The Carlyle and District Lions Club once again hosted a very successful Dinner and Auction on Thursday, Mar. 5, with this one being their 29th annual event.
This year’s event was once again a sold out evening of entertainment that the community and local Lions Club can take great pride in. Over 200 supportive patrons and guests packed the Memorial Hall in Carlyle to push the success of the event over the top once again.
Over $30,000.00 was raised, adding to the total of over $800,000.00 since the initial charity event.
It was apparent from the time the crowd began to arrive that this was to be a special night for all those attending. The Lions Club, with over 30 members at last count, delivered a evening of entertainment and a welcomed surprise that no one was anticipating or expected.
On hand for the evening was Lions District 5SKS Governor Jim Vermeersch. Vermeersch succeeded Lion Dennis Feduk who held the position until July of 2019. Lorri Matthewson is the current sitting President.
Chairperson for the evening was Wayne Wilson and began a few announcements: Winner of the Ladies Early Bird Draw was Karen Fisher, winner of the Men’s Early Bird Draw was Kelly Rekken, each receiving $100.00 gift certificate.
Next up, was the Grand Prize Draw and after a good spin of the barrel, the lucky winner of $1,000.00 was Gary Anderson.
The call for supper was next, catered by Eileen Corrigan and Linda Chapman, who have been pleasing the hungry crowd since 2006. The delicious buffet supper was roast turkey and roast pork with all the trimmings. The 50/50 was drawn at the conclusion of the meal and Bev Thompson was the lucky winner of $850.00.
Carlyle’s own Auctioneer Ward Cutler, for the 25th time, was in attendance to auction off the bounty of donated merchandise and services. The audience raucously applauded the highly acclaimed auctioneer, as this was assumed to be his last year here in this capacity. Chairperson Wilson, during the introduction also announced that there would be a special presentation to Cutler before bidding began on the final item of the live auction.
Cutler entertained the crowd from the start with his sharp and opportunistic sense of humour. He was happy to be home in Carlyle and before the bidding began, he had to answer the question that was on everyone’s mind, “Was this it?”
“This is the last one . . . till March of 2021”, Cutler rhymed out to a bemused audience, the crowd dramatically relieved that the auctioneer would be “in the room” for the future.
Cutler is a Championship and Award winning Auctioneer and has sold over 2 million head of cattle.
On this night Cutler was able to pull out a whopping bid of $1,400 for “one pie a month” for a year, which drew some of the most heated bidding of the evening. Jolyn Schultz remained steadfast and broke bread on this auction item.
The three NHL Jerseys were next on the block and Element Technical Services Inc. stepped up with the winning bid, selecting the two sweaters donated by hometown brothers and NHL’ers, Haydn and Cale Fleury.
The signed Winnipeg Jets Jersey went next, signaling the suspension of the live auction to commemorate Cutler before the bidding on the final auction item.
Cutler was presented with a crystal etching of his image and he then spoke of his road to where he is today. He now has his sights set to reach one million dollars in funds raised for the Lions signature fundraiser.
Adding to the success of the evening were Jeremy Wilson, who was presented with a gift certificate for his contribution of storage space, the Gordon F. Kells High School students, Craig Savill and Erica Armstrong of the Cornerstone Theatre for managing the bar.
In closing Chairperson Wayne Wilson noted, “As a Club we cannot put this event on without the support of you and the many sponsors that have donated to the supper and auction.
