FORKS — The 50th annual Quillayute Valley Scholarship Auction raised a record amount Saturday and Sunday — more than $88,000.
This year’s auction beat the 2001 record of $87,722.
“When all is said and done, we could break $89,000,” said Jerry Leppell, chairman for the auction committee, as final bids were tallied Monday.
Leppell said the generosity of the public, in both donating items to the auction and in bidding for auction items, couldn’t have come at a better time — a very large class, 88 seniors, is set to graduate from Forks High School in June.
Money from the annual auction funds grants to Forks High graduating seniors and graduates to pay for college costs, vocational school fees or tools for graduates heading off to work.
More than 1,200 items were auctioned off over two days.
Blackberry pies sold for $100 and fruit baskets for as much as $50. Bird houses went for $45 to $70.
A car donated by Wilder Auto in Port Angeles sold for $3,200. An Alaska fishing trip for two — a $2,400 value — brought $1,400.
Leppell thanked the donors for the items that were auctioned.
“These people give and give and give, big items and small items,” he said.
“It takes a community to make this thing work.”
In the first 49 years of the auction, more than $1 million has been raised for Forks alumni to continue their vocational or higher education goals.
Teachers serve as auctioneers, and the auction is overseen by community leaders — most of them Forks High graduates and many past scholarship recipients.
Any Forks High graduate is eligible for a scholarship twice in his or her life, based on financial need, grades and participation in past auctions.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
