CONNECTIONS
MAY 2023 VOL. 11 NO. 5
BID AND WIN MAY 8-JUNE 12 For staff, volunteers, donors, and faithful bidders, it may be hard to believe that our auction has been taking bids for fifty years, especially once the hard Diane LaRochelle & Barbara Mariacher work, creativity and enthusiasm NHPBS AUCTION STAFF needed to get this beloved event up and running every year is taken into account. Over the years, dedicated staffers have kept auction on track, volunteers have provided critical manpower, and bidders have supported their NHPBS station as it showcases products from across the region, thanks to thousands of generous donors. From its humble beginnings in the UNH Memorial Union Building and Snively Arena, to its many years at the Pease Tradeport and now it’s current home at the NHPBS broadcast center in Durham, the auction continues to evolve. For 46 years, the auction was televised, an event that lasted several days and utilized hundreds of volunteers to take phone bids, post the correct items on revolving auction boards and answer questions for bidders, all on live TV. NHPBS and the Auction Team thank them all for their years of tireless commitment and dedication to fun that made the televised auction so special. As with many other events and tradition, the pandemic forced the auction to adapt and move online, but even in this new incarnation, auction relies on a small group of volunteers to be successful, but now many are able to volunteer from home. One integral, longtime volunteer, Richard Shepherd, does data entry from home, as well as helping Auction Manager Diane LaRochelle upload items to the website Auction Anything, where it becomes available for bidders. Barbara Mariacher started volunteering when she was around 12 years old, just a kid coming to an auction with her mom, Marian Kelsey. Now, Barbara is an NHPBS employee and is our one and only donation solicitor. If you’ve donated to the auction in recent years, chances are you’ve chatted with Barb. Barbara’s mom, Marian turned 90 in April, and after forty years of volunteering, she still helps with mailing auction certificates.
Manchester, who’s been volunteering for more than 20 years, and currently catalogs physical items that have been donated, such as furniture and gift baskets. Dale and Penny Hardy have been volunteering since the 1970s. They proofread all of auction’s certificate donations and also travel all over New England to pick up donations, while Paula Graves picks up items in the western portion of the Granite State. Our team of copy writers enjoy writing about the diverse donations — RoseAnn Ronnan has been volunteering for more than 30 years, proofreading donations and writing copy for our items. And Marty Thyng, another longtime volunteer, also writes copy for our physical items while Dona Eaton writes copy for all the artworks. Before any certificates or items are available to bid on, Pam Housley proofreads an amazing 1,500 plus items available for bid once they are uploaded into Auction Anything. We are a small but mighty crew! Once again, this indefatigable team has brought auction fans another great year of bidding and winning. Just as television viewing has become more accessible, with viewers able to watch live or on-demand and even binge entire series on NHPBS Passport, auction bidders can pop onto the auction website anytime from May 8th through June 12th and see what’s up for bid. Most listings will be available for browsing by May 1st, with new listings being added all throughout the auction. Visit auction.nhpbs.org to browse, bid and win! You can sort by category, follow your favorites and if you’ve ever been outbid on the amazing Made in NH tote bag, you’ll be glad to know that not only will it be sporting the 50th logo, but you can click “Buy It Now”, and that highly sought after tote full of local, Made in NH goods, is yours. Our donors are pulling out all the stops, with a Colonialstyle storage shed generously donated by Reeds Ferry Sheds, who also sponsors the auction. Other sponsors are Postal Center USA in Lee and Bank of New Hampshire. Of course, our shelves are also full of gift certificates galore, one of a kind art, beautiful handmade products, jewelry, books, gift baskets, rugs, small furniture, and so much more. Our golden anniversary is your golden opportunity!
Other dedicated, longtime volunteers include Russell
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