“All aboard the Christmas train,” this year’s Sunrise Rotary fundraiser, collected more than $18,000 Saturday for area nonprofit agencies with its live auction of holiday trees. The highest bid came for the tree from Darin M. Camarena Health Centers, which brought in a whopping $5,650.
Each year on the first Saturday of December, the club hosts the event and a dozen decorated trees are submitted by charities. Trains were the theme of this year’s event. Perennial auctioneer Steve King, assisted by past Sunrise Rotary President Bonnie Bitter, described the trees and the foundations they support.
A half dozen holiday wreaths were sold by silent auction, benefiting good causes including The Justin Woods Foundation, Friends of Madera County Library, Madera Christmas Baskets, Camp Fire, Lindsay Rowe, Kelly Laing and Paula Graves and St. Joachim’s Holy Family Table soup kitchen.
An assortment of merchandise donated to Rotary drew frenzied bidding from the crowd. A sample of the gifts sold include a couple of one-of-a-kind bird houses/feeders by Margaret Ogle, a 4-wheel drive Ertl John Deere tractor from Stan Nelson of Midland Tractor and a basket containing the ingredients for an Italian dinner from Past Rotary District Gov. J. Gordon Kennedy. Manny Pacheco donated several gifts including a Dress Designer Barbie doll set, a madonna and child sculpture and a basket of Charles Schulz’ Peanuts plush dolls...