On a truly beautiful April evening, high upon a hilltop, overlooking Lake Superior, Rotarians and their guests gathered once again for an annual rite of spring. Rotary 25 Dinner and Auction continues to be one of the premier fellowship programs that members Rotary Club of Duluth look forward to every year. At numerous Club 25 luncheons leading up to this evening’s gathering, 2018 Dinner and Auction Chair Ryan Johnson and his committee promised us an evening of fun, fellowship, feasting, and fundraising – and they delivered!

Rotarians and guests were provided multiple opportunities to bid on donated items too numerous to account for them all.  However, Rotarians were offered a number of fun and creative ways to take a chance before we all sat for dinner: Raffle Tickets were available for the stuffing of dozens of Raffle Boxes that awarded such items as a freezer stocked with fresh salmon, massage services, Minnesota Twins and Vikings tickets, baked items, chocolates, and more; Silent Auction items such as a signed Neal Pionk NHL jersey.

A new game – or shall we say “card trick” – was introduced this evening. Every card in a deck of 52 cards was torn in half, sold for $20.00 each – thus raising over $1000. By a quick game of elimination of suit, color, all the way through face cards – the one person who held the King of Diamonds won a “Wheelbarrow of Beer”  Congrats to Ryan Johnson for outlasting President Tricia Bunten!

Dinner was provided by Duluth Grill. Rotarians and guests enjoyed a selection of Bison Chuck Roast, Chicken Marsala accompanied by Deconstructed Smashed Potatoes, Wild Rice Pilaf, and Savory Squash with Apples and Toasted Pecans.

The always popular Dessert Auction saw heavy bidding for the opportunity to enjoy the sweet creations made for this occasion. John Foucault and wife Julie, Skeeter Moore and guest Kris Kolenz, Ryan Johnson and wife Alex , and auctioneer Tom Sullivan and his wife Kathy “took the cake” by way of the “cleaners” –bidding $700 for the Raspberry Fudge Torte Cake from Johnson’s Bakery.

 Another favorite game – 50/50 Heads or Tails game was won my Julie Miles, a guest of Tony Rogers (son of Judy and Earl Rogers).

Auctioneer Tom Sullivan provided a fast and furious Live Auction with his usual entertaining mastery of momentum. Many items were bid upon with a feverish tenacity rarely seen between Rotarians (all in good fellowship). A case in point, and one the will live on in Rotarian lore was the “Battle of the Hockey Suite” that pitted Barb Perrella (a proxy bidder for an absent Jim Landwehr) versus John Foucault. A brave and determined Barb Perrella won out.

As the evening wound down, Ryan Johnson took the stage to remind all Rotarians of our goal to eradicate polio from the face of the earth. With only a reported 22 cases remaining, we are very so close! With a promise by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to match every dollar raised for Polio Plus by $2 for $1, Rotarians participated in our evening’s final Cause Auction. The table headed by Past President Phil Strom set the tone with an opening bid of $2,500 – followed by commitments ranging from $100 to $1000. This evening’s commitments totaled $10,650 for Polio Plus.