 each, a Browning French walnut rifle with a Leupold scope that went for $2,400, various vacation, hunting and fishing trips, and a purebred white English golden retriever puppy, that brought $3,600.
The club’s average daily attendance at the club is increasing “weekly” as youngsters take advantage of the enrichment programs offered, Latimer said.
“It’s a nice problem to have,” she said. “But it means more staffing so we can keep that 1-to-20 staff ratio. These auctions are huge. It’s a ton of work to put on, but without them we’d be out of business.”