Ninth Annual Silent Auction

Each year since 2003, the museum has held its major fundraising event for its operational budget at the International Sign Assn’s Sign Expo. The museum’s entire booth is dedicated to the silent auction, which begins when the show opens on Thursday morning and closes on Saturday at noon. Modest though it was those first two years, the annual event has attracted a growing number of generous donors. The auction grew until it raised $46,800 in 2007 and $40,775 the following year.
We went into last year’s auction with significantly lower expectations and were consequently not surprised to gross only $22,965. To begin with, the retail value of the donated goods and services was considerably lower, from $117,568 in 2008 to $77,924 in 2009. The fact was that show visitors – signshops small and large – just didn’t have the cashflow to warrant purchasing any goods or services they didn’t specifically need for a job.
In projecting this year’s results, we were similarly cautious in our expectations, but when the dust settled on Saturday afternoon, the auction had grossed $25,950 – nearly $3,000 more than in 2009, or a 12% improvement.
This is in largely due to our donors – primarily exhibitors at the show. The retail value of donated items was up $14,000, or 17% over the previous year. So we thank our long-time Silent Auction supporters, as well as those who joined us for the first time.
Once again, ST Media Group Intl. led the slate of supporters in retail value, donating eight full-page ads in four separate trade magazines. They were followed closely by Roland DGA Corporation (Irvine, CA), which again donated the single, highest retail value item – a GX-500 Pro series vinyl cutter. Both companies have been supporting the auction since its inception in 2003.
Other faithful supporters included:
• American Biltrite Inc. (Moorestown, NJ), application tape, a Weber Made tape tool and a Shar-Pei mascot;
• Aristech Acrylics LLS (Florence, KY), a case of Acrysteel acrylic sheet;
• Arlon Inc. (Santa Ana, CA), a 50-yd. roll of DPF 8000 film;
• Brian the Brush World Headquarters (Adams Point, NY), three sets of Custom ClipArt;
• Cadlink Technology (Ottawa, ON, Canada), Signlab Print and Cut package and Digital Factory Print and Cut RIP;
• Cincinnati (OH) Sign Supplies Inc., a gift certificate for SloanLED products;
• Estimate Software (Enka, NC), six months of Estimate Everything Freedom Plan;
• FESPA Mexico (Reigate, U.K.), a 10 x 10-ft. booth for FESPA Mexico in August 2010;
• France (Fairview, TN), a Service Master package of neon transformers;
• International Sign Assn. (Fairfax, VA), a 10 x 10-ft. booth for Sign Expo 2011 and a registration packet, including unlimited seminars;
• Michael Brady Inc. Engineering (Knoxville, TN), a gift certificate for engineering services;
• N. Glantz & Son (Louisville, KY), a gift certificate for sign supplies;
• One Shot/Div. of Spraylat (Chicago), a complete collection of lettering enamels in half pints;
• Oracal USA Inc. (Black Creek, GA), a gift certificate for metalized film and laminate;
• R Tape Corp. (South Plainfield, NJ), VinylEfx metalized film and laminate;
• Sign Builder Illustrated (NYC), a full-page, four-color ad;
• Signwarehouse.com (Denison, TX), an EnduraCUT Plus cutter and heatpress bundle;
• SloanLED (Ventura, CA), a 50% gift certificate;
• Spraylat Corp. (Chicago), a 53-gallon drum of SignStrip;
• Tubelite Co. Inc. (Apopka, FL), two Chameleon countertop signs;
• U.S. Banner (Greenville, SC), an assortment of rolls of Big Foot banner material;
• US LED (Houston), a gift certificate for US LED products; and
• Zeronine Mfg. Co. Inc. (Cary, IL), a bundle of thermal ribbons.
First-time donors included:
• FDC Graphic Films Inc. (South Bend, IN), bottles of wine;
• Federal Heath Signs LLC (Oceanside, CA), an iPhone;
• GE Lighting Solutions (East Cleveland, OH), Tetra MAX white channel letter LEDs and respective power supplies;
• Nazdar/SourceOne (Shawnee, KS), a CATZper and Color Cue bundle; and
• Robert Mars (Astoria, NY), who donated a wonderful vintage, sign-themed, mixed-media artwork.
For the first time, the museum also hosted the Silent Auction for another exhibitor, the Southern States Sign Council (SSSC). The museum worked with SSSC Executive Director Jennifer Graham to display and auction goods and services donated by a dozen different product manufacturers. All proceeds from the SSSC auction benefitted the council’s scholarship program.
The museum is considering conducting the auctions online. Due to the exhibit-hall size and exhibitor numbers, plus all the other show activities, the museum’s booth can easily be missed. Stay tuned.