Killam Charity Auction draws huge crowd of treasure hunters

“Just look at all the items,” said Leighton Sorenson at the start of the Charity Auction held in Killam Friday, July 19, referring to the multitude of items donated for the live auction portion of the event. The live auction started at 6 p.m. and ended nearly three hours later, as the last of the donated items was finally reached, raising a record total for local charities in its 17th year.

The 17th Annual Charity Auction, held Friday and Saturday, July 19 and 20 in the Killam Memorial Arena, looks like it was the most successful to date, says organizer Ralph Sorenson, as the initial tallies are starting to come in.

Friday started with a two-day garage sale at 5 p.m. and more than a hundred people looking for treasures in all the donated goods, spread throughout the arena.

Promptly at 6 p.m., the live auction portion of the event started, with auctioneer Leighton Sorenson starting things off, as he brought the crowd’s attention to the enormous number of donated items on the evening’s live auction list.

Cal Herder and Kevin Sorenson both spelled off Leighton during the course of the evening, each taking their turns at the gavel.

All three auctioneers donated their time Friday evening, as did everyone else who helped, and all the items sold in the auction were also donated, from businesses and individuals across Flagstaff and beyond its borders.

All funds raised during the two-day event go to a number of local charities and organizations in the Flagstaff area, distributed through the year.

Anything small left over after the garage sale went to the local second hand store.

The event represents an enormous amount of volunteer work to pull off successfully. It depends as well on the generosity of donors, both for garage sale items and live auction items.

Leslie Cholowsky, Editor