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On Thursday, October 2nd, the doors
opened at 5 p.m. at Collision Concepts for the annual Pink Pumpkin
Fundraiser Auction to benefit the American Cancer Society. Guests
arrived early and were more than ready to enjoy the silent auction
portion of the event, and the food that was offered beforehand.
The serving line for the food was
manned by Jennifer and Malina Luckhart and Jackie McCray, while
Laura Long and Mindy Miner were overseeing the service of a variety
of wines and beers along with Tammy Mullins and Kathy Gooden. The
supper menu included pulled pork sliders, chips, coleslaw, and a
variety of mini cupcakes.
As guests walked in the door, they had an opportunity to take a
paddle for the live auction from Annie Coers, then were invited to
stand for a posed picture before hitting the food line. Posed
pictures were taken by LDN staff JA Hodgdon-Ruppel and Angela
Reiners.
The silent auction ran from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and provided shoppers
with more than 100 items to choose from.
Also going on at that time was the
sale of luminaria overseen by Bill Post and Tonita Reifsteck and the
sale of mystery bags, overseen by Mike and Nancy Cunningham and
Janic Funk.
At 6 p.m. the silent auction was closed, and the Pink Pumpkin
planning committee came to stand in front of the audience to welcome
all guests and get the live auction going.
The planning committee consisted of
Karen Castelein, Annie Coers, Cindy Guyett, Jennifer Luckhart,
Angela Reiners, and Nila Smith. They were joined at the front of the
building by Erv Guyett.
Guests were welcomed and thanked for their attendance. Cindy Guyett
delivered a special thank you to Jeff Toenjes with PPG Glass and
Dust & Sons for pitching in to cover the food costs.
Attention was also drawn to the
large thank you board on display that listed all the donors of items
for the two auctions as well as other supporters who contributed to
the success of the evening.
Before starting the auction, a
moment of silence was observed for those whose names appeared on the
luminaria that had been placed on the floor along the live auction
tables.
Because there was a pamphlet
produced this year that offered information about the work of the
American Cancer Society including services provided in Logan County,
there was no need to mention that information during the welcome,
which meant that the auction got started within just a few minutes.
Logan County Fair royalty was introduced, with Junior Miss Courtney
Cecil and Little Miss Vayda Farmer serving as the “Vannas” for the
evening. Then auctioneers Ty and Cody Tucker were introduced, and
the final leg of the evening was underway.
Among the high-ticket items this
year was the pink pedal tractor donated by Central Illinois Ag and
Darren Schempp of Atlanta. The tractor sold to Tim & Liberty Canady
of Modern Brake in Lincoln for $1,000 with a match made by Lincoln
Daily News for $1000, making the total sale $2,000.
Also hitting the $1,000 mark was a
hot air balloon ride for two donated by local balloonist Seth
Goodman. The high bidder was Sarah Herron of Salus Wellness. That
bid was also matched by ME Realty of Lincoln to a total sale of
$2,000.
A Yeti cooler filled with Yeti and
Cintas products and swag was donated by Cintas and brought in $850
for the American Cancer Society. The item was purchased by Kannon
Brown.
One moment of cuteness was caught
on camera by LDN photographer Stephanie Hall when Barbara George won
the bid for a little minion-like fellow created by Carol Charron and
donated by LaForge Automotive Repair in Lincoln. When the high bid
was announced, the Junior Miss and Little Miss delivered the item to
Barbara and her little girl Sophia. Then they spent some time
celebrating the win with Sophia.
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This year there was another special
item donated to the auction by the 2024 Little Miss Logan County
Fair Olivia Harmsen. Olivia put together a basket of her “Favorite
Things” that included lip balm, pink nail polish, a $50 Sorrento’s
Pizza gift card, and popcorn from Abe’s. She also included in her
favorite things baking, with cookies she made herself, and crafting
with a sun catcher and gift tags that she had also made. When her
item was on the block, Olivia joined Jr. Miss Courtney and Little
Miss Vayda in showing off the item which was purchased by Tim &
Libby Canady of Modern Brake for $225.
There were more than 50 items in
the auction, and all of them were amazing.
Some of the other items that gained
a lot of attention from bidders was the pink bicycle that came back
to the auction for the third year. The bike arrived on the scene
first at the 2023 auction, donated by Annie Coers and Tremont Bank
and purchased by Laurie Paige of Bee’s Landscaping. A few days after
the auction, Paige brought the bike to LDN and said she wanted to
donate it back for the next auction. LDN stored the bike for a year,
then brought it back in 2024. The second year, it was purchased by
Greg Patel who after the auction told Erv Guyett that he too would
be donating it back for the next auction. Therefore the bike
returned in 2025 and was sold again to the benefit of the American
Cancer Society.
Other fun items offered in the
auction included a pink battery powered child-size Bentley
convertible that could also be operated by remote control. The
audience enjoyed watching the little car roam driverless across the
span of the live auction area.
A hand made breast cancer awareness
flag, donated by Michelle Bauer was a popular item and a pink
camouflage pumpkin stack with a hunter’s cap and bow and arrow
donated by Bee’s Landscaping was also a delight to see.
Marsha Hurley blessed the auction
with her third handmade quilt in as many years, and Kathleen
Brumbaugh donated her traditional survivor blanket, made from
survivor t-shirts from past years Relay for Life events. Georgia
Green donated a beautiful patriotic quilt that was another popular
item at the auction.
One lovely surprise of the evening
was the high bid brought in by a counted cross stitch farm scene
donated by Mark Seggelke. The lovely, framed piece was popular with
several bidders, but won by only one. Jane Bryson finally delivered
the winning bid of $1,025 for the beautiful work of art.
After just right at 90 minutes, the
auction came to a conclusion with the final item being a VIP cinema
basket donated by Vonderlieth Living Center in Mt. Pulaski. The item
was won by Laurie Paige of Bee’s Landscaping for a top bid of $280.
Carrying on what is becoming a personal tradition of buying and
giving away goodies. Paige gave the bucket to Junior Miss Courtney
and Little Miss Vayda as a special thank you for a job well done at
the Pink Pumpkin Auction.
With the auction completed the final step of the evening was the
check out stations manned by Amanda Bowman and Cassie Follis of
Collision Concepts and Devyn Fry and her fiancé Gabe VanSlambrouck
of Lincoln Daily News. While this is always the most challenging
part of the evening, the staff handled it well and, for the most
part, buyers were patient waiting their turn.
All of the money raised on Thursday night goes directly to the
American Cancer Society to benefit of all cancer warriors in Logan
County.
In 2024 the ACS provided 104
overnight stays for warriors who had to travel out of Logan County
for treatment and from January to August 2025 55 stays with a total
value of $24,250.
In addition, $237,350 was invested in grants for patient
transportation and other services to 15 hospital and health care
systems in the central Illinois region.
The Pink Pumpkin planning committee and its support team wish to
express their heart felt appreciation to all those who donated to
the 2025 auction and to all those who attended and made purchases.
Whether it was a small item bought at the silent auction or a $1,000
winning bid at the live, every penny gained is going to help someone
in need in the coming year. The committee counts every dollar as a
blessing and a strong motivator to keep the momentum going for years
to come.
[Nila Smith] |
