THE DASH POEM BY LINDA ELLIS TAKE DOWN NOTICE In 2011, I briefly posted a poem on my blog entitled “The Dash” by Linda Ellis. I received this poem via a chain email from a client. This poem is copyrighted. The copyright holder is relentlessly pursuing any person or entity that has posted The Dash poem in print or oratory without permission. DO NOT SHARE THE DASH poem with anyone.  You can help others by sharing this message and the information below. http://www.aprilbrown.com/copyright-infringement-the-das/  

This is one of my favorite memories.

In the early 90’s I got a phone call from author Dale Brown. Dale writes best selling military thrillers read by aviators and presidents. At the time, he was on the Board of Incline Academy, a private schoollocated in Incline Village, Nevada. The academy was the brain child of Jean McFadden and Laurie Krueger. Jean and Laurie founded the school with their own money and then carried supplies and books from house to house teaching local children. Word spread about Jean and Laurie and their exceptional traveling education and in the Fall of 1997 the school opened in a church basement welcoming 30 students, pre-kindergarten to the first grade.

Incline Academy continued to grow and the Board made a commitment to buy a permanent building. Dale’s call came in the middle of a freezing cold December. He asked if it would be possible to pull off an auction at the end of the coming January. Dale said the Board hoped to raise $100,000. I said yes, providing each Board member was willing to procure 10 donations and invite 10 people with the ability to buy those donations. The next day he called and told me the Board felt strongly that they had the connections to fill the room with bidders. Each board member had agreed to solicit items, donate a package of their own making and invite everyone they knew. We scheduled the auction and 6 weeks later Mike and I landed in Reno and drove up Mount Rose highway to conduct the “Surf for Education” auction to benefit Incline Academy.

We arrived engulfed by a record snowfall. A power outage closed the hill’s businesses and residents were advised to stay home.  Auction volunteers loaded cars and trucks with items, displays and equipment and arrived at the Hyatt Hotel only to discover standing water in the lakeside ballroom. Maintenance workers accidently left a water valve open during a routine test of the fire retardant sprinklers and flooded the carpeted floors with about a half inch of water. The room was cold, wet, and dark. The caterer pushed to cancel the auction. The hotel manager agreed with the staff, the auction should be postponed.

Jean and Laurie stood their ground and began to take action. The volunteers called the invited guests and discovered that everyone planned on attending, including the invited celebrities. In fact, the Beach Boys were flying in that day for the auction, along with the actor John Stamos.

A huge commercial water vac arrived on the scene and removed the water.  Generators arrived for auxiliary power. The volunteers continued to hang plastic palm trees and blue waves they made to set the stage for the “Catch a Wave for Education”. Another volunteer convinced the Village Ace Hardware to open so she could buy every glow stick, candle and flashlight in stock. The glow sticks became bidding paddles and the bidders used the flashlights to light silent bid sheets. Candles provide a subtle glow—far from the sun, fun and beach theme they had originally planned.

Sometimes the best auctions are the auctions we believe in, stay committed too and fully embrace, no matter what!

Incline Academy’s very first auction raised over $250,000.

One of the easiest ways to promote your charity auction is to create an email signature with your charity auction event details. Date, location, time and ticket price. Always include a short mission statement. The mission statement can influence prospective donors and attendees to seek further information. Copy and paste the Signature into an email and send it to all the volunteers and ask them to add it to their own signature list. Use this signature when emailing friends and seeking donations and inviting people to attend your auction.

This is the signature Whisker City volunteers use for the Sacred Cat Ball.

Join us for The Sacred Cat Ball on June 19, 2010

Lynnwood Convention Center at 5:00.

Tickets are $75.

Live and Silent Auction! Arrive on time for the Free Early Bird Raffle!

Complimentary Champagne and prizes!

Visit www.whiskercityauction.com for more information.

Whisker City rescues and rehabilitates abused, neglected and abandoned

felines and places them in loving homes.

Shelter Line: 206-542-0947

April Brown: 206-542-9617