The Muehlbauer Collection: The 2007 HOACGA Auction

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The 2007 HOACGA Auction
Wow! What an auction! Those of us who were lucky enough to have attended saw some records fall and were treated to a jolly good time (that's for our UK attendees!) in the mix as well. It was SO MUCH FUN!

I can't say enough about the Wroda Auction Company. I worked with Jim and Laurie for 18 months at least, to make sure you all were treated to a fun and outstanding event. Up front I told Jim, Laurie and their partner, Mike Baker, that I wanted a "class event" that people would long remember, not just for the glass, but for the conduct of it -- yet one filled with lots of laughs and merriment. From the looks on you attendee's faces, and the many, many comments we received afterwards, I think we succeeded.

Mike, Matt Wroda and Dean Beachy (bid taker stage right) were among the visible support cast during the auction, but the family members (Laurie of course, "Uncle Tom" and "Aunt Mary") and the "runners" who made the auction flow smoothly must be acknowledged for their outstanding contributions.

I must single out Dean Beachy for honorable mention. Jan and I, as well as our good friends from England (and Wales!) and Australia were most fortunate to be able to sit right in front of this extraordinarily energetic man during the auction. I can tell you for sure, he contribute mightily to the financial success and the merriment factor of the auction. It was non-stop smiles for those of us who could see him. This man can get one more bid from you with his eyebrows alone! And make you happy doing it! What a fun man to see performing his craft.

I can't say enough about the 'setup' -- the placement of the cabinets, the lighting, the supplemental flowers (Laurie?) etc. The "Wow Factor" when you walked into the auction room for the first time was off the Richter scale! Wasn't it beautiful? I loved the tall white cabinets which gave the glass that 'you can see it at home' look. Believe me, it was no small task to haul those behemoths in from Ohio and set them up! Thanks for that as well.

As always the 'back office' work was as smooth as silk -- signing you all up, distributing the bid numbers, tallying up your bids, collecting your hard-earned money and in some cases packing and shipping your new glass.

Oh yes, how could I forget? -- the color brochures and website work. Bob Cloudy is Jim and Laurie's printer and an outstanding job it is that he does, I'm sure you all agree. I gave Jim and Bob free license to organize and print the bulletin the way they wanted and they did a yeoman's job. Jan and I were totally pleased with the results and many, many folks came up to me and said it was the best CG brochure they had ever seen. It was Jim's idea to put the photo of "Windyhill", our home, on the back cover. Well done you guys!

Da Man -- Brian Pitman. Again, simply put -- Wow! Brian did such an outstanding job putting together our website. So many of you, including Howard Suefer, came up to me to comment on the articles that Brian and I put together during the six months preceding the auction. Brian was simply brilliant in his layout of the articles and in conceiving innovative ideas for me to expand upon. Weren't they neat? Thank you Brian.

Oh yes -- Thank You who attended and held up you bid cards for so long or sent in absentee bids! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In summary, thank all of you who worked so hard and contributed so mightily to make the auction the success it was. I feel it set a standard that future auctions will be judged by.

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