LAWTON – The Comanche County Saddle & Sirloin Club raised more than $77,000 with its Take Stock in Kids live auction which benefits youngsters who raise and show animals at the spring Livestock Show and Premium Sale.
The fundraiser, which included dinner, live music and a silent auction, was held July 16 at the Apache Casino Hotel with a capacity crowd filling the facility’s banquet hall.
“We’re very excited. This is a great night, sold out,” said Maurissa Buchwald, secretary of the Saddle & Sirloin Club. “Our kids are top notch. They learn so much being in this program.”
Casey Cox, of All America Bank, said the vo-ag programs in Comanche County produces good students who have solid work ethics and make great employees. Cox was raised on a farm and was involved in agriculture programs as a youth.
“That where a lot of our employees come from (ag programs),” he said. “They’re more likely to stay on the job than others because of their work ethic.”
All America Bank was a Gold sponsor for the fundraiser.
Shane Burk, owner of Shane Burk Services, said he wanted to be a Platinum sponsor because of the value the vo-ag programs provide students.
“I grew up in Comanche County out around Chattanooga and we (vo-ag students) had support from the community when I was a kid,” he recalled. “We put the kids first and it’s a thrill do it.”
Burk donated one of the electric scooters that was auctioned Saturday.
Denny Taby, an employee at Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma, said he was involved in 4-H and FFA programs as a kid and wants to return that support to today’s students. Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma was one of the supporters for the buckles that were auctioned Saturday.
The Saddle & Sirloin Club auctioned 20 belt buckles to companies and individuals who will present the buckles to winners at next spring’s Livestock Show and Premium Sale. The buckle auction raised $38,300.
Other live auction items and a scooter raffle raised $16,300 and the silent auction brought in $9,436. Sponsorship money, after expenses, netted $13,000, said Dustin Glover, vice president of the Saddle & Sirloin Club.
“This is a great time for Comanche County ag youth,” he said. “There is lots of support.”
The silent auction produced 80 items that could be bid on with winning bids ranging from $100 to $800. There were items for children, men and women, Glover said.
The live auction items, other than the buckles, included the two electric scooters, an outdoor bar and an Apple watch.
“This is a big shindig,” Glover said.
This was the seventh year the club has hosted a fundraiser, he said, noting that sponsorships increased this year as much as $7,000 to $9,000.