Drop items at Geneva Bar & Grill
By KATHY PAULSEN
Staff Writer
The days of 2018 are already ticking away and before we know it the 34th Annual Geneva Cancer Auction will be getting underway. Who could have ever realized what would transpire from a conversation that Hank and Judy Thompson and Whitey and LaJune Hagen had back in 1984 about what they could do to help raise money for cancer?
Though Geneva Bar & Grill has changed hands many times over the years, it continues to serve as the place people come to help in this very important cause.
This year the auction will be held the weekends of Jan. 13-14 and Jan. 19-20. The Friday night auctions begin at 7 and the auction resumes Saturday at 2 p.m.
People come from far and wide for this annual event, which provides them the opportunity to help others, as well as renew friendships or make new ones while enjoying fun, laughter and camaraderie.
If you have attended one or more of the past 33 years of events you know what I am talking about, and if you haven’t yet attended one of the auctions, I hope that you will make 2018 the year that you come to Geneva and see first-hand what takes place.
We are thankful that people continue to turn out to do what they can to help fight for a cure. An event as big as this takes many people to lend a helping hand, be it donating items for the auction, sharing auctioneering talents or helping to clerk the auction, while others come and bid on items they would like to take home with or share with others.
Many people would like to do what they can to help but they don’t know or unsure of what they could donate. The best answer for that question is, “Whatever you would like the opportunity to bid on and hope to be able to take along home with you, is what you should donate.”
Some people donate their favorite foods, including items that you enjoy making and enjoying in your own homes, be it cookies, pies, bars, breads, donuts and candies, deviled eggs and dips and crackers. Or it may be home-canned items, including jams, jellies, pickles, salsa and such.
Items from local meat markets, some which are sliced and ready to enjoy, are always welcomed and well received. And over the years there have been pounds of potatoes and onions many are pleased to bid on and take home. And we can’t forget all those pounds of Hope butter that are donated.
Others donate a variety of sporting type items, including caps, T-shirts and sweatshirts, fishing poles, basketballs, volleyballs, etc. Many of the local farmerss are eager to see bags of seed corn and soybeans put up for bid, thanks to the people in the agricultural businesses.
Others enjoy making quilts, afghans, blankets, and hand-painted items, as well as cross-stitch, crewel and hardanger items. There is usually a few stuffed animals, along with dolls and doll clothes, and maybe a few small trucks and games.
For a great number of years a bouquet of yellow roses has been donated by a cancer survivor while others also donate items to the auction in memory or in honor of cancer survivors.
The list goes on and on.
If you would like to donate items for this very worthwhile cause, you may drop them off at the Geneva Bar & Grill anytime from now until the time of the conclusion of the auction. They will be marked with your name and later put up for bid so others can enjoy your gift.
In conjunction with the auction, a raffle is held. Enter for a chance to win a 48-inch LED TV w/Blu-Ray player, as well for cash prizes of $500, $400, $300, $200, and $100. The winning tickets will be drawn on January 20th at 10 p.m. as the auction comes to a close.
The 2018 Geneva Cancer Auction T-shirts, sweatshirts and caps, which this year are grey in color with black lettering, are already on sale at Geneva Bar & Grill. It has been interesting seeing the number of people who continue to wear these reminders of what has been taking place over the years in this great town of Geneva.
Over the course of the two weekends of auctions, a number of presentations will also be made regarding a large number of other cancer fundraising events over the past year. One of the big ones is the annual Wild Game Feed, which this year marked its 33rd year of existence. Representatives from the Matt Felt/Dillon Gordon Run, Cancer Golf Outing, Matt Felt Pool Tournament, and the annual Geneva Cancer Motorcycle Run will make also make presentations.
Good things happen when good people share their love, concern and care for others.
We all know that cancer doesn’t quit, so we need to continue to do what we can to defeat this dreaded disease.