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| Auctioneer Kevin Sherrard and wife Stacy |
Up on the block was a 1942 Beretta Rifle with Bayonet. This beautiful piece of history had the firing mechanism removed, but was otherwise original and could easily be restored to a firing weapon or admired as a wall hanger. Auctioneer Kevin Sherrard announced, "This is going for our little 14-year-old waitress Jaycie Cassidy who has been in Children's Hospital for 27 days. Expenses are mounting for her family, so we are going to be auctioning several donated items over the next few weeks to help them out. All the proceeds from these sales will go to the family, 100%, so let's go, right here, right here."
The bidding quickly started at $25, then $35, $50, $60 and on up to $150 and sold! Before I knew what was happening, the buyer immediately re-donated the item for sale again and the bidding was started at $25, then $40, then $60, then 100, and on up to $150 and again sold! Again, the buyer immediately re-donated the item and the bidding was off and running. By this time I was moved to tears. I had not seen such an outpouring of support at an auction before. The third time the item was on the block it was actually sold to a grateful buyer who wanted it for a Christmas present for her son who loved WWII history. This item brought in several hundred dollars for Jaycie and her family.
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| Jaycie Cassidy in photo by raffle items |
Jaycie had been our waitress at our first visit to The Auction House back in June. I remembered her well as a friendly girl with a great smile. I had noticed that she wasn't there lately and assumed she didn't work during school months. She was a healthy, happy teen when I met her. I had no idea she was so ill. I spoke to Jaycie's grandmother, Robin Fugate who told me Jaycie was suffering complications from Gastroschisis, a birth defect thought to have been corrected when she was just 5-hours old, but apparently as she grew, the scar tissue also grew and caused severe blockage for the now 14-year-old Jr. High Cheer Captain.
She had been healthy until this year. She has undergone several surgeries and has been at Childrens' Hospital in Plano and now in Dallas for nearly a month.
With medical and travel expenses adding up quickly, patrons have donated several fine-quality firearms to be raffled off over the next few weeks to raise funds. Gun winners must have a license or go through the regular legal process for purchasing firearms to win. November 16th will feature a bake sale with home-made cookies, cakes and treats being auctioned with 100% of all proceeds going to Jaycie and her family.
Although this particular fundraiser really touched my heart, this was not the first time I've seen this type of activity at The Auction House. Between the tools, furniture and surplus store items, they feature surplus canned foods and farmer's market items in season. You can get a big bag of fresh golden potatoes, green beans or yellow squash for only $2-3.00. What's so special is that just about half the items that are sold on the block are then immediately donated to Loaves and Fishes, a faith-based ministry, in partnership with East Texas Food Bank, which has worked to increase service from its initial 17 clients in 1996 to more than 150 households each week in 2012. Once more, the proceeds from the donated sales go directly to the organization for operational and other expenses.
As the holidays have been approaching, we've noticed in influx of new packaged toys on the block, most of which are immediately donated to their annual Toys for Tots toy drive for children in need. According to Auctioneer Kevin Sherrard, "Last year we were able to provide enough toys to fulfill all the toy requests that came in for Van Zandt County and most of the requests that came in for Rains, Henderson, Wood and a good piece of Smith Counties."
In this day of "Storage Wars" and "Auction Kings" it seems everyone is looking for a great deal or to run the bid up on your competitor so they pay too much for this lot so you can get the next one for less. That is not the case at The Auction House. People are friendly, neighborly and fun. Not that there aren't competitive bidders, but if someone bids on something, it means they actually want to buy it. It's a healthy competition that makes it fun for all.
We asked Auctioneer Kevin Sherrard why he does so much giving at his auction house. He said very plainly, "I like it. It makes me feel good." Well, I guess it makes all of us feel good, after all "remember the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35.
For more information on The Auction House in Canton, please visit
The Auction House, Auctioneer KEVIN SHERRARD
1590 South Buffalo Street - Highway 198 South
1600 South Buffalo Street
Canton, TX 75103
Phone: 903-567-2107
Email: cantonauctionhouse@yahoo.com
1 comment:
This is a sweet story.. i hope this young girl is okay!
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