Auction to aid Holts Summit civic group

The annual auction to benefit the Holts Summit Community Betterment Association will be Saturday morning at the Holts Summit Lions Club building on East Hillcrest Drive.

Anita Werdenhausen, event organizer, said the doors will open at 9 a.m. and the auction will start at 10 a.m.

Auctioneer Charlie Pardon of Gratz Auction Service has donated his services as auctioneer for the annual fund-raising event for the Holts Summit Community Betterment Association.

Werdenhausen said items donated so far that will be auctioned include two nights at Tan-Tar-A Resort at the Lake of the Ozarks donated by Tan-Tar-A.

She said Central Bank has donated four tickets to the April 8 concert at Mizzou Arena in Columbia featuring country music entertainers George Strait, Reba McEntire and Lee Ann Womack.

Other donated items include gift certificates, gift baskets, golf balls, new air hockey game, toys and birthday parties for children, furniture, miscellaneous household items, and appliances.

"More donated items are arriving daily," Werdenhausen said.

The auction is the primary fund-raising event for the Holts Summit Community Betterment Association. Proceeds go back to the Holts Summit community through projects, donations and grants, according to Pamela Murray, president of the association.

Previous auction proceeds have been spent on playground equipment at Greenway Park, appliances and a three-bay sink at the Civic Building at Greenway Park, a stove for the Lions Club, sports camp scholarships with the Sports Crusaders, the Girls Growing in Grace program at Union Hill Baptist Church, supplies for emergency foster home placements, a Girl Scout landscaping project, a Boy Scout flag pole project at the fire station, a time capsule at North School, support for the Soup Kitchen, support for SERVE, Inc., the Boys and Girls Club, and a benevolence fund for families in tragedy.

"Last year we raised about $3,000 from the auction and this year we believe we will match that. Donations to the event have been good," Werdenhausen said.

"Many people donate household items, including furniture to the auction," Werdenhausen said.

"This is the fifth year we have had the auction and it becomes more popular every year,"she said.

Every year the Holts Summit Community Betterment Association provides grants to various civic organizations and events. It also plans to build a sign welcoming people to Holts Summit.

The Lions Club is accessed off the Center Street exit from U.S. 54 in Holts Summit. East Hillcrest Drive is located just across from the Holts Summit Fire Protection District fire station.