For more information or a taped actuality, contact: Darnell Holopirek, 620-792-9367.

July 14, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Story by Michael Dawes, Trista Pruett
dawesm@bartonccc.edu

College’s 28th Annual Big Benefit Auction Tickets Go On Sale Monday

Tickets for Barton County Community College’s 28th Annual Big Benefit Auction, themed “Star-Spangled Night,” go on sale Monday and are being sold through Aug. 14. This year’s auction is set for 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Highland Hotel and Convention Center, Great Bend.

The silent auction begins at 6 p.m. Carr Auction and Real Estate Inc. will conduct the live auction an hour later. A meal with a summer picnic theme will be served before the live auction. After the auction, a dance is planned from 9 p.m. to midnight, featuring disc jockey Bobby Wild, who will play music from the ’60s and ’70s during the dance.

Tickets are $25 a piece. People can purchase a table that seats eight for $200 and sit with friends, employees and business associates during the event. Purchase tickets by contacting the BCCC Foundation office, 620-792-9306. Tickets will not be sold at the door the night of the event.

“The auction is an exciting fun event,” said Barton’s Coordinator of Alumni Association. “When the crowd is 300 or 400 people, not everyone is going to buy something, and that’s fine. This serves as a social event to get all of our donors and supporters together, whatever level they support the college.”

Highlighting the list of auction items this year is a four-night, all-expense-paid trip to Cancun. The trip includes airfare from Wichita, a hotel stay, and all meals and drinks.

This year’s auction also features a trip to Las Vegas. The trip includes airfare from Wichita and a four-night stay in the New York New York Hotel & Casino. The resort allows Vegas visitors to take a bite of the Big Apple and enjoy Broadway-caliber entertainment and Coney Island fun. The trip includes $100 of gas for the round-trip to Wichita. Besides Broadway-style entertainment, New York New York Hotel & Casino houses a pool, spa, golf course, salon, an Irish pub, and a roller coaster.

A three-day-and-night stay in Branson, Mo., in a three-bedroom, three-bath condominium with a kitchen is up for bidding.

For football fans, the auction offers tickets for two to the Kansas State University-Illinois State University game in Manhattan Sept. 2. The package includes dinner at CocoBolos Wood-Fired Grill and Cantina and a two-night stay at the Comfort Inn, Manhattan.

Big XII football fans can get a jump on the upcoming football season by winning the bid for two tickets to the conference opener when KSU plays Oklahoma State in Manhattan Oct. 7. The tickets also come with $50 spending money.

Car racing fans can also benefit from this year’s auction by winning two tickets to the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., for the NASCAR Busch series Yellow Transportation 300, which will be run on Sept. 30.

An Oakley golf package will be auctioned. The package includes a black Oakley golf bag, a golf shirt and golf shoes.

A catered dinner for 20 people will be offered, as will a gourmet seven-course dinner for six people.

Barton will utilize the longtime fund-raising buffalo head, Old Bill, to help garner donations in honor of longtime college supporters George and Frances Tregellas. George was a Barton board of trustee for 20 years and served seven years as its chairman. In honor of the couple, the Foundation is seeking donations in $50 increments for the auctioning of Old Bill. The money raised for Old Bill will be awarded next year in the name of George and Frances Tregellas.
Other live-auction items include a John Deere gas barbecue grill with a cover and a seven-foot-tall Made of Iron flower screen yard ornament.

For the second consecutive year, fish-bowl drawings will be held at the auction. Auction attendees can donate $5 for one ticket or $20 for five tickets and place those tickets in the fish bowls of their choice. They must be present at the time of the drawing to win the prize.
This year’s auction is being co-chaired by Great Bend and Larned business owners Dr. Doug and Jane Ayre. The couple own and operate Eye Care of Great Bend and Larned Eye Health.
The Big Benefit Auction is the Foundation's longest running fund-raiser. All money raised goes toward academic scholarships and program enhancements at Barton.