Thunder Rolls: GCSU's 11th Annual Athletic Auction

This past weekend I helped plan and carry out my first "big" event! My PR Admin class had the pleasure of planning the annual Athletic Auction that the Georgia College Athletic Program puts on every year. It is their biggest fundraiser, and much of the money raised goes towards scholarships for student athletes. Our professor began talking about this event last semester in our Writing for PR class, telling us that this was one of her favorite events to plan.  On the first day of class this semester, we were split up into four different teams. We were each in charge of pitching our idea for the auction, planning everything from the theme, the invitations, the decorations, and even the menu. After a couple of weeks of planning, we presented our pitches to the Athletic Department. This was my first big pitch, complete with unfamiliar faces and held in the Dean's Conference Room. For a second, I felt like I was part of an agency!

Once the AE's were picked we began rolling (pun intented!) with the theme "Thunder Rolls". Finally, after all our hard work, Atheletic Auction weekend was upon us! We spent many hours decorating, making gift baskets for corporate tables, and blowing up hundreds of silver, green, and blue balloons. (PS-I am now a professional balloon arch maker and available for weddings, birthdays, and other special e

vents...) Seeing the final product Saturday afternoon was so rewarding. 

During the auction, I was responsible for selling "Split The Pot" raffle tickets and was able to see somethings that we learned from The Tipping Point first hand. I am not a salesperson, so being thrown a money bag and stack of tickets and told "Go sell all of these please!" I kind of freaked out. I started off going up to people and timidly asking them, "Would you like to buy a raffle ticket? You get a chance to win $260!". This did not work very well. After a coup

le of minutes, the guy that threw me the tickets (that I later found out was the tennis coach) began to help me. This guy was a salesperson and a connector in one! He began to go up to people he knew at the auction, which was pre

tty much everyone, and schmoozed his way into helping me sell my 52 tickets in ten minutes! He showed me that you've got to be aggressive w

hen given the task of selling something and reinforced the importance of networking.  

Playing a part in the planning of the Athletic Auction has shown me that I really enjoy planning events. There is something that just gets me really excited about being behind the scenes and being a part of big events. I think it is safe to say that event planning is becoming my favorite part of PR!

Here are some pictures from the event!