At the ARA Foundation Reception With a Purpose on Tuesday night, attendees bid on 34 items from 28 companies during the ARA Foundation Charity Auction and raised more than $84,000 for the Foundation. The reception, sponsored by Briggs & Stratton Corp. and Little Wonder/Mantis, Div. of Schiller Grounds Care, kicked off immediately after the show floor closed and included hors d’oeuvres plus complimentary beer, wine and soft drinks for the first hour. The live charity auction was sponsored by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, which also conducted the auction. “I am thrilled with how generous people were tonight,” said Catherine DeBusk, vice chair/trustee at large for the ARA Foundation board. “That is a great amount to raise for the Foundation.” Among the items donated for the auction were two travel packages, including six Gehl Club tickets to a Milwaukee Brewers game from Gehl Co., West Bend, Wis., and a 2012 John Deere Classic PGA tour package from John Deere, Moline, Ill. Electronics are on the docket this year, with an Apple 32GB WiFi-ready iPad 2 from EDCO – Equipment Development Co., Frederick, Md.; a Dell Inspiron touchscreen computer from Point-of-Rental, Grand Prairie, Texas; and a Barnes & Noble NOOK® color and MicroSD card donated by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Unique items also included a case of wine and a 78-in.-tall reproduction Harley Davidson gasoline pump. Equipment up for auction included products such as the COOLIT2600 portable air conditioner from AirPac, Front Royal, Va.; the U-Sand Pro random orbit floor sander from Cherryhill Manufacturing Corp., Indiana, Pa.; a LSC (LightSource Compact) Light Tower from Doosan Portable Power, Statesville, N.C.; a CTS12 RIP-R-STRIPPER from General Equipment Co., Owatonna, Minn., and a choice of the BC2600HH Brush Cutter or OS900SPH Overseeder from Billy Goat Industries, Lee’s Summit, Mo. Proceeds from the auction and donations help support the ARA Foundation and its programs, including the scholarship programs, the international rental business leadership program, the disaster relief and recovery program and the Rental Executive Advisory Program (REAP). |