BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Editor
The Union County Annual 4-H Association Auction was held Friday, Aug. 12 at the Hal Y. Maines Community Center at the lake, with a meal and active and silent auctions. The event was sponsored by the Union County 4-H Association, made up of Karen Cossey, Ashkea Dyal, Christy Huntley, Anna Woods, Eric Williams and David Stegall, a group organized to support 4-H and raise funds for its programs.
About 150 people attended the event, first to enjoy a meal and social time and then to bid on the items donated for the auctions to raise funds for 4-H activities throughout the coming year. A total of 59 items for the active auction and another 70 items for the silent auction were donated by local businesses and individuals to help the organization raise funds.
The donated items ran from agricultural products to apparel to baked goods to luxury items. The highest bid item in the live auction was a 3-hour Private Party Acoustic House Party given by local songstress Sondra Hunt, which brought a winning bid of $750.
As usual, the baked good brought some of the highest bids, with Denise Crawford’s “Famous Homemade Cinnamon Rolls” bringing the highest bid in the category at $325. In a humorous mishap that worked out all right in the end, the Pound Cake donated for the live auction by Nancy Stalnaker never made it to the table of auction items. The cake was accidently placed on the dessert buffet and was enjoyed by the attendees long before the item was called for during the auction. Stalnaker saved the day when the mistake was discovered, saying that she would custom bake the winner’s cake of choice if the bidding could proceed. Proceed it did, with a final winning bid of $265.
The silent auction total was a little more than $2,000 while the live auction totaled more than $10,000 to support 4-H programs in the county.
Union County 4-H clubs and their leaders assisted with serving the meal and displaying items for the live auction. The clubs, and their leaders, are: Baas and Billies Goat Club – Kayla Kadlac, Bullseye Brigade Archery Club – Eric and Emily Wilson & Shane and Kimberly Collins, Clover Buds – Meagan Daniel, Dirty Boots Country Roots – Sondra Hunt, Pig Tails and Pony Tails – Selena Chassie, Providence Friendship Club – Luke and Erin Harlow, Sugarberries – Angela Griffis, UCHS Community Service Club – Meagan Daniel and the Union County Club – Meagan Daniel, Union County Homeschool Club – Ashkea Dyal, Shannon Croft and Karen Elixson.
The donors who made the event possible were: David Stegall, Elixson’s Lumber, Union Power Equipment, Williams Gas, Badcock Furniture, Biellings Tires, Hamilton Farms, Eric Wilson, the Hendrix Family, Ward Timber, Karlee Cason, Tana Godwin, The Ag Shop, Crafty Beach, Barbara’s Florist, Anisha Waters, Dukes Legal, Nutrition Hideaway, Laredo, Whipped by Ken, Spires IGA, Mac Johns, Emily McMinn, Hillandale Feed, Joe Hendricks, Mayo Ag Services, Pritchett Trucking, Welch’s, Hobo Tractor, Shadd Trucking, Strickland’s Scoop, Colleen Branned, Ink and Thread, Gina Bennett, Thomas Hardware, the Osteen Family, Kristen Muse, Commissioner Lacey Cannon, Chavarria’s Lawn Enforcement, Boone’s Septic, Daniel Trucking, Wilbur Andrews, Kathy Bielling, Murray Ford, Jan Thomas, Julie Denson, J.R. Rooney, Becky Raulerson, Swift Creek Trucking, Liberty Trucking, Kristin Muse, Denise Crawford, NAPA Auto Parts, Luke Harlow, Dadant, Bobbie Oden, Richard and Kasey Kelley, Village Doctors, Providence Woodworks, Lake Butler Farm Center, Debbie Osborne/Lisa Johnson, Providence Friendship Club, Phillip McDonald Plumbing, 21 On Main, North Florida Equipment Rental, Lake Butler City Commissioners, 4-H Homeschool Club, Crystal Elixson, Alachua Farm and Lumber, Keli’s Esthetics, Ripples Cake Pops, The Lavender House, Crystal Rosier, Lake City Chiropractic and Massage, North Florida Custom Meats, Commissioner Jimmy Tallman, Sondra Hunt, Union County Sheriff Brad Whitehead (who donated the chicken and rice for the buffet) and auctioneer Matt Westmoreland (who donated his professional services to the event.
Union County 4-H and the 4-H Association would like to thank all of the donors and bidders that came out to bid for making the event possible.
