BY CLIFF SMELLEY
A postponement didn’t seem to affect the attendance at the Bradford County 4-H auction, with the assembled crowd inside Starke’s Gov. Charley E. Johns Conference Center combining to raise a little more than $8,000 in support of 4-H youth.
The event, which was held Nov. 7, didn’t take place on its original date of Oct. 10 due to Hurricane Milton.
“I’m really excited to see such a great turnout here tonight, especially considering this event got pushed back a whole month,” “We are very grateful for you all who showed up tonight. Thank you for that.”
Guests, who enjoyed a meal provided by Hill’s BBQ and Catering, were able to take part in both silent and live auctions. The silent auction raised $2,084, while the live auction resulted in a total sale of $6,110.
Hunter Williams served as auctioneer, doing his best to get the most amount of money he could out of 28 items in the live auction. He also generated laughter with some of his comments on items.
A Skull Mounts by Zack voucher, which was good for one alligator, bear, deer or hog skull mount, prompted Williams to say, “It is pretty self-explanatory, but you do have to provide the animal. It will not be provided for you.”
When he felt the item wasn’t generating enough bids, Williams said, “You all must not be real good shots. You don’t have very much confidence in yourself.”
When it came time to bid on a Death-by-Chocolate cake made by Pam Whitehead, Williams said, “It looks like diabetes in a bowl, but you don’t have to worry about it until tomorrow. You’ve got to eat it first.”
One item was a quilt made by Virginia Crews that featured the image of a tractor. When the 4-H members who were displaying the item for bidders unfolded it, the tractor was pointing upward.
“The tractor’s going uphill,” said Williams, who later added, “That’s a fancy tractor there. It goes straight up. I haven’t ever seen another one like it in all my life.”
The quilt, which sold for $240, was one of 15 items that sold for $200 or more. A TriStar Viper G2 20-guage youth-model shotgun donated by Bradford Gun sold for $600, while two items sold for at least $400: a strawberry cake made by Virginia Autry sold for $420, while a Traeger Pro 22 pellet grill donated by Hamilton Farms sold for $400.
Some other items that generated the most money included:
—Blackstone 28-inch two-burner griddle donated by Hamilton Custom Services, $360.
—Stihl FS 91 R weed trimmer donated by Ag-Pro, $320.
—Carrot cake made by Barry Whitehead, $300.
—Pecan cheesecake made by Lori Caren, $300.
—Hummingbird cake made by Crystal Elixson, $280.
—Certificate for cattle fitting and clipping donated by Clay Whitehead, $270.
—Gift-card basket donated by Green Acres 4-H Club, $260.
—Certificate for four round bales of hay donated by Terry Whitehead, $260.
—Wooden American flag made by Brown Acres Woodworks club, $240.
—Certificate for 20 square bales of hay donated by Joe Hendricks, $210.
—DeWalt drill set, crescent-wrench set and LED work light donated by Jackson Building Supply, $200.
The cake made by Lori Caren was the night’s last item, so Williams did his best to encourage the bidders to go all out, saying the cake was “the most popular thing” in the auction.
“I bet that’s what you came here for,” Williams said, adding, “It’s a pecan cheesecake that is known in all parts of India, Afghanistan and the other half of the world. If you haven’t ever had it, it’s worth it. It’s worth the money. I don’t care what it brings — $2,000 — it’s worth it.”
Barry Whitehead donated five items to the auction, including four Boston butts he would smoke and have ready for pick up the day before Thanksgiving. The butts collectively sold for $480.
As an event that benefitted the 4-H program, it, of course, featured the help of several 4-H youth. Lane Hartley and Saylor Rhoden led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance and the 4-H pledge, while Dylan Brown provided the blessing for the meal. Youth also displayed the auction items, walking them around the room so bidders could get a better look.
During a break in the live auction, 4-H member Shayna Durrance presented a speech that earned her third place at the state level and qualified her for nationals (see related post).
Scarborough made a few brief remarks about 4-H, though she assumed many people there knew all about the organization.
“I’m assuming most of you in this room know what 4-H is if you’re here supporting it. Right? It is an awesome, youth-development organization,” Scarborough said. “You probably think of 4-H and think agriculture, but we do a lot of things beyond agriculture as well.”
Scarborough said the Bradford program currently consists of nine community clubs, one after-school club and one livestock-judging team.
“We are doing well in all areas and working on expanding our reach throughout the county and providing more opportunities for youth here,” Scarborough said.
Scarborough thanked those who donated items for both auctions as well as those who were table sponsors. The table sponsors were entered into a drawing for an Igloo cooler (donated by Suburban Carpet Cleaners), with DLPbank’s name being drawn.
Besides DLPbank, table sponsors were AAA Hay and Trucking, Belle Oaks Barn, Bradford County Farm Bureau, Bradford County Sheriff’s Office, Broome and Durrance families, C&S Site Prep and Thompson’s Garage, Bradford County Commissioner Diane Andrews, Crews family, Darling Ingredients Inc., Focused Vision Education Consultants, LLC, Hamilton Farms, Pipeline Contractors Inc., Rockin’ N Farms (Ray and Nancy Norman), Suburban Carpet Cleaners, Whitehead Family Cattle and the Wilson family.
Follow what’s happening with Bradford 4-H on Facebook (UF IFAS Extension Bradford County 4-H). You may also call 904-966-6224 for more information.
