First weekend raises more than $35,000

January 10 and 11 brought the first weekend of the 2025 Geneva Cancer Auction, held at the Geneva Bar and Grill. Hundreds of people crowded the venue as a great group of supporters turned out. The event will resume at 7 p.m Friday, Jan. 17, and again at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18. There is still time to donate auction items.

The annual fundraiser began in 1985, when it raised $5,500. Now in its forty-first year, it and other Geneva events have contributed a combined $2,488,000. The four days of the 2024 cancer auction brought in $186,000.

The Geneva Bar and Grill was filled with energy and a sense of fun; hundreds of people came and went, always keeping the venue full to capacity. Numerous area auctioneers gave of their time as sellers; others volunteered as clerks and “models,” holding up items for the crowd to see and watching for bids.

The very first sale item was a package deal including a pound of potatoes, a pound of onions and a pound of Hope butter: the package sold for $35. That was followed by a quart of dill pickles canned by area resident Sue Hill; the jar sold for $75. Phyllis “Snookie” Hagen donated a pan of her cinnamon rolls which, coupled with a pound of Hope butter, brought in more than $300.

A wide array of homebaked, homemade and handcrafted items flowed across the auction block, nearly always bringing in more than they would have sold for in other settings. Gift certificates and quality commercially-made items were also sold. Saturday was designated for the sale of farm-related items and collectibles, a category which always draws strong interest.

Special memorials, including quilts in honor of 7-year-old Finley Budach and for Steve Quam, plucked at people’s heartstrings and their pocketbooks.

Peppered throughout the evenings were presentations of checks for the amounts raised during area fundraisers held during the past year.

The annual “Wild Game Feed,” held each year in the Geneva Bar and Grill parking lot on the first Saturday of December, presented a check for $27,000. Alex Beenken, David Thompson, Steve Bailey, Brian Muri and Troy Hagen represented the group.

Karen Quam presented a check in the amount of $8,054.

The Yaunt-2 Ranch, based in Ellendale, presented a check for money raised during its annual summer “ride for cancer” and other events.

A representative from the Geneva Cancer Auction will appear in order to donate proceeds from the four days of sales during the annual Eagles Cancer Telethon, which will be broadcast on KTTC television out of Rochester beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18. The Geneva donation will occur Sunday.