Rotary Auction Store Room Grand Opening
Aroostook County - A store in the Aroostook Centre Mall boasting northern Maine's largest silent auction will open weekends for the month leading into the Holiday Season. Presque Isle Rotarians and members of the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce will hold an official grand opening and ribbon cutting for the new Rotary Auction Store in the former location of Deb, just off the mall food court, on Friday evening, November 17, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The store, one of many new, exciting changes to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Annual Presque Isle Rotary Auction, will open weekends through December 17th when it transitions to the spot for successful TV Auction bidders to pick up their items. The Presque Isle Rotary TV Auction will be broadcast live on WAGM TV's Fox affiliate station (channel 12 for area Spectrum Cable subscribers) on Saturday, December 16, beginning at 12:00 noon and running through 7:00 p.m. The Auction will also be webcast on wagmtv.com.
An official printed listing of items valued at more than $40,000 and up for bid on the TV Auction is now available throughout Aroostook County at all Katahdin Trust Company locations. The bank, which celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2018, is an official marketing partner of the 70th Annual Presque Isle Rotary Auction. In addition to the Katahdin Trust Company banking locations, the listing is available at the Rotary Auction Mall Store, numerous businesses across Aroostook County, and on-line on the Presque Isle Rotary Club website and Facebook pages, wagmtv.com and the Katahdin Corner on the Katahdin Trust Company website.
The Rotary Auction Store in the mall will feature exclusive merchandise and gift certificates, valued at nearly $10,000, that will not be offered on the December 16th broadcast, and that patrons can place bids on using silent auction sheets. Shoppers will also have the opportunity to "Buy It Now" for ten percent above the retail price noted - with all proceeds going to the Presque Isle Rotary Club. Additionally, bid sheets will be available for the Auction Broadcast "Big Board" items, that will be displayed in the store, encouraging patrons to "bid up" the items before they go on the on-air auction block.
"The Rotary Auction Store (and the TV Auction) will have something for everyone looking for that perfect Christmas gift, and all under one roof," said Clint Deschene, who is managing the store and co-chairing this year's Rotary Auction along with fellow Rotarian Jason Parent. "Those who have their eye on some of the great items, including snow blowers, high valued gift certificates to some of the County's finest businesses, and dozens and dozens of the larger items that will appear on TV auction 'big boards,' will have a chance to see them in person and place their bids before they go on air. Store patrons will also have the opportunity to place bids on more than 100 other items that are exclusive to the store - or, if they so wish - buy them on the spot."
In addition to serving as an extension of the Auction, the store will be the venue for the Wintergreen Arts Center CHAIR-ity Auction. Fifty originally designed chairs of various sizes, the creation of numerous area artists, will be on display and available for patrons to place bids on. Chairs will be exclusive to the Auction Store and will be up for bid through December 17 at 12:00 noon.
Visitors to the Rotary Auction Store at the Aroostook Centre Mall will also be able to purchase tickets for a special 50/50 super draw, and purchase special commemorative Christmas tree ornaments being sold by the Presque Isle Kiwanis Club. Proceeds from ornament sales support the collaborative effort by the Kiwanis Club, Presque Isle Rotary Club, United Way of Aroostook and the City of Presque Isle on a project designed to improve outdoor recreation and play opportunities for area families by way of a new playground area at Riverside Park.
The Presque Isle Rotary Club has designated this initiative as its "Community Project" in lieu of a "Special Project" as part of its 70th Annual Rotary Auction. Rotarians will also designate a portion of the milestone year auction general proceeds to the park project. Renderings of what the new Presque Isle Riverside Park Playground will look like, when complete in 2018, are on display in the Rotary Auction Store. More information on the project will be available, and donations to support the project will be accepted on-site.
"Excitement is building for both our 70th Rotary Auction and for our collaborative community undertaking to bring new playground equipment to Riverside Park for children and families to enjoy," said Parent. "The opening of our Rotary Auction Store serves as the official kick-off to this year's auction and public launch to our effort to ask community donors to support the Community Project. We are continually grateful and profoundly appreciative of the support our club has received from the community over the past seven decades and look forward to the community rallying with us as we celebrate 70 years of a great community tradition."
For more information on the 70th Annual Rotary Auction, contact Parent at jparent@acap-me.org or Deschene at deschenec@sad1.org. To inquire about the Community Project to build a new playground at Riverside Park or to donate, contact Rotarians Jane Towle at janetowle@maine.rr.com or Sarah Ennis at Sarah.Ennis@townsquaremedia.com.
