HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – The 75th Annual Rotary Auction is kicking off in Hopkinsville with the theme of Financing our Future. The extensive auction begins Monday night, lasting through April 26.
In 2024, the auction sold over 700 items raising a whopping $560,074.48. Ten grants were also awarded to local organizations. They continue to raise the bar every year, having raised $520,000 in 2023. According to Hopkinsville Rotary, this annual auction has grown into the largest single fundraiser in all of Rotary International.
The auction list for this year includes hundreds of local items including products from Hampton Meats, bourbon, woodworking items, and several gift certificates for various services and products including food, massages, and photography sessions. Big Board online auction items include a golf cart, an exclusive experience at Casey Jones distillery, UK basketball tickets, diamond earrings, a five-night stay in Belize, and more.
Proceeds from this year’s auction will support the Rotary Scholars program, which sends local students to Hopkinsville Community College tuition-free. Money raised also goes to the Hopkinsville Rotary Foundation, which funds grants to various youth-based organizations, along with the Rotary Impact program, which funds four-year college costs for students who commit to work locally upon graduation.
The Rotary website says the fund has provided over $11 million to area students to further their post high school education in the past 75 years. Since 2012, the Rotary Scholars Program has helped over 1,500 students attend Hopkinsville Community College tuition free.
In person viewing and bidding will be going on at the War Memorial Building each night. Throughout the auction, there will be food served along with their sweet shop. Doors open tonight at 5 p.m. with the live auction starting at 6 p.m. A live stream of the auction and information to virtually bid are available on the Hopkinsville Rotary website.