It’s a wrap! Another Civic Auction has come and gone, and it was a great success. Of course, it would not be possible without our wonderful sponsors, volunteers, donors, and supporters to whom we are very grateful.   

We’re still crunching numbers, but it looks to be shaping up to be one of the best yet. You may ask, what exactly does the Chamber do with the money raised during the auction? We’re glad you asked!  

Money raised during the auction helps fund various Terrell community events and programs, such as scholarships given to local high school students; educational programs like job training, career and technology programs; the end-of-year teacher appreciation breakfast; the veterans memorial wall; the annual Christmas parade; the Fourth of July fireworks display; Terrell Jubilee; community beautification; and marketing and promotion of the city of Terrell. 

This year we had a new opportunity to use the auction platform to give back to the community. Kevin Prouty donated a wooden American flag that he handcrafted, with the suggestion that we get local veterans to sign the flag and then include it as one of our auction items to donate the proceeds to Terrell State Hospital’s Volunteer Services Council (TSH VSC) to help fund needs for the new veterans’ wing at the hospital. The flag, along with a steel plaque created by Chad Dunn, was the first item in our live auction. Local long-time business owners and philanthropists, David and Shirley Landua, were the winning bidders at $4,500. They presented a check for $4,500 to the TSH VSC on Wednesday.  

In Terrell we are so fortunate to have a community of business owners and leaders, as well as volunteers, that are so willing to give of their time and resources to benefit the people of Terrell. The auction requires a couple hundred volunteers to pull off, from soliciting donations, to two days of setup, transporting items, decorating, working during the event, tear down, and clean up. We’d like to thank each of you who volunteered your time to pull off another successful event.  

We’d also like to thank our sponsors once again: AutoZone, Helwig & Son, Madix, Musser Motors, Nucor, Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, Platinum Ford/Platinum Chrysler Dodge Ram Jeep, Schulman Theaters/Film Alley, U-Rent-It, and our raffle sponsor, American National Bank. There are other local businesses who provided complimentary support during the event: ANTS Technology got us hooked up with internet; Terrell Alarm Systems provided the TV screens and A/V; TVCC provided desktop computers and monitors for our use during the event; Shooters Texas provided gun transfer services; Anchor Printing provided the event tickets; and Kevin and Lori Prouty captured the memories with amazing candid and souvenir photos.   

As you can see, Terrell businesses are a huge part of this event and what makes it successful. We’re so thrilled to be able to turn the profit from all of their hard work and support right back into the community. After all, that is why they do it…and that is why we do it.   

Thank you to our auction co-chairs for this year—Wayne Babovec, RHSR Insurance and Jeff Smith, Farmers Insurance—as well as our board of directors. And of course, I must give thanks to our Chamber team. They work on the auction year-round, but have worked relentlessly on this effort over the last several weeks. This year we were a less experienced group, with three rookies and one staff member who participated for only her second year. I’m proud of our team and how they jumped right in to be sure this was a successful event.