The 11th Annual Tailgate auction held by the Oregon Alumni Association and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce raised $106,000 Aug. 30 at the Hilton in downtown Eugene.
Oregon Community Credit Union sponsored the event that raises money for Alumni Association scholarships and Springfield Chamber K-12 education programs.
Alumni Association Executive Director Dan Rodriguez said he was pleased with the amount raised.
“It was great. We did as well as we did last year. We’re excited and we’re just gonna go ahead raising money for students,” he said.
The room was decorated with green and yellow balloons and umbrellas hanging from the ceiling.
Several guest speakers addressed the crowd while they ate and visited the free bar.
“Because of you, Springfield students are going to college,” SpringfieldSchool District Superintendent Nancy Golden told the audience.
She said some students tell her, “I’ve got the skills but unless I could get scholarships I won’t go to college.”
Andy Vobora came to Oregon to play football on an athletic scholarship and now has children in college.
“Scholarships are so important. This one especially because it’s non-athletic,” he said. “I know the scholarships have been quite a help.”
The evening started with a silent auction featuring items donated by local businesses. Items included a two-session hypnosis-for-weight-loss program; mystery packages from Italy, Africa, and North Dakota; and a Beavers multicolor floor lamp.
“I can’t believe they have that there,” Rex Ballenger said of the Beavers lamp. Ballenger is an association member and his wife Betty is a University graduate.
He said they were bidding on Duck-related items, and there were many to choose from.
“We’ve been going to the games for 25 years,” he said.
In addition to the auctions, raffle tickets were sold for green peridot and white sapphire earrings, four round-trip tickets to Las Vegas, and a $2,000 shopping spree at Jerry’s Home Improvement Center.
Raffle tickets were $20 each or five for $75.
Joelle Goodwin, who was wearing her Mrs. Eugene 2007 sash, worked the room showing off the earrings. She is a Mrs. Oregon contestant and a member of the Lane County Alumni Association.
“They are worth more than $4,000,” she said of the earrings.
Cheryl Ford is a past president of the Alumni Association who just donated $5 million to build an alumni center that will house the Alumni Association, University of Oregon Foundation and the Office of Development.
“Our main goal is to keep alumni active with the University and this is the way we do it. Spend the evening with other alumni and contribute money to UO scholarships,” she said.
Ford said she was interested in bidding on a saw to build a huge doghouse.
The first live auction item was a dinner for four couples with football coach Mike Bellotti and tickets to four games. It went for $1,500.
Dinner with women’s basketball coach Bev Smith went for $750, dinner with men’s basketball Ernie Kent went for $1,000, and dinner with softball coach Kathy Arendsen went for $700.
Rexene Wahl spent $9,500 on a 1978 Mercedes convertible with 63,000 miles.
“I bought a table so our friends could enjoy this and I got a little carried away,” she said.
“I said to my husband, ‘I’m going to buy that convertible’ and he said, ‘go ahead.’ I felt it went for a good price.”
In addition to the money raised from the auctions and raffles, the 425 attendees paid $75 for individual seats and $1,250 to $5,000 for a table.
“It’s a great fundraiser,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a great community effort.”