The sixth annual St. Jude VIP Banquet was held at the Black River Coliseum Friday, with more than 900 people turning out for the event.
The banquet featured several vendors, over 200 silent auction items and 11 live auction items.
A silent auction also was held throughout the evening.
The evening was full of lively emotion, with visitors of all ages coming together to participate in raising money for children in need at the Memphis-based St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“Walking in was breathtaking,” Jayna Taylor stated. “Just seeing all the vendors gather to provide items is actually moving and heartfelt once you think about it.”
“The VIP banquet was amazing,” said St. Jude Heroes team captain Miranda Fickert. “The event went off without a hitch and everyone seemed to be having a great time.”
Fickert said the all-volunteer committee “rocked it again this year, and I’m so proud of all the work they put into this thing. They happily give countless hours to support St. Jude.”
The night was spent with people congregating, socializing and browsing for an item they might really want. Along the walls of the Black River Coliseum arena were several rows of products lined up to keep auctioneers’ eyes moving.
Raffles included gun safes, guns, cash prizes, a wagon of liquor, gift cards, hunting blinds and a lifetime NRA membership.
The raffles were sponsored by Agri Grow, Catt Land Company, Master Halco, Sterling Bank, Academy Sports+Outdoors, Commerce Bank, The Bank of Missouri, Home Care Equipment, Much-n-Pump, McVey Management, JML Inc., Mossy Oak Properties and Legacy Farm and Land Specialist.
Items auctioned off included kitchen utensils and cookware, hunting equipment, televisions and ticket passes to museums or attractions and more.
The live auction was sponsored by McK Cattle Company. The items included an Illinois whitetail hunt, a registered Labrador retriever puppy, an Argentina dove hunt, a Bergara Premier Approach rifle in .300 PRC caliber, a Northern Missouri/Southern Iowa whitetail hunt, a registered Border Collie puppy, a custom metal American flag, a guided turkey hunt with Derek Dirnberger of “The Break” television show, an African safari, a registered goldendoodle and more.
Saturday’s 3-D archery saw around 95 participants, said organizer Jim Akers, with archers shooting a 20-target course and several novelty shots.
The combined events raised between $230,000 and $240,000, Fickert said, though the final dollars still are being counted.
That’s slightly below the $250,000 overall fundraising goal, but the local St. Jude Heroes team has until early December to reach that mark with other events and sales.
“We’re planning on putting out some table tents on some area restaurant tables” where people can donate, Fickert said. A hunting-oriented fall raffle and possibly an online auction also may be held.
Next year’s banquet has tentatively been scheduled for Aug. 12, and the committee, Fickert said, “didn’t even blink” about the possibility of raising even more money.
Paul Davis contributed information to this story after it became available following the events.