Attendees bid on items during the silent auction portion of the evening. |
Great Gold Rush Auction Surpasses Goal
June 22, 2007
Halton Arena - For the second straight year, the Charlotte 49ers Athletic Foundation's Great Gold Rush Auction surpassed its goal of raising a quarter of a million dollars. The 24th annual event, held on Saturday, June 2 at Halton Arena raised $257,000. Over 625 attendees, including several corporate and community leaders in Charlotte bid on over 1200 items, valued at over $400,000.
"Our auction was a huge success," said Kelly Weatherman, Assistant Director of the Athletic Foundation. "The support we continually get from the community in terms of donations and the activity from the attendees makes this evening an annual happening in Charlotte. Once again, we were able to surpass our lofty goal, all in the name of assisting our athletic scholarship fund and strengthening our athletic program."
Proceeds from the auction go directly to the 49ers Athletic Scholarship fund.
This year, Ellison Clary, a member of the Athletic Foundation's Board of Director's, served as Auction Chair. Chartwells, a division of the Compass Group, served as the presenting sponsor.
"We could not accomplish all that we do in this evening without a great deal of volunteer assistance and we appreciate the great leadership that Ellison provided. Our partnership with Chartwells has also been instrumental in the success of this event, so I would like to thank them, as well," Weatherman added.
Unique items included at the auction were a round of golf with university Chancellor Phil Dubois at Quail Hollow Club, a round of golf with Charlotte 49ers head men's basketball coach Bobby Lutz at TPC Piper Glen and a dinner for six at the Chancellor's Residence. In addition, the 49ers were able to add a last minute round of golf for four with 49ers head golf coach Jamie Green, whose 49ers had finished third at the Div. I NCAA Championships earlier in the day.
The evening was hosted by former President and CEO of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company Dale Halton and Mark Colone, Vice President of the Signature Sports Group which serves as the 49ers' external marketing arm. Among those in attendance were Chancellor Philip Dubois and his wife, Lisa Lewis Dubois; former United States Ambassador Mark Erwin; Irwin Belk, Tom and Lib Phillips, Pat Rodgers, President and CEO of Rodgers Builders; Tim Marburger, President of Marburger Automotive Group; and Lee Armstrong, Vice President and General Manager of WSOC-TV.
Items ranged from furniture, electronics, appliances, sporting goods, memorabilia and artwork to one-of-a-kind opportunities like "Coach for a Day" items with 49ers head men's basketball coach Bobby Lutz and head women's basketball coach Karen Aston, and get-away vacations to such destinations as Maui; Telluride, Colorado; Mazatlan; Hilton Head and Grandfather Mountain.
The Athltic Foundation will celebrate the Silver Anniversary of the event with next year's 25th Annual Great Gold Rush Auction, scheduled for May 31, 2008 at Halton Arena.
