Enjoy your vacation, but be sure to return home in time for the auction given by the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary. Scheduled for Anniston City Meeting Center, the event now marks its 24th year. Its purpose is to help fund the Women’s Shelter in Anniston. The silent auction begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, followed with dinner by Classic on Noble at 6 p.m. And then at 7 p.m. the live auction will be called, with about 23 items to bid on.
Tickets are $20 per person, and the event is open to everyone. Members of the auxiliary have tickets to sell, or call the ticket center at 236-1833 as soon as possible.
The auction can be described as a vacation adventure for the mind.
It provides opportunities for exciting travel to near and far destinations; there’s the condo in Big Sky, Mont., and a hiking afternoon with a gourmet meal in Talladega National Forest led by nature guides and a trip to Gulf Shores.
Cooks will get a vacation from the hot stove if they come home with the certificate for 10 meals from Longhorn in Oxford, delivered to the high bidder’s home at a future date. Treasures like the revolving silver tureen for serving soups, donated from an antique dealer, stir the imagination on how the bowl would look in your dining room table.
Auxiliary women work year after year
Carolyn Brooks and Linda McCloud are helping out again with the many faceted event. Carolyn, a past president of the auxiliary, has taken a leadership role for 20 years.
This year she is food chairman. Linda, who has been active in garden clubs, is, with her committee, lending her talent in decorating. She has been active in the auxiliary for two and a half years.
“The event inspires me to work because of the good is does,” Linda said.
The theme is “Simple Elegance”, with Louise Sowa as emcee. The items donated are true to the theme. An amethyst ring, a sapphire ring, a lovely crystal bowl and a cut glass pitcher should be tempting.
There is nothing that is simple, however, about putting on such a major benefit but giving aid to women who have experienced domestic violence is a strong motivation.
“It’s a humbling experience to see these auxiliary women work,” said Marjorie DeMille, of Anniston, chair of the auction. Last year, there was a large crowd for the auction.
One memorable item was the set of sterling silver candlesticks from Anniston Galleries, donated by Bob Jones. Woodcarvings by J. C. Pope are always popular, too.
In the silent auction, smaller-scale elegance is available: a table cloth with napkins in a luscious shade of blue, a baby blanket and baby’s shawl, a certificate for two season’s tickets from Community Actors’ Studio Theatre, and more.
Carolyn and Linda invite people in Jacksonville to support the work of the auxiliary, and, in so doing enjoy “another vacation”. Tracy Tyler’s band, “Caribbean Chrome” will play again this year, getting ticket holders in the mood for a variety of vacations whether it’s to Big Sky, Montana or Gulf Shores. Tyler is on the department of music faculty at JSU.
