By Paula Martino
A Fast Car, Axe Throwing, Great Getaways, and Experiences Galore!
The focus of this year’s silent auction was to offer more fun and exciting experiences to our members and it sure paid off. Bidding was vigorous with almost 300 bids cast for a final auction total of $18,221 raised for NV/RPAC to support the issues and candidates that preserve and protect your industry.
Thanks to the hard work of Event Chair Mary Ann Burstein, the entire NV/RPAC Campaign Committee and the generosity of our item donors, we were able to take the auction offerings to the next level. There were getaways available to the Caymans, a luxury Florida resort, Ambergris Caye, Belize and to a beautiful Bed & Breakfast right here in Northern Virginia. For lovers of fast cars, we had a 2019 Aston Martin DB11 to auction off for a weekend, James Bond style, courtesy of Aston Martin Washington DC. Those looking for fun, recreational experiences locally were able to bid on packages from Bad Axe Throwing, Ultimate Archery Dodgeball and Dave & Buster’s. Baseball fans had the opportunity to be the highest bidder for 2 tickets to see the Washington Nationals WIN the National League Division Championship in Game #4 against the St. Louis Cardinals. We also had plenty of great baskets of cheer from local wineries and distilleries and many of 2019’s hottest electronic gadgets and gifts to choose from.
Our simple-to-use web-based auction platform was a hit again this year. This platform gives bidders the convenience of bidding and monitoring items remotely from their phones or computers in addition to being present at the auction site during the convention. We look forward to using it again next year for another fun and successful fundraising experience.
A very special thank-you to all the REALTORS®, companies, affiliated service providers, local businesses and individuals for donating the wonderful auction items:
Aston Martin Washington DC
Mary Bayat
Boomerang Tours, Inc.
BPG Inspections
Mary Bowen, Long & Foster Real Estate
Mary Ann Burstein, Long & Foster Real Estate
Genevieve Concannon, Advon Real Estate
Crescendo Studios
Dave & Buster’s Fairfax
Michelle Doherty, RE/MAX Allegiance
ECI Development
Greenhill Vineyards
Hidden View Bed & Breakfast
Sanjay Joshi, Ikon Realty
Kathy Kratovil, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
L’Auberge Provencal
Middleburg Life Magazine
Nicholas Lagos, 2019 NVAR President-Elect
Gary Lange, Weichert, REALTORS®
Long & Foster Real Estate
Paula Martino
Matchbox Restaurants
Roger Nakazawa
Peter Nguyen, The Reef Team
NVAR
Prosperity Home Mortgage
Christine Richardson, 2019 NVAR President
Andrea Riggs
John Slye, Ameris Bank Mortgage Services
Derrick Swaak, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Virginia Treanor, National Museum for Women in the Arts
Scott Tucker, Guaranteed Rate Affinity
Ultimate Archery Dodgeball
Josh Veverka
Kevin Wheeler, 123JUNK
Vijay Yadlapati
Ann Yanagihara, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage