I had the pleasure of being close to the action at last night's Bay of Plenty Times Big Charity Auction - and what a fantastic event it was.
Five super prizes worth almost $70,000 went under the hammer and sold for millions of charity auction dollars.
There was a cold wind cutting
across the downtown waterfront where we held the auction, but that didn't matter. The atmosphere was warm and the bidding even hotter.
And while there were a number of happy people, it is also heartening to know we carried out this campaign to raise money for the Child Cancer Foundation.
An added bonus is the Lions Club, which picked up the boat package, plans to raffle it and donate the money to the cancer lodge in Hamilton, where Western Bay patients stay when getting treatment.
On behalf of the Bay of Plenty Times, I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in this fund-raising project, from the organisers in our marketing department to the companies that generously donated awesome prizes.
It has been a privilege to meet the likes of 11-year-old cancer patient Francesca Taylor and Delwynne Hahunga from the Child Cancer Foundation.
Delwynne and all the volunteers from the foundation do such an amazing job helping devastated kids and their families in their times of need.
I'd also like to thank everyone who collected auction dollars and came along last night.
Your support has made a difference in our community.
