Gala Auction set for Feb. 20

A Brett Favre jersey, Flip Video camcorder, and northern Minnesota vacation are among the items currently available for bid online and at the Northwestern College Alumni Association’s 27th annual Gala Auction on Saturday, Feb. 20.

Items on the popular silent auction will be available for browsing and bidding beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the Rowenhorst Student Center (RSC) gym on the 20th. The traditional verbal auction begins at 7.

This year’s auction already includes many items that can be browsed and bid on at www.nwciowa.edu/auction.

Golf packages for courses in Arizona, Iowa and Nebraska are on the block. Passes for family fun at Wild Water West near Sioux Falls, Adventureland near Des Moines, and Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo will also be up for bid.

Buy original art, flowers, gift baskets or jewelry. Technology enthusiasts can bid on a Kindle, Tom Tom GPS or Wii Fit Plus. Food lovers may go home with Iowa pork chops or gift certificates for area restaurants, including Archie’s Waeside, Blue Mountain and Culver’s.

Visit the auction website, www.nwciowa.edu/auction, to search for specific items of interest and to bid online if you can’t attend on Feb. 20.

But come in person if you can, encourages Aletha Beeson in Northwestern’s alumni office. “One of the best things about the auction is friends of Northwestern getting together and having a great time,” she says. “And being there in person is the surest way to guarantee you’ll have the high bid.”

Auction proceeds support scholarships, student life programs and teaching excellence at Northwestern. Last year’s auction raised around $35,000; 40 students received $1,000 Alumni Association scholarships for this school year.

As a warm-up to the auction, Northwestern fans are invited to watch the Red Raider basketball teams take on the University of Sioux Falls Cougars Saturday afternoon. Both games will be in the Bultman Center; the women play at 2 p.m., the men play at 4.

A family friendly pre-auction meal of pulled-pork sandwiches will be served in the RSC gym beginning at 5:15 p.m. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for kids age 6-12; children under 5 eat free. Free refreshments will be available during the auction.

Childcare is available beginning at 6 p.m. by students raising support for Spring Service Project trips. Parents can pre-register at 712-707-7134 or nwcalumni@nwciowa.edu, or register the night of the auction.

Bidders’ books with a complete listing of the items will be available beginning Wednesday, Feb. 10, at the RSC desk, Orange City businesses and MJ’s Sinclair in Sioux Center.