Event Coverage
Los Altos/Mountain View District Pumpkin Auction Raises $5,000 for Charity
SILVAR pumpkin auctions signal the beginning of the holiday season and the spirit of giving for members. Last Friday, more than 50 SILVAR members attended the Los Altos/Mountain View District Pumpkin Auction held at Hillview Community Center in Los Altos. District Chair Kathryn Tomaino dressed for the occasion in a skeleton suit. She even went all out this year by decorating the breakfast in a festive Halloween theme, with such delicacies like "O-Negative Band-Aid Blood...a flavor everyone can enjoy."
Auction donors introduced their item and enticed members to bid. Greg Bourdeau, manager of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Los Altos, served as auctioneer, encouraging members to bid higher, and so they did. The two "heavy-weights" this year were Alain Pinel Realtors and Coldwell Banker. Alain Pinel Realtors' "Bone Appetit," valued at over $4,000, received the highest bid of $2,200. This auction item included thematic gift items like a $500 gift certificate for dinner at Manresa in Los Gatos (one of the few Michelin 3-star restaurants in the area), a bottle of Rombauer wine, a set of staghorn steak knives, and an animated wolf skeleton.
Coldwell Banker came in a close second, garnering $1,700. The company's entry was a beautifully decorated pumpkin that included a round of golf for four at the Los Altos Golf & Country Club, Pinot Noir from Halcon Winery, a half-page cover ad in the Los Altos Town Crier, CD and tickets for Sam Smith's concert and gift certificates to Present (downtown Los Altos store) and Best Buy Geek Squad. Additional items were an i-guided tour provided by TourFactory and an all-color ad in Homes and Land.
In the end, Los Altos/Mountain View District raised $5,035, surpassing last year's proceeds of $4,500. The money raised will go to the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation.
The District thanks the following donors: Alain Pinel Realtors, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Intero Real Estate Services, The Abigail Company, Sereno Group, Liv Home, First American Home Warranty, Old Republic Home Warranty, Millennial Design, Fidelity National Home Warranty, Rosado Moving Company, Clutterboy and On the Move. Thank you, too, to Greg Bourdeau for serving as auctioneer.
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The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
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