Press Release

Auction results

Date: Novemer 6, 2011

COLDWATER, MI—

With a crowd of nearly 400 people and more than 500 items donated, Tibbits Opera House raised a record breaking $69,000 to benefit the operations of the theatre Saturday night at the Tibbits Annual Auction, the Roaring Twenties and All That Jazz.  The amount is more than $16,000 greater than last year’s auction.

Guests at the “Tibbits Speakeasy” were greeted by a transformed theatre complete with flappers, gangsters, good food and decorations throughout. The live auction began with a staged raid on the theatre before Tibbits executive director, Christine Delaney welcomed the crowd, thanked the donors and volunteers and introduced the committee. She also acknowledged long time supporter Ed Geishert, Sr who celebrated his 95th birthday Saturday.

Darren Spieth and Dan Satow served as auctioneers for the event which was fast-paced and entertaining. Satow opened the evening by recognizing David Norton who was on hand to be thanked for his 32 years leading the Tibbits auction and helping raise over 1.2 million dollars for the theatre since the first auction.

Donors whose items brought the highest bids included Dr. Whately for an orthodontic treatment package, and Kathy and Rick Merrill in conjunction with the Boathouse Restaurant & Chef Chris, JR and Jennifer Colbeck, and Christine and Dan Lewis each for a combination of dinners. The highest bid was made by Ed and Norma Geishert for the Barton S. Tibbits sponsorship for four tickets for every event in the theatre for the year. Their winning bid was $6000.

Delaney expressed her gratitude to the community. “I am astounded by the results this evening and grateful for the community’s support of this theatre. With this kind of support we’ll keep improving the building and its programs.”

More than 50 volunteers helped with the auction from gathering donations to computer inputting, from setting up to helping auction night. Organizing the event was Tibbits Special Events Coordinator Lori Gunthorp and auction co-chairs were Marisue Taylor and Marilyn Ostrander. The committee included Linda Lintner, Marcia Guise, Christine Lewis, Hillary Eley, and Cindy Paul. According to Delaney, “I am also grateful to the auction committee who went above and beyond to create a fun and memorable atmosphere.  We had a dedicated group who did a wonderful job. I can’t thank them enough.”

Delaney recognized the volunteers along with the wonderful donors and bidders who helped to make this year’s auction one of the best ever.