There was a buzz of activity during the auction with cash and checks flying all over the place, and we also thought of a convenient way to accept credit cards during the event so thankfully that became a reality – making it easier for people to participate in the auction Saturday evening. Thanks to Talia Freeman of Ski Beech and Lisa Herring of AppNet for being the "steady hands" during the event.
After all of the dust has cleared and we’ve been able to organize what was sold at auction and raised to date – here’s the final tally as of today (bear in mind that we will be generating some more donations through the cooperation of Snowshoe Mountain during the SkiSoutheast.com / Snowshoe Summit being held March 6-8th.
$2135 was raised during the auction by sales of merchandise coordinated by Ski Beech and Beech and Banner Elk area businesses!
$780 was raised through the auction of (4) Ski Vacations coordinated by SkiNC.com and area vacation rental businesses, Ski Beech, Sugar and Appalachian Ski Mountain. (Thanks to all of you!)
$650 was raised through the auction/sale of SkiNC Hoodies and Tees, of which we donated 100% of the revenue generated. I thought more of you guys and gals wanted our hoodies moreso than that!
$300 was raised through the direct sale of Jon Jolly’s skis (purchased by John Costin – that was cool John!) and that was given directly to Christine.
$1000 was donated through SkiNC.com directly in the form of a check.
$23 was raised in just additional cash donations through people handing us cash.
<Christina and Helena Jolly on Saturday
$4888.00 was raised in total on Saturday and $7413.00 through the combined efforts of SkiNC / Ski Beech and the Messageboard crew!
Blake Couch (jbc28 on the messageboard) just informed me that the messageboard crew had raised $2525.00 so that takes us to $7413.00 raised through our little ski community called SkiNC and SkiSoutheast and the messageboard family!
You guys and gals should be proud as heck. I know that I am of you!
Tiding up a bit…
Although I loathe having to share details about fund raisers, it is a part of my makeup to make certain that all parties involved know where their money went. I’ve always found that it is simply the best way to operate. When all questions are covered, there can be no misunderstandings.
We’ve already had numerous people ask about how much was raised through the ski patrol cookout. Various other emails asked about specific efforts…and of course we have four vacations to present to those who won them at auction.
Let’s answer those emails:
1. We’re not certain how the ski patrol revenue will break down, but we do understand that they sold out of food at around 2pm or so and that they sold some $2100 worth of great eats! They will be doing their math to figure out their costs and the profit from that side of things and they will be sending 20% of that profit figure to the Helena Jolly Education Fund as well. That should be another $300 or so based on what Talia Freeman shared with us. Every penny counts right!?!
2. Several people emailed that it would have been a great idea to print out one of those HUGE checks and present that as a "photo op" to Christine Jolly. That is not what this was all about. We were more into helping out some people that needed help rather than doing photo ops.
3. We’ve received emails already wondering "what was taking us so long" in figuring out how much was raised Saturday. The reason was simple. SkiNC was responsible for our part and Ski Beech was kind enough to coordinate gathering a lot of donated items that were auctioned. During the event it ended up that my staff accepted all of the credit cards that were presented and even though we took in a lot of cash, we turned all of that over to Ski Beech. We then had to coordinate with them to make sure that all of the auctioned items and associated monies made sense (balanced).
Obviously the goal was to help a great cause, but we wanted to make sure that all of the monies got to the proper place. With this in mind:
Of the $7413 raised: Here’s the breakdown:
$2525 was raised by Blake Couch through the direct efforts of the messageboard crew. Blake is sending a cashier’s check for that amount to: Benefit of Helena Jolly Educational Fund c/o Piedmont Federal.
$2435 was raised through Ski Beech’s great efforts and the donated items of local businesses
$2430 was donated directly from SkiNC / AppNet in the form of a check for $1000, $650 in sales of hoodies and tees and through $780 generated through the ski vacations we collected for. 100% of all funds taken in were donated.
$23 was cash donated on the part of a few people who simply handed to us.
Total: $7413
As per how the difference of $4888 is being transferred to the educational fund:
a. Ski Beech handed all of the checks totalling $1610.00 directly to Christine Jolly.
b. Ski Beech is processing the $1283 in CASH and sending a check for that amount to: Benefit of Helena Jolly Educational Fund c/o Piedmont Federal.
c. SkiNC.com is processing the $1695 in CREDIT CARDS and sending a check for that amount to: Benefit of Helena Jolly Educational Fund c/o Piedmont Federal.
d. John Costin purchased Jon Jolly’s skis for $300 and gave that directly to Christine Jolly.
AS PER THE VACATION GIVEAWAYS
The four individuals who won those trips at auction on Saturday will be receiving emails that will advise them how to obtain the FREE Cabin or Condo rentals, lift tickets and free equipment rentals on Tuesday, February 23rd. Thanks to the four who bid and won those vacations, and thanks to Blue Ridge Vacation Cabins, Sugar Mountain Resort Accommodations, Ski Beech, Sugar Mountain, Appalachian Ski Mountain and Ski Country Sports for making those trips a reality each season!
SOME CLOSING THANK YOUS!
Thanks to Blake Couch (JBC28 on the messageboard) for first organizing the idea for messageboard members to donate to the fund in honor of our mutual friend Jon Jolly.
Thanks to all of you members who donated through Blake and during the auction event on Saturday.
Thanks to Rhyne Garris of Ski Beech who worked with us during the initial period of planning activities and with whom we dreamed up the idea of making the fund raising an integral part of the Summit.
Thank you to John and Ryan Costin of Ski Beech who jumped into this idea with both feet and helped a great event be better than it could have been if we’d have tried to do it by ourselves! Thanks also for the 50% discount on lifties as that made it make economic sense for a lot of people! Thanks also to Ryan and his crew who got Talia Freeman and Dane Garvik involved in the last days leading up to the event. Talia grabbed on with both hands and made it easy for us. Dane was the colorful DJ out on the deck and our auctioneer during the event. Thank you both!
Thanks also to all of the local businesses who contributed bags, goggles, glasses, snowboards, skis, seasons pass (thanks again Ski Beech!), helmet, bandanas, beanies and let’s not forget that "mystery box" and those 36" board shorts which I think Dane purchased! As I understand it Ski Country Sports, Extreme Snowboard and Ski, Alpine Ski Center, Board Paradise, Play it Again Sports in Boone, New Jersey Mountain Creek and Beech Mountain Sports were among those who donated items for the auction.
Thanks to Cynthia Taylor who face painted for five hours and added $60+/- in donations as well as donated her talent for free!
Thanks to some of my staff, Lisa Herring and Tommy Probst who helped keep things from getting out of hand in collecting and dispersing items, etc. …and thanks to Carrigan who gave out all those smiles – accompanied by a ton of SkiNC / SkiSoutheast stickers!
Editor’s note: Ski Beech – you can thank me later for NOT giving out those stickers during or before ski sessions!
SOME PARTING ANSWERS:
We’ve already had numerous people emailing us asking several questions about how you can give, how you can buy SkiNC Hoodies and if that money is going to the education fund, etc., etc.
Let me just say that we will be continuing to assist in sponsoring events that include opportunities to help the cause of Helena Jolly, and one of those opportunities is in the form of events related to the SkiSoutheast.com / Snowshoe Summit coming up on March 6-8th. Be sure to check out that information as we begin promoting it in earnest on Tuesday, February 24, 2009!
However, we don’t want to be the collective concern handling funds intended for the education fund. Therefore if any of you wishes to donate to this great cause, please do so directly and you can do that by sending your check to:
HELENA JOLLY EDUCATIONAL FUND
c/o PIEDMONT FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK
PO BOX 215
WINSTON SALEM NC 27102-0215
If you want to find out more about the Helena Jolly Educational Fund click here
As per SkiNC Hoodies, tees, etc…yes you can purchase those from SkiNC, but "no" we are not selling them for $30 and $20 with monies going to the educational fund. As much as we’d love to do that – it was a one day (kind of had to be there) thing. Hopefully everyone understands.
We’ve had an overwhelming response with people emailing us additional questions pertaining to the fund raising, so hopefully this covers about any question you might have. However, if you DO have any other questions – feel free to email us at [email protected]
Well I think that about covers it!
Great job guys and gals! We’ll do it again next year!
Send your comments, photos, videos and trip reports to: [email protected]