LCHS FFA hosts annual breakfast and auction fundraiser

 

[April 16, 2024] 

On Sunday morning, April 14, the banquet room at the Lincoln American Legion Post 263 was packed with guests enjoying a hardy breakfast and awaiting the beginning of the annual Lincoln Community High School FFA auction fundraiser.

The breakfast was prepared by the sons of the Legion and the tickets sales for the breakfast were divided between the FFA and the Legion youth baseball program. Tickets sold ahead of the event by FFA members went to the FFA. Tickets sold at the door went to the baseball program.

Inside, the breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, sausage gravy with biscuits, crispy friend bacon, ham, fruit salad and sugary sweet donuts and donut holes.

At the center of the room were tables filled with merchandise for the FFA silent auction. Guests placed their bids on those items until 10 a.m. when the silent auction closed, and the live auction began.

The live auction was called by local auctioneer Ty Tucker. Serving as bid spotters were Ty’s brother Cody Tucker and FFA Alumni Troy Rawlings.

Thirty-three items were offered up in the live auction. A few of the items were farm related such as bags of seed corn, jugs of herbicides. Others were home related such as decorative windmills, grass seed, coolers, camp stoves, fire pits and more. Then there were the food items. Pies, cakes, cookies and a bucket full of food cards from regional eateries were very popular items at the auction, bringing in healthy bids.

During the live auction it was shared that Wayne Sheley was present for breakfast and he was being called out as the oldest member of the LCHS FFA Alumni Association at the age of 99.

Item number 24 on the sale bill proved to be an interesting sell. LCHS Ag Teacher and FFA Advisor Schempp announced that two of the current FFA members, Joe Dahmm and Joshua Gleason were offering themselves up as a team providing two days of labor to the highest bidder. She said that the two had a strong work ethic and the winning bidder would get their money’s worth of hard work from the two.

Each of the guys had a chance to pitch their sale a bit, and both commented that they were hard workers, knowledgeable in many areas, but also capable of picking up quickly on any task that might be new to them. The promised that they would give their all to any project and would not be caught slacking off on the job.

Then the bidding began, and it was lengthy but finally the winning bidder was announced. John and Annie Coers of Coers Family Farm won the two days labor at a price of $700. The Coers son Jayce is also a current FFA member. As the winning bidder was announced someone called out loudly asking if that meant Jayce would get a day off from working on the family farm. The question was answered with a quick “NO” from his parents.

The laborer bid was almost twice that of the next highest bid. A Milwaukee M18 inflator with battery and charger included and donated by Remmington Seed went for $375. Two half hogs were donated by Garrett Apel and brought $300 and $325.

The road trip Meals bucket included gift cards for Arby, Darden, Texas Roadhouse, Starbucks, Red Lobster, Cracker Barrel, Chipotle and Wednesday brought #240.

Joan Dahmm donated a German chocolate cake that brought $250, Amy Naughton pie brought $200, Cookies made by Lyssa Kirgan brought $190, two pies donated by Annie Boyer brought a combined $185, and a tea ring pastry made by Mary Ellen Johnson brought $65.

In total the live auction brought in $6,155 to benefit the LCHS FFA.

The money taken in from the day will go toward FFA projects throughout the school year as well as an FFA scholarship.

[Nila Smith]