Auction proceeds will help Liberty Lake Elementary technology fund

Thanks in part to a pair of bidders who matched each other dollar for dollar for the honor to be principal for a day, last Friday’s Liberty Lake Elementary Auction greatly surpassed fundraising goals.

Held at the Mirabeau Park Hotel, the dinner-auction packed one of the large meeting rooms with friends and school patrons colorfully dressed for the Hawaiian-themed event.

The best item was saved for last as bidding shot to over $1,000 for the opportunity to replace school principal Linda Uphus for a day. By the time auctioneer Lloyd Stallings and emcee Dave Pier were finished, bidding stood at $1,100 and the two finalists agreed to split the honor.

The “Principal for the Day” prize helped push the night’s total take to around $14,600 according to event chair Amy Mason. “That is a rough number on the conservative side,” Mason said. “Our goal was also conservative. We hoped to raise around $10,000.”

The top prize will allow a pair of students to rule the school for the day, have lunch with Uphus and even invite friends to join them. “With all Mrs. Uphus has to do in a day, it will be fun for the two winners to stand in her shoes,” Mason said.

Stallings, a second-grade teacher at Liberty Lake, and Pier, who has a son attending the school, did a masterful job of pushing the bidding higher and higher on almost every item.

Some of the “big ticket” items included a variety of ticket packages to sporting events, ranging from the Seattle Seahawks to highly sought Gonzaga University basketball tickets. Two pair of GU tickets pulled bids in the $500 range.

Another popular item was the “Beach Day at the Clines,” which included wakeboarding, tubing and a barbecue at the Liberty Lake family’s lakefront home.

Some items that were a bit off-the-wall – ride-alongs with fire and police – were immensely popular.

The auction was conducted primarily to raise funds to expand the school’s technology needs.

But the money will go to more broad-based needs too. “As a PTSA, we pay for a large number of things,” Mason said. “With a school population as large as Liberty Lake – almost 600 in grades 1-5 – just paying for field trips, classroom aid, and assemblies stretches us.”

This is the second year for the school auction. “This format replaces the children’s art auction which was previously very successful for many years,” said Mason who was aided in producing the event by a number of key volunteers.

“The hardest job was for Jennifer Johnson in procurement,” according to Mason “She and her committee did a wonderful job going out into the community and getting donations.”