The community stepped up last week and opened their hearts and wallets to give back to the youth in Caldwell and Lyon counties.
The Princeton Optimist and Kiwanis clubs partnered with WPKY for the annual radio auction that was a lot different than in years past. This year’s radio auction had a “New in 22” theme, a new fundraising goal, a new Platinum Partner Sponsorship Program, and a new air-conditioned location at the Christian Life Center at First Baptist Church in downtown Princeton.
Monday night, the radio auction kicked off at a slower pace with 60 items sold, bringing in over $1,500 dollars. On night two of the auction, 65 items were sold for a total of $2,070.
The momentum started to shift by mid-week when during the Wednesday night’s auction Optimist Club President George Kilgore made a surprise announcement about a newly established vocational school scholarship — The Wes York Memorial Scholarship — to honor the memory of the local high school ag teacher and FFA advisor.
click to download audioTwo of York’s former students at the auction — Benji Kilgore and Noah Peake — shared their stories of how the late mentor had impacted their lives.
click to download audioBenji’s father, George, then issued a challenge to former and current students along with any individuals, groups, organizations or businesses to donate in $100 increments to The Wes York Memorial Scholarship fund.
On night 4, the surprises kept coming when Jay Davis with the Princeton Elks Lodge handed Kilgore a check to go directly to the new scholarship fund.
click to download audioSeveral in the room were overcome with emotions as Davis said they wanted to honor York for his love of this community and his students.
click to download audioBy the final night Friday, the auction had picked up steam and sold 75 items, raising $5,140. But, that wasn’t the biggest surprise. That came when Princeton Kiwanis Club President Joe Gray announced the record-breaking grand total for the week-long auction.
click to download audioKilgore posted over the weekend that words cannot begin to express their gratitude to the community for the support they received for the radio auction this year. He said the theme of “22 in 22” was surpassed in a way that they can only describe as a blessing.
As donations for the Wes York Memorial Scholarship fund continue to come in, Kilgore said it will probably be several days before they have the final totals to share with the community.
He also announced that successful bidders who haven’t picked up their item may do so starting Tuesday at Princeton City Hall by seeing Julie Poole.
