‘Somewhere, over the rainbow’ HCC staff raises record amount for annual auction
Nov 4, 2015
Houston Community College employees held on to their hearts, brains and shiny red shoes as they walked on the yellow brick road of success. The 2015 HCC Bedichek-Orman auction brought its “Wizard of Oz” theme to life inside the West Loop Campus Auditorium. Items totaling over 120, all donated by HCC faculty and staff members, were auctioned off during the three-hour event. By the end of the evening, HCC employees raised over $11,300 for their cause – professional development funding.
Faculty and staff members, many of them dressed as their favorite "Wizard of Oz" characters, gathered in a room transformed to resemble the most recognizable part of the Hollywood classic – for a noble cause. This year’s auction surpassed last year’s total to become one of the most successful on record.
“The goal of the event is to raise as much money possible to help fund faculty professional development opportunities like conference attendance,” Bedichek-Orman Auction Organizer Jennifer Graves said.
No one seems to know exactly how long this tradition has been underway, but all agree it’s been going strong for over 20 years. This year the event organizers decided to create a touching tribute to one of the event founders, Kathy Housel, who lost her battle with cancer earlier this year.
“The group wanted to honor Kathy and her dedication to this tradition. We elected to donate 10 percent of the money raised at this year’s Bedichek-Orman auction to the Kathy Housel Memorial Fund,” Graves said. “The fund supports scholarships for continuing education students here at HCC.”
During the event, three outstanding professors from across HCC were recognized as recipients of the Teaching Excellence Award. Bedichek-Orman Auction Emcee, English Faculty Division Chair Alan Ainsworth, who made a fine Scarecrow, presented each professor with a $500 check. The students who nominated them were on hand for the celebration. One student, Alyssa Foley, took HCC Southwest Professor Danielle Stagg’s speech class and wanted to repay her for changing her life.
“She’s so supportive, and it really helped me just to become a better speaker,” Foley said. “I feel like I learned so much in that class, and it helps me in all of my other classes and in everyday life. That’s why I nominated her, because she was a great professor."
After a successful evening of giving and comradery, the revelers slowly made their exit saying, “There’s no place like home,” clicking their heels together, getting caught up in the whirlwind of paying it forward to others and knowing they can stand proud of their accomplishment.
Next year’s auction, themed “Viva Las Vegas,” will be held on October 14, 2016 in the West Loop Campus Auditorium.