bidsforbarks306

Humane Society Scores Record Auction at 9th Bids for Barks

bidsforbarks306

There’s a good chance that at least one neighborhood heard a tremendous scream of delight this evening followed by a whole lot of happy dancing, a fair measure of tears of happiness and plenty of high-fives to last a lifetime. All are ingredients that make for a substantive recipe for success heading into the upcoming ceremonial ground-breaking for the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan’s dynamic new animal shelter in Royalton Township.

Tonight’s madcap celebration was triggered by the unveiling of the final tally for last Saturday’s record-setting 9th Annual Bids for Barks Auction to benefit the capital campaign to build that shiny new shelter. Organizers rolled out a long banner sporting the grand total of $130,004.82 raised in the big event at Benton Harbor’s Pier 1000 Marina hosted by owners Bob & Kathy Myers.

That will make the command decision by board members to proceed with groundbreaking considerably easier in light of the fact that the capital campaign has not been fully achieved yet. With a goal of $2-million, this should put the current thermometer reading north of $1.3-million heading into the June 8th shovel ceremonies along M-139 just south of the Concord Ridge Equestrian Center in Royalton Township.

The announcement that ground would be broken was met with a substantial cheer of its own during the auction Saturday night where paddles went high to help form part of the match for a $100,000 challenge donation from Phil & Becky Laney, whose deadline has been extended from the original June 1st cutoff to the June 8th dig ceremony, giving supporters an extra week to meet that match and lower the projected mortgage that will be needed to get the shelter underway, up and running.

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Saturday’s more than $130-thousand take is a new record, just like every year that the event has been hosted over the past 9 years. More than 620 people attended the affair, which is also believed to be a new record level of performance for the devoted staff, volunteers and organizers who have been pouring an incredible labor of love into the annual auction since day one.

Pearson Construction Company of Benton Harbor will construct the new shelter with design builder TERA Architects, Pearson’s in-house architectural team. The modern new structure is long overdue, inasmuch as the current shelter was long ago outdated, having been built in the 1950s and is crumbling right under foot. That facility at 641 S. Crystal Avenue in Benton Township will be replaced by a new facility on 5-acres along M-139 with a target of completion by later this year or early next.

You can still help achieve the capital campaign goal by donating towards the Laney challenge match when you click this link: www.humanesocietyswm.org.

The photo accompanying this story at Moody on the Market.com is courtesy of professional photographer Candy Schwadron, who captured many of the highlight moments of bidding and fun at Saturday’s great event.