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Charity and the Highest Bidder
by Tony Nafe
The black labrador puppy with the bright red collar is carried around the room so each of the 250 guest get a good look at those big brown eyes...
'200 now
three, now four, now five, do I hear six, yes, thank you, now seven, I think I would, thank you, 800 dollars now nine, 1,000, now 1,500 and 1,800, do I hear 2,000, 2,200, ma'am are you going to let someone else
take that puppy home for twenty two hundred dollars, twenty five, yes, thank you, I knew you wouldn't let me down. Going once, going twice, sold to the lady in the stunning blue dress."
You've
just witnessed a well dressed, obviously successful woman pay twenty five hundred dollars for the cutest $250 puppy you have ever seen. Insanity? Far from it. It's all about charity and it's all about
auctions, and it's a marriage made in heaven.
There are literally hundreds of worthy charities that compete on an annual basis for a finite number of dollars. Traditional direct mail solicitations for
donations are not producing the funds they once did, and as a result many charities are turning to the gala charity auction.
Guest pay $50 to $250 per plate for an evening of gourmet food, libations and first rate entertainment. So, where does the auction come in? The
auction is the entertainment. If you don't believe it you only have to watch Jack Granger an auctioneer with Granger, Thagard & Associates, Inc. work a room. You will never see people spending so much money,
having so much fun, and accomplishing so much good all at the same time.
Jack Granger, is one moment Dean Martin and the next Jerry Lewis, one minute the suave sophisticate and the next the good ol' boy
from South Alabama, and that is the secret to his success.
Granger, Thagard and Associates, Inc. is a full service auction firm in Birmingham, Alabama that specializes in real estate and other significant
asset auctions. Over the past few years, however, Jack Granger has found himself in high demand as a celebrity auctioneer for charities like Cystic Fibrosis, The Leukemia Society, The Heart Association, private
schools and wildlife organizations.
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