Each year since the late 1980s, our annual auction has raised much-needed funds to keep our Portland-based organization a premier cultural institution for all children and families, regardless of need. For the past four years, we have had one particularly dedicated auction volunteer who has made a huge contribution to our auction leadership team. Her name is Julie Chevalier and she is this year’s auction chairwoman. I asked Julie to share some of her reflections on the auction with us:
Julie Chevalier, 2010 Auction Chair
I moved to Maine in August of 2006 and in October I attended my first Children’s Museum meeting. A friend of mine, whom I had just met, said I had to come because I would meet some fun ladies – and I did!
I jumped in with both feet that year and became the Captain of the Kids category for the annual auction. I had never worked on an auction before – I had never even made a real solicitation call before, either! I was nervous and excited all at the same time.
I did have some great women to help me that year who had worked on the auction for many years and who were able to guide me along. I was amazed when the big day finally came and we set up the whole room with all the silent auction items. I could not believe how many items we had all put together! The night seemed to be the icing on the cake – a really fun night with friends to celebrate our hard work.
Working on the auction allowed me to find all kinds of businesses in the Portland area that might otherwise have taken me years to find. I found myself seeking out restaurants and toy stores that had donated to the auction; I wanted to give them my business in return for their donation. It also helped me to pass a long Maine winter – I found that suddenly it was March and the auction was almost here and the snow would soon be gone!
The next year I took on the job as Chair of the auction, once again very excited and nervous. Becoming the Chair was a growing experience for me in many ways and I feel it has taken me the last two years as Chair to really start to feel I know the role.
I felt that part of my job as Chair is to still be with “the troops” making calls, so I have been the Captain of the For Him category for the last three years. I wanted to stay busy! I have also really enjoyed working on the display boards for both the silent and live auction items. I love to scrapbook so the display boards are really just an opportunity to scrap and be creative.
The auction is a vital part of the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine’s annual fundraising efforts and I am proud to be a part of it. I am very excited about the auction this year – lots of new and exciting items in our silent and live auctions! We have a new room layout and new live auction time, all of which I am sure will make all the attendees as excited as I am to enjoy the evening!
