Saturday's fundraiser to benefit the family of RCMP Constable David Wynn and Auxiliary Constable Derek Bond did massive business and the tally is still slowly going up as the final items are being paid for.
Saturday's fundraiser to benefit the family of RCMP Constable David Wynn and Auxiliary Constable Derek Bond did massive business and the tally is still slowly going up as the final items are being paid for.
“We're right up around $65,000 and there's still a few people who have to make payments!” exclaimed co-organizer Chelsa Mills, referring to the “handful” of auction items that still need to be paid for and picked up.
“That's more than I make in a year! I am speechless!” she continued, clearly thrilled with the results and the overwhelming show of support from the public.
More than 1,000 people attended the colossal event over the course of the day, including many parents with their children who came in for family-friendly activities between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
After that, the evening focused on the silent and live auctions that together featured more than 250 items. When asked what single item brought in the highest bid, she didn't hesitate in her response.
“The fighter jet!” That was $5,000 right there. The winning bid bought a chance to ride in a fighter jet.
Mills and co-organizer Kathleen Range paid many thanks to the numerous volunteers and others who worked behind the scenes to pull off this massive fundraiser. That included her “core team” of Georgina Sande, Janet Harroun, Cody Borek, Michael Mazepa the general manager of the St. Albert Inn and Suites – “he was obviously a huge asset” – and auctioneer Brad Ward who donated all of his time and services, along with an entire team from his office at Ward's Auctions to oversee the live and silent auctions.
She also paid much credit to Brad Murk from the Edmonton Police Service and his team who did all of the cash control.
“He did a heck of a lot of work. There were no civilians counting money. That was one of my first thoughts when this thing first started getting big and we started to get an idea of how much money would be coming through, I didn't even want to be touching cash. I didn't want there to be any questions. I figured that in having officers doing the counting, no one would worry about sticky fingers.”
Mills also gave a huge thanks to Wesley Litke of the Celtic Knot Pub for starting the event that eventually outgrew the pub's capacity. He and his team still did item intake and documentation.
“He really put in a lot of hours on this.”
The entire amount of the proceeds from Saturday's event will go straight to the Family Support Fund that the Edmonton Division of the RCMP Veterans Association established for RCMP Constable David Wynn and Auxiliary Constable Derek Bond.
Donations can be made at any CIBC across Canada. Direct donations can be made using the following information: CIBC Gateway Village Branch in St. Albert, transit 03769, account 8470731.
