"I want one!" Sage Morgan places her bid on a bachelor.
Well, they’re not wimps, that’s for sure!
Nineteen great (and brave) guys offered themselves up for auction last night to raise money for Friends of Literacy. “Guys That Give,” the first annual bachelor auction for Friends, was a rip-roaring success. All the guys were “sold” to very competitive ladies for prices up to $500. Each bachelor came with a fantastic date package donated by local businesses and organizations which ranged from dinner and the opera to a helicopter ride and photo tour of the mountains.
The evening began in the courtyard of The Orangery restaurant with a V.I.P. reception where folks willing to pony up $45 could mingle with the nervous fellows. General admission to the main event was only $25. (They need to raise these prices!)
At first, the bachelors, whose attire ranged from blue jeans to tuxedos and whose ages ranged from 21 to 57, spent more time talking with each other than with the potential bidders. But, perhaps partly because of the sparkling wine generously donated by Farragut Wine & Spirits, things soon loosened up.
One of the most popular people of the evening was Kathleen Anderson, who served the donated sparkly.
Kathleen is always popular, anyway, to tell the truth!
Four of the bachelors: from left, Ben Prijatel, a TV producer at WATE; Chris Jones, a graphic designer; Tierney Bates, a development pro at UT; and William Ullman, a student.
Three more bachelors, from left: business owner Chris Caldwell; Bart Lashlee, the CFO of Ted Russell; and Marcus Wolf, of Radio Systems Corp.
Bachelors Steve Searcy, manager of Pratt's Country store and a former pro baseball player, left, and Mickey Dearstone, the "Voice of the Lady Vols."
Bachelor Eric Botts, manager of Gentry Griffey Funeral Chapel, poses with Lauren Purcell, who arranged the auction for Friends of Literacy.
Pretty soon, things picked up in the socializing department!
Three potential bidders, from left: Helen Wedekind, Robin Purvis and Julia Purvis
Nina Reineri and bachelor Karl Kreis, assistant city planner for Pigeon Forge
Robin Hawn chats with her friend, bachelor Marcus Wolf, during the cocktail party.
Bachelors, from left, William Ullman; Matt Veigle of ESPN radio; and Bart Lashlee
Bachelor Jesse Mayshark, managing editor of Metro Pulse, poses with WATE's Denae D'Arcy, one of the emcees for the evening.
Sharon Johnson, left, CPA for Friends of Literacy, with WVLT's Lauren Davis, the other emcee.
Folks involved with the event: left to right, Melissa Nance, executive director of Friends of Literacy; Lauren Davis; Lauren Purcell; Denae D'Arcy; and Diane Rutherford. Front: Maureen Pattison, board chair
OK. Enough of this chit-chat. On to the main event, which was held upstairs in the ballroom. But first, there was an on-line component of the bachelor auction. The public was asked to vote on the “most eligible” of all the bachelors. About 4,000 votes were cast and this bachelor received 800 of them!
Mitch Wheeler, radio personality of 94.3 the X, was highest vote-getter. WVLT's Lauren Davis, left, and WATE's Denae D'Arcy congratulate him.
Upstairs as folks settled in, they studied little cards with details of each of the bachelors — and the exciting dates they would take the winning bidders on.
Erika Smith, left, and Erin Pritchard review their options.
Betsy Taub, left, and Lynne Warner came from Maryville for the event.
Robin Purvis, left, and her daughter, Julia Purvis
Larsen Jay helps Sage Morgan, who runs his charity Random Acts of Flowers, sort through the choices. And, what a good boss: he said he would pay for her pick!
When the auction started, it was lively!
Erin Pritchard got her bachelor right off the bat! Ben Prijatel was the first to go!
William Ullman was working it!
Bart Lashlee waits to see who will buy him for a night.
WVLT's Dino Cartwright has to be the hardest-working auctioneer around!
Meredith Hilton was having a good time.
Bachelor Andrew Freeman, health and fitness director for the YWCA, cut a stylish figure when he took the stage.
And then WBIR’s Erin Donovan, arguably the most eligible bachelorette in town, arrived and took a seat on the front row! And things started to get interesting.
Erin flashes her number.
Jenny Hines is married, but she was buying a bachelor for a friend! Now THAT'S a pal!
Larsen takes charge, commandeers a server's tray, and delivers drinks to his table. Happily, it was my table, too!
Bachelor No. 11, Matt Veigle, liked his winning date!
Erin jumped on the stage to be a "spotter" for Dino.
He reciprocated by sitting on her lap! She took a photo, of course.
Meanwhile, Sage got the rose -- and the date -- she wanted: Regal Entertainment's Chris Sylvia. It cost Larsen $500!
Lady Vols Assistant Coach Dean Lockwood also went for $500.
Erin ended up winning a date with the aforementioned most eligible bachelor, Mitch Wheeler, for $400. They’ll be going to an Ice Bears game and closing down the Downtown Grill and Brewery.
One cute story. One of the bachelors, Zak Weisfield, a free-lance TV producer, started dating someone steadily AFTER he agreed to be on the auction block. So, being a smart girl, she attended the event and outbid everyone for him! A win-win-win for the couple and Friends of Literacy!
Was scheduled to go to this with a friend … sorry I missed it! One correction, Cynthia, the picture of my sister-in-law and niece, Robin and Julia Purvis, with Helen … her name is Helen Wedekind. Great photos and great achievement for Friends of Literacy!
Thanks, Allyn! I thought I might see you there. I appreciate the correction. I made it. You’ll have to refresh your page to see it, though.
Great seeing you last night Cynthia and thank you for the amazing blog post. Love seeing all of the pictures!
Denae: you did a great job for a great organization. My nephew will be glad to know I spent time with you!
Hilarious! So sorry I had to duck out after the VIP reception. Glad I could read about the rest of the evening on the Blue Streak. and they *do* need to raise the ticket price!
Hey Cynthia,
Great blog on a great event! Sorry I couldn’t be there. Thanks for sharing, though, and making me feel like I was there.
How fun! Love to see the evening recapped! It certainly was a great event and I believe fun for all involved. 🙂 Friends of Literacy has started an event that should turn into a winner for them.
I will comment on your belief that the prices should be raised. I think it is better to have a lower cost and more attendees than to raise the cost and lower your potential bidders. Also, the higher the price the less of the younger crowd the event will draw; you certainly don’t want to discount those. Just my 2-cents 😉
Thanks, Sage. Good points! Thanks for being a good sport and letting The Blue Streak feature you!
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