Spring Auction Co-Chairs Have Been Volunteering Since They Were Kids
When Barbara Mariacher and Veronique Valentine started volunteering for the New Hampshire Public Television Spring Auction they were just teenagers. Now for the first time in NHPTV history, these former teen-aged volunteers will lead the 2017 Auction as co-chairs.
The 44th annual NHPTV Spring Auction kicks off Wednesday, April 19th on New Hampshire Public Television PRIME. It is the PBS station's biggest fundraiser drawing thousands of dedicated volunteers, receiving thousands of donations from local businesses and attracting of bidders from all over the world.
From a very young age, both Barbara and Veronique tagged along their parents, who have also been long-time volunteers of the NHPTV Spring Auction.
"I started off in Auction when I was around 12" says Barbara, now the mother of four children who lives on a farm in Lee. She first started volunteering for the Auction with the Granite State Dairy Promotion, and decided to keep coming back year after year.
“It's just a lot of fun," Barbara says. "That’s one thing Auction has done is keep it fun for the volunteers so they want to come back.”
Since 1983, Veronique worked alongside her father Ron Cassie behind-the-scenes of the live production. "I started when I was seven," she says. "There was a child’s Auction on Saturday afternoon and my sister and I would go with my dad and model clothing and stuffed animals."
Every year approximately 1,000 people volunteer to help at the NHPTV Spring Auction, which typically runs eight days in April. The volunteers are critical to the Auction’s overall success. Volunteers serve in almost every capacity behind and in front of the camera, from taking bids over the phones to preparing items for display.
"We are so thankful for the amount of work our volunteers put in to make the NHPTV Spring Auction a success," says Judy Pinkham, NHPTV Director of Fundraising Events "We wouldn't be able to pull this community event off if it wasn't for the dedication of our long-time volunteers and even from our newest volunteers who walk through that door at six o'clock that first night."
And it is more than the friendly camaraderie that has drawn Barbara and Veronique back to the event each year. It is a family affair. “My mom still volunteers," Barbara says. "Everyone calls her ‘Ma’. Now my oldest daughter is helping volunteer and my sister comes and helps too. When you have three generations doing it at the same time it’s just really cool.”
“My dad is the whole reason I started doing this," laughs Veronique who lives in the Seacoast area. "He was volunteering when I was watching Sesame Street. We’ve been doing this together for years. It’s our thing.”
This year's NHPTV Spring Auction runs from April 19th to April 22nd, and April 26th to April 29th starting at 6 PM each evening on NHPTV PRIME and online at nhptv.org/Auction. Anyone (16 and older) can volunteer and donate to the NHPTV Spring Auction. If interested, contact the NHPTV Auction office at 603-868-4432.
All efforts, no matter how big or small, are appreciated. If you volunteer, you may find more than a chance to be on live TV and raffle ticket, you could find tradition, lifelong friends and a sense of community.
“Public Television is such an important thing to help preserve," Veronique says. "They provide educational programming for kids and adults. Volunteering for the Auction helps fundraise to keep those programs running. You feel like you're a part of something huge when you join in.”