BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Staff Writer
The Union County 4-H Association held its annual fundraising auction this past Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 at the Pine Grove Barn off CR238 in Lake Butler, the use of which was donated for the event by Carissa Emery and Connie Wright, members of the Shadd family. The event began at 6 p.m. with a dinner catered by Brian Barton and paid for through the sale if meal tickets, also featuring chicken and rice donated by Union County Sheriff Brad Whitehead, followed by silent and live auctions and a prize drawing.
As in the past, the items up for bid were donated by local businesses and community members. Several baked goods, produced by well-known Union County Bakers, were included in the live auction. Several interesting items were the doors and windows out of the past home of the Library Co-op, an historical building recently torn down to make room for the new 911 call center, donated by Union County. Jason Stalnaker volunteered his services as auctioneer as 4-H members walked around the tables to let the approx. 150 people see what they were bidding on. After the live auction of 50 items was complete, the winners of the silent auction were informed and the raffle drawing was held, with the winner taking home a Kamado Grill, donated by Lake Butler Farm Center.
When the receipts were all tallied, the silent auction raised $1,613, the live auction $8,765 and the raffle $750, for a total of $11,128. The money will be used to fund 4-H clubs and projects, camps and other activities in the Union County community.
Donors of goods and services for the auction were: Providence Woodworks, Mac Johns, Beth Douglas, Wilbur Andrews, Lake Butler Farm Bureau, Hillandale, Shannon Croft, Mayo Ag Services, Six Petals Flower Company, Hamilton Farms, Welch and Son, Brittney Ranard, Biellings Tire, North Florida Equipment, Hobo Tractor, Swift Creek Trucking, Love at first Bite by Kristin, Nancy Stalnaker, Thomas Hardware, Saltwater Assassin Fishing Charter of Cedar Key, Dustin and Meagan Daniel, Colan Coody, JHC Farms, Nannette Stalnaker, Anisha Waters, Zeb Howard, New River Cattle, M & S Fertilizer (Josh Smith), Kyle Bessent, Pine Tree Quarter Horses, Pritchett Trucking, Julie Denson, Union County, Union Power Equipment, Williams Gas, Crystal Elixson, North Florida Custom Meats, Badcock, Joe Hendricks, Amy Miller, Phillip McDonald Plumbing, the Horse Judging Club, Cloverbuds, Marla Williams, Lake Butler Farm Center, Kettle Kreations, Crystal Rosier, Rural Watermelon, Wendy Coody, Squirreled Out Leatherworks, Kayla Alvarez, NAPA Auto Parts, Keli’s Esthetics, Unbound Boutique, Ink and Thread, Oden Farms, Cotton Candy Craze, Bunny Buddies, Judy Harden, Nutrition Hideaway, Barbara Waddell, Lake Avenue Salon, Kayla Connell, Dukes Legal, Wyman and Polly Griffis and Gayle Williams.
