The June 2 rummage sale and auction sponsored by the Austin Downtown Association raised more than $1,650 for the Mower County Humane Society.

Monday, June 11, 2001

The June 2 rummage sale and auction sponsored by the Austin Downtown Association raised more than $1,650 for the Mower County Humane Society.

Nini Johnson explained how her organization will use the money.

"We’re saving it for upkeep," Johnson said. "We’re going to put concrete in the parking lot and make it nice and smooth. We’re also going to landscape in the back."

She said bushes and trees also will be placed in the backyard area.

This will not only liven up the Humane Society, but also provide a recreational outlet for animals and their owners.

"It’ll be a place to walk the dogs and for people thinking about adoption to get to know the animals," Johnson said.

Other areas of the Humane Society in need of maintenance include the cat section. Johnson said an air purification system is needed, especially with summer and the hot weather in the future.

While Johnson was not directly involved in the auction or rummage sale, she solicited donations prior to the event and also made silent donations.

With the success of this past weekend’s sale, Johnson is hoping the event can continue in the future.

She was pleased by the turnout in the community.

"It’s a lot of money," she said. "I appreciate all those who donated, both the businesses and the private people. The auctioneers also donated their time."

One of those auctioneers was Larry Bunker.

Bunker, a licensed auctioneer, enjoys working at charity auctions, saying that they’re for a good cause.

Bunker explained that the Humane Society items, donated by businesses and the community, were auctioned off to the highest bidder.

The proceeds went to the Humane Society.

He, like Johnson, would like to see the event continue in the future.

"I’d like to see this continue for the Humane Society," he said. "They’ve got a good cause there; they’re a good organization and have done a good job finding homes for all pets."

The most enjoyable part of the event for him was simply auctioneering and having fun with the people.

"I thought it was very successful for the two hours we did it," Johnson said.

The idea for the auction came from Monica Grimm, a volunteer at the Humane Society.

"We were thinking of doing another big fund raiser," Grimm said. "We have the Walk-a-Thon in the fall and I heard about Olmsted County’s Paws and Claws auction; I thought maybe we could do something like that."

Grimm talked it over with Bunker, who thought it was a good idea.

"Larry heard about the rummage sale and thought we should have the auction downtown and see how it goes," she said. "We can start out small and do it a bit differently next time, expand on it more."

According to Grimm, the event was a great success, with all the items auctioned off, some for more than their original value.

Grimm became involved in the Humane Society about three years ago, after reading some information on them.

Her love of animals pulled her to the organization, whose volunteers share a special tie.

"We have a camaraderie between the volunteers," she said. "We work hard and we know why we’re doing it. There are no complaints."

Area business owners were also impressed by Saturday’s turnout.

Gretchen Ramlo, owner of Gretchen’s, called the auction "wonderful."

"It brought more people downtown and raised close to $1,700 for the Humane Society," she said. "That’s money they wouldn’t have had otherwise."

Ramlo also added that while the weather may not of been ideal, many of the businesses that had booths would come back again for such a good cause.

Call Melissa Bregani at 434-2236 or e-mail her at newsroom@austindailyherald.com.