Yesterday was the auction at the end of a very successful Hays County Livestock Show and these three young ladies were doing everything they could to drum up additional bids for one of their friends. Unlike most auctions, the buyers here don’t leave with the lots they bid on but their purchase money is donated to the kids whose projects they “bought”. The proceeds from the sale go on to finance next year’s projects or, for the older kids, end up in college funds. In addition, many local individuals and businesses provide “add-on” money which tops up the purchase price of their projects.
This was a very long day for those involved. Aside from preparation, the sale itself started at 11am and was still going strong with 100 lots yet to come under the hammer when I left at 5pm. Overall, there were almost 300 lots on the sale catalog comprising all the champions and reserve champions in every class (both animal projects, home-skills projects such as photography, cooking and art, and ag-mechanics projects the winner of which was a beautifully restored old tractor) and as many of the remaining entrants as can be fit into the time available. I don’t know the actual statistics but I suspect that about half the kids who entered a project ended up in the sale.
Local groups and organisations spend each year raising funds through events such as rodeos, balls and dinners and arrive at the auction with a great deal of money to spend. I suspect that somewhere between $300,000 and $400,000 was distributed during yesterday’s event but, again, I don’t know the actual numbers.
You can find all my photos of the event over on SmugMug.
For the technically inclined...