Thank you...

The sense of community that makes Foxboro such a great place was in full bloom Saturday afternoon for the 5th annual FCA-Doolittle Home Auction. More than 60 tireless volunteers, over 130 donated items from local merchants, businesses and friends of Doolittle Home, a steady flow of bids for six long hours and a final tally of $14,361 made for a truly remarkable, memorable day.

Proceeds from the auction will be used toward the purchase of a new wheelchair accessible van for Doolittle Home that we might better serve the social and medical needs of residents and also continue services to wheelchair-bound veterans of Foxboro.

Special thanks to Trustee Lynda Walsh for chairing the event that requires months of planning and Trustee Bob Gillis for creating the web page and auction promotional material, Trustee Lynne Sarikas for her presentation on Life Care at Doolittle Home and Trustee Beth Ferencik for her committee work and to each of our guest auctioneers who did such a fabulous job.

Among the hardest of working volunteers were Willie and Cary Long, Jaycees Junior Grade, helping out their mom, Chris, who supervised traffic flow in the studio. Willie and Cary were runners throughout the entire auction, taking bids from the telephone operators to the respective boards for posting.

Once again, we are indebted to Mike Webber for the technical scripts and the host of talented technicians at Foxboro Cable Access, Marge Nash for creating all those public service announcements, Mike Everson, Frank McDow and Director Paul Beck in the control room and Ray McKenna providing continuous scans on Channel 22. We are indebted, as well, to Tom Whiffen for his creative editing of the videos shown during the auction which afford us the opportunity to share the Doolittle Home story with viewers.

Neil Kaiser plays a central role in the auction, literally, as floor director in the studio, spending the entire auction on his knees gesturing to auctioneers, camera and sound people, luggers and tuggers and presenters to keep everything running on time, in order, and at peak performance. Special thanks to Andrea Cummings for organizing the Blue Wave of Jaycee volunteers who did all the lugging and tugging, Lauren Bitar who organized the guest auctioneers and all who responded so generously with their time and talent. Trustees Ginny Coppola and Ken Bryant wrote scripts for the auctioneers and Marie Crimmins outdid herself in her customary role of Hostess Extraordinaire. Her husband Dave organized a host of telephone operators, so critical to the success of the auction, while George Sarikas and Christine Freeman handled the business office and Trustee Steve Foster and his wife Joan staffed the pick-up room while Trustee Richard Cross and others made calls to winners of bids.

Our cast of supporters includes the Foxboro Reporter for publicity and advertising, the administration and the dietary staff of Doolittle Home and Foxboro House of Pizza for helping feed the multitudes.

To each and every one, named and unnamed, to all those who bid and others who tried, to our donors, supporters and friends, I extend deepest appreciation on behalf of the residents of Doolittle Home. Thank you, each and every one.

--Jack Authelet, President
The Doolittle Home, Inc.