St. Bede turns in 2nd most successful auction in 41-year history

St. Bede Academy’s 41st annual auction June 15 was the second most successful auction event since its inception in 1984, the academy said Tuesday.

The auction was held in the Perino Science Center and welcomed 165 guests. The guests comprised St. Bede’s top supporters, parents of current students, faculty and staff, the J.A. Happ Family Foundation, and alumni from 34 classes spanning several decades.

The live auction event included 15 premiere packages featuring a variety of travel, entertainment and sports experiences that were up for bid that evening only. Those packages brought in a total of $98,892.

A silent auction also took place through a mobile bidding website. This capability allowed supporters to bid on items from anywhere around the world. The silent auction opened a week before the live auction event, which kick-started bidding on items. The silent auction brought in a total of $45,594.

A highlight of the evening included a special recognition of Julia Baggesen-Yaklich, who served St. Bede as director of mission advancement and major gifts before her retirement this past April. Baggesen-Yaklich’s successful 10-year career in the development department is highlighted with fundraising for the much-needed academy renovations.

To honor her legacy at St. Bede, she was given a rendering of a tile that will be placed on St. Bede’s future donor wall recognizing all those who contributed to the renovations. Her tile recognizes her gift of building lasting relationships with alumni and friends, which contributed to the success of the Legacy campaign.

Another highlight was that St. Bede exceeded its $177,000 Fund-A-Need goal to build Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant restrooms in the Abbot Vincent Gymnasium. Two major gifts for the Fund-A-Need helped jump-start the funding of the project, including a $20,000 gift made by the Bedan Club and a $15,000 gift by Miller Group Charitable Trust.

The crowd was led in singing the St. Bede fight song, which built excitement in the room before paddles were raised in support of the project. Levels of giving included $15,000, $10,000, $5,000, $2,500, $1,000, $500, $250 and $100. St. Bede spirit flags were given out to anyone who gave a gift of $500 or more to the Fund-A-Need. Construction of the restrooms are slated for this fall, which will allow the restroom project to be completed by basketball season.

At the auction, winners of three raffles also were announced. The Mega Raffle gave away $19,050 to four lucky winners. Won Kim was the first-place winner of $10,000, Mark and Lori Dudek were the second-place winners of $5,000, and Celeste Inman was the third-place winner of $2,000.

Another $350 was given to each seller of the three winning tickets. Anyone who sold or purchased five or more Mega Raffle tickets also was put in a separate seller’s drawing for $1,000. That winner was Dr. James Vaiana.

The Golden Ticket raffle winner was the Rev. Fr. Stephan Charles Page. The winner of the Golden Ticket gets to choose from 10 prizes. Ted Struck was the winner of the 52-card draw, which raffled off a weekend stay and golf experience at Rich Harvest Farms donated by the Rich Harvest Foundation. The 52-card raffle brought in $17,500, which was matched by the Rich Harvest Foundation.

The annual auction is St. Bede’s largest fundraising event of the year. All proceeds help balance the difference between tuition and the cost of education ensuring a Catholic education in the Benedictine tradition remains an option in the Illinois Valley. During its 41-year history, the auction has raised more than $7 million for the academy.