Doolittle Home Auction 2009 – Goal Exceeded

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“It takes a village to care for the elderly,” said Doolittle Home Trustee Lynne Sarikas, paraphrasing the old African proverb about raising children, and never was the presence of a supporting village more obvious, she said, than at Saturday’s 6th annual FCA/Doolittle Home auction.

A host of volunteers, a long list of generous donors — many of whom have been part of every auction — and the hundreds of people who phoned in bids helped raise $11,396. That total was more than enough to cover the cost of an adjustable diagnostics table for the nursing unit at Doolittle, news that was greeted with enthusiasm by residents and staff alike.

The top bid of the day was for the Homer White painting, “Two Deer,” donated by Bob and Louise Poirier. A painting of Homer’s has become a tradition for the Doolittle Auction, with one being featured each year.

Political bargaining: Senator James Timilty and Representative Jay Barrows didn’t disappoint, responding to challenges from Auctioneer Bob Hickey as they tried again to outdo one another after having initially offered a personally guided tour of the Massachusetts State House.

Representative Barrows would welcome four on the tour, provide an official photo taken at the State House, and round off the day with lunch at the Omni Parker House.

Senator Timilty came back with lunch for four at Abe & Louie’s Steakhouse. “A Duck Tour,” added Barrows. “One person to sit in with me on the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security,” countered Timilty, and with Bob Hickey still stirring the pot, Timilty added a tour of City Hall and the John Adams Courthouse (as a separate booking from the State House Tour) and he would include lunch for four at Seaport Grille and a round of golf for one at the Foxborough Country Club. While politics had nothing to do with it, they said, the Democrat took the lead with a high bid for the Timilty tour but both legislators, high in their praise of Doolittle Home, earned high praise for their spirited exchange.

“It was fascinating to see everything pull together,” said Doolittle Home President Joanne Pratt. “The excitement kept building, and nowhere was it any more intensive than at Doolittle Home with residents spending the afternoon in front of their TV sets, watching it unfold. They had been caught up in the auction activities since the beginning, and were eagerly anticipating the results.”

Even in a slow economy, bidders had “accommodations” on their mind, ranging from a week at the Maine vacation home of the Crimmins family, a week in a waterfront cottage in Eastham, courtesy of the Anderson family and $400 gift certificate for accommodations at America’s premier RV Park at Normandy Farms.

For those more concerned about their own accommodations, bidding was spirited for the day of home repair services offered by Duncan Stowell, a first-time donor to the auction doing business as Done by Duncan. Some of his past clients were anxious to have him return, but they got outbid in a rush for his services.

It was a banner day for sports enthusiasts, the top draw being two Patriots home game tickets with parking donated by the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. The Charitable Trust, which has been a strong supporter of the Doolittle Auction since its inception, also donated an official NFL football autographed by the record-setting Richard Seymour which provided another major boost to bring the Home closer to its goal.

A numbered print of Tom Brady, courtesy of major donor Don Rodman who has been represented in each of the six auctions, is now hanging in the room of a young fan named Brady and the baseball signed by the famed Dustin Pedroia has brought instant celebrity status for its new owner thanks to the donation from the Boston Red Sox.

During a break in the action, Doolittle President Joanne Pratt was joined by Jack Authelet, immediate past president, as they spoke about entry options at Doolittle Home.

Trustee Lynne Sarikas who, together with Pratt, developed Doolittle’s highly acclaimed marketing program, later joined Authelet to talk about volunteer opportunities at Doolittle Home.

The auction activity continued at a frantic pace, with considerable interest shown in the Log Cabin Doll House made and furnished by Pratt, two framed watercolors by Anne Alves of the Doolittle nursing staff, and a beautiful Thomas Kinkade print, “A Holiday Gathering,” donated by John Linex. The donation of Estate Planning services by Atty. Jeff Lovely served as a reminder of details everyone should take care of, and one lucky bidder did.

From handmade to the latest in technology, donations knew no limits and the auction continued without a break until 6:30 p.m.

The major effort on behalf of Doolittle Home ended with expressions of appreciation by Pratt, first to trustee Lynda Walsh who chaired the event, to all of the donors, to the volunteers from Foxboro Cable Access who had been months in the planning and execution of the event who manned the cameras and operated the control room and scanning systems, to Bob Gillis who created the Doolittle web page and brought photos of all the items in the auction onto the screen during the event, to members of the Foxboro Jaycees who did all the “lugging and tugging” of setting up the auction, getting items out to the winning bidders, and helping to clean up after.

Guest auctioneers, including Doug Suess, Rick Plasmati, Jerry Cirillo, Monica Rigamonti, Pratt, Chris Martes, Sarikas and Ginny Coppola, with Hickey doing the honors on the Big Board, earned their accolades as well. The telephone operations were also lauded for long hours on the phone, as every bid had to come in over the published telephone number for the auction.

Special recognition went to the trustees and staff of Doolittle who were so active in the auction, the residents and their families, and the dietary staff of the Home which fed the volunteers both Friday night during rehearsal and again Saturday noon prior to the big event.

As the studio lights dimmed and families came to pick up what they had purchased, another tradition — that had been building since the first Doolittle auction — kicked in as weary volunteers joined in a large pizza party, compliments of the Foxboro House of Pizza.