10 minute read
Day concludes with Night of Knights
Auction-goers brows the aisles at a past Night of Knights auction. The auction, held at St. Mary’s School, expects to raise over $150,000 to support the school that year. (Press le photo)
By JEFFREY JACKSON jjackson@owatonna.com
OWATONNA — Last year’s new theme for the annual Night of Knights bene t auction for St. Mary’s School in Owatonna must have worked. The fundraiser was the nal fund-raising event of the day — along with Bowl for Kids’ Sake and Young Life Cake Auction — dubbed the Day of Giving. And, just as those two other fundraising, also dedicated to organizations dedicated to enhancing the life of children, so, too, did the Night of Knights break records in how much it raised. Then in its 33rd edition, last year’s Night of Knights brought in $215,000 in a single night. And that, said Marie Olinger, co-chair of last year’s auction, was pro t, after expenses were taken out. The new theme for last year — a theme that will be resurrected this year and next as part of the event’s three-year cycle for themes — was “Adventure Awaits” and focused on the great outdoors. As in years past, attendees to the event were encouraged to dress in clothes that t the theme. One year, when the theme was “The Wild West,” organizers encouraged people to dress in western garb. Attendees at last year’s evening event — about 500 in all — seemed to get into the spirit of the outdoor theme, if the preponderance of annel was any indication. But even more than getting into the spirit of the theme, what made last year’s event so successful was how those in attendance got into the spirit of generosity that permeated the evening. Karen Spielman, the other co-chair for last year’s event, said it best last year when she Continued on next page
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Auction-goers at Saturday’s Night of Knights bene t auction at St. Mary’s School in Owatonna look over some of the 300 baskets available in the silent auction in the April 2019 event. (People’s Press le photo)
said, “Our community is amazing — the businesses and the individuals. They’re so generous. It’s absolutely incredible.”
With barely a hitch
But it wasn’t just the community at large that makes the evening so successful, Spielman said. She also pointed to the work of the volunteers who make the fundraiser come off with barely a hitch. Last year, the committee, comprised of 11 couples who did, in Spielman’s words, an “admirable job,” did a little work over the rest of spring and summer. Then comes autumn.
The committee members generally make a three-year commitment to the auction. And many, if not most, of the committee members join the committee because they have children who attend St. Mary’s. They understand how important it is to support the school. And it’s not just the committee members who get involved, she said. “It’s far broader than that,” she said, “so much support.” There were 300 silent auction items donated and up for bid with 40 live auction items, Spielman said. And, of course, there are the children. Not only do the children bene t from the funds raised, as the money that is taken in goes directly and only to the school they attend, but each class at St. Mary’s makes a classroom basket for the auction. And it’s not just about making baskets to raise money for the school — 85% of the proceeds going to the school’s general fund, 15% going for the Home and School Association. The baskets themselves are a part of the children’s education. Take, for example, some years back when two rst-grade classes worked on a “penguin basket.” Sure, penguins are cute, but that wasn’t the reason the teacher selected that for the basket’s theme. Rather, the children spent most of January learning about different kinds of penguins. The penguin basket tied into the children’s curriculum. The other rst-grade classroom that year worked on a Curious George basket, celebrating the stories about the curious monkey in children’s books. The children wrote a story saying what they thought Curious George was curious about — a clever way in which the teacher, who said she encourages her students to be curious, discovered what the children were curious about, by allowing the children to express their own curiosities from the viewpoint of a children’s book monkey.
As one might expect, the baskets are a big draw during the event, with parents often trying to outbid one another and to drive the amount paid up for bragging rights.
Spirit of the Night
In addition to the live and silent auctions, the evening offers many several raf es, a wall of wine and top-shelf liquor pull, good and beverages for purchase and a Spirit of the Night portion.
St. Mary’s Night of Knights Auction attendees browse through the live auction items early in the evening in 2013. (People’s Press le photo)
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Because of the harsh weather conditions one year, the Night of Knights Auction Committee made the last-minute decision to post the silent auction items online to allow those stuck at home a chance to bid on items. (People’s Press le photo)
able to raise funds for during the Night of Knights. Last year, the special project was the replacement of the bleachers in the school’s gymnasium.
“The bleachers in our gym are unsafe and quite old,” said co-chair Olinger of last year’s designated project.
But replacing the old, unsafe bleachers came with a hefty price tag — $50,000, to be exact.
“They can’t be repaired without custom work,” Oliger said before last year’s auction. “We’re hoping to raise at least $50,000 for a modern bleacher system.”
Local business support
As with other Day of Giving events — Bowl for Kids’ Sake and the Young Life Cake Auction — the Night of Knights auctions is supported heavily by the Owatonna business community. There was the year, for example that two HVAC systems, donated by Dave Lax of Central Heating and A/C of Owatonna — each system valued at $8,000 — sold for$10,000 apiece during the live auction — and that during a year when the event nearly didn’t happen.
But the local businesses not only support the event in terms of the items they donate for the auctions, silent and live, but also by the funds they supply to the event.
Take, for example, Federated Insurance. A few years back, when the oors of the school were in disrepair and needed to be xed and even replaced, the Owatonnabased insurance company stepped in with a $100,000 dollar-for-dollar match, with the matching funds going directly to the building loan that was used to x the school’s oors.
The Night that almost wasn’t
they thought, they would be the ones bidding on everything.
But the community put their fears to rest as more than 400 people showed up that night.
And the committee made the last-minute decision to open up the silent auction online, allowing people at home to bid.
One year the members of the committee were worried. Terribly so. Though on the calendar it said it was spring — April, of course — the day was lled with snow. Lots of snow. And as the weather that Saturday continued to worsen throughout the day, the committee members grew ever more anxious. The parking lot was plowed, and plowed again, still the committee members were concerned that few people — perhaps 70 at the most — would show up. Perhaps, The Night of Knights caps off the three-event day in Owatonna that raises money for youthrelated organizations.
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