Event Coverage
Los Gatos-Saratoga District Annual Pumpkin Auction Raises $7,000
Los Gatos-Saratoga District topped last year's proceeds at its annual Pumpkin Auction this week, raising $7,000 for the Family Giving Tree for Operation Reindeer. California Association of REALTORS® 2005 President and District Chair-elect Jim Hamilton was able to encourage members to be generous this year and think of the children.
"Open your wallets, open your hearts. It's for the kids," said Hamilton.
Operation Reindeer, now coordinated by the Family Giving Tree, is a program that distributes gifts, including food certificates, to needy families and seniors in the community during the holiday season. REALTORS® and affiliates of the Los Gatos-Saratoga District have supported the program for more than 20 years.
Toward the end of the auction, Jim Myrick shared his own experience of being grateful as a child for receiving presents through the program. After sharing his story, Myrick invited members to stand up and pledge $10 each and followed with a "Heads or Tails" fundraising game. The generous contributions from members and the pledge of brokers Brian Crane with Intero Real Estate Services, Doug Evans with Coldwell Banker and Mark von Kaenel with Keller Williams Bay Area Estates to double the amount of members' pledges brought the auction to the $7,000 amount.
This year's auction items included a wide array of decorated pumpkins, fall arrangements, gift baskets with big prizes, including a one-week getaway at the Mayan Palace Condo in Mexico, a round of golf for three at the Saratoga Country Club, a Lake Sonoma vacation getaway, a Shark's themed gift basket coupled with wine and numerous treats, bottles of expensive wine and champagne, and gift certificates to restaurants. A fall floral display donated by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Los Gatos (Doug Evans, broker) and Saratoga (Shawn Carroll, broker) was the largest ever auction item. Von Kaenel won the item for $500.
Thank you to all the individuals and companies that donated auction items, and to members who generously bid on them all for a good cause. Donating many items and prizes were Intero Real Estate Services Los Gatos, Alain Pinel Realtors Los Gatos, Sereno Group Los Gatos, Sereno Group Saratoga, Opes Advisors, Keller Williams Bay Area Estates, Montalvo Realty, Private Mortgage Advisors (Thao Benioff). Special thanks to Diane Chandler with Alain Pinel Realtors Los Gatos, who donates auction items each year, many of which are especially made by her. Thank you, too, to auctioneer Jim Hamilton and Jim Myrick, and to organizers Mary Kay Groth, Liz Doyle, Chandler, and District Chair Ryan Nunnally.
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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.
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