Chamber auction draws large and supportive crowd

The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual dinner and auction at Cliff Clemens Park on Thursday evening, September 28.

Chamber board member Kathi Johnson said, "This is our largest fundraiser of the year." She said that the board hopes to raise between $15,000 and $20,000 from this year's event.

With red and white checkered cloths draping the tables and flickering candles in wax- dribbled Chianti bottles serving as centerpieces, the stage was perfectly set for this year's event's theme "Flavors of Italy."

Dinner was catered by Tate and Tate Catering of Bend. Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce Events Coordinator, Jeri Buckmann noted that the menu included a starter course of antipasti followed by lasagna and ravioli. Tate and Tate's signature chocolate cake was served for dessert, and Buckmann exclaimed, "It was like really, really good!"

One hundred and fifty people attended this year's fundraiser. Buckmann said that the event is not just for chamber members.

"It's open to anyone," she said. "There were a lot of guests of chamber members who came. Every year it is a real mix. I can never keep up with it."

The tent at Cliff Clemens Park is a new venue for the event. Previously, the pavilion at Sisters Inn was the location of choice for the fundraiser; however, that building was recently demolished.

Buckmann said, "Since Sisters in Sisters was this weekend, we tagged onto them with the tent."

The chamber uses the money raised from the dinner and silent and live auctions to promote Sisters tourism and the community as a whole. In 2005, the chamber netted $14,300 from the event. Buckmann said, "The money goes right back into the chamber for advertising, for marketing." The money is used, Buckmann said, to fulfill the chamber's purpose of "Enhancing the economic vitality of its members and the community."

Most business members are from Sisters, although some are from Bend and Redmond, and there are even some from Eugene.

"It's a combination of retail and commercial businesses," Buckmann said. Contractors, churches, marketers, grocery stores, attorneys, physicians, hotels, specialty stores, Black Butte Ranch, Aspen Lakes Golf Course and area banks are some of the chamber's many business members.

Chamber business member Ryan Bledsoe, owner of Hummingbird Auto Glass said, "We're just trying to get more local and more involved and help support our community. I've realized that the support and the networking that you can get out of chamber is extremely important. We all need each other in business. It is just one way to stay strong and to stay local."

Celia Hung, owner of the Sisters KOA agreed with Bledsoe about how much the Sisters chamber helps area businesses. She said, "I have not seen one that is so efficient and so energetic and so creative. I am very, very happy they are here. They do so much for my business. They fill up my park."

Professional auctioneer Dennis Turmon of Redmond, who has served as the event's auctioneer for the last several years, kept the auction pace quick and the suspense high.

The most expensive lot sold was four rodeo tickets and an original print by Tom Salgado of bull rider Lane Frost riding the bull Red Rock at the Sisters Rodeo in 1988. Frost was killed in 1989 when bull riding at a rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Another popular auction item was a handmade jewelry box made from mango ash. This item was crafted by Laurence Dyer and donated by Ponderosa Properties.

Football tickets for the Christmas Eve game between the San Diego Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks donated by Peter Storton of RE/MAXTown & Country Realty was another highly sought-after auction lot.

The silent auction also proved profitable and all items sold.

Buckmann succinctly summed up the evening's success: "I like to see every one have a good time."