2020 Missouri Memorial Hospital

Posted: August 27th, 2021

2020 Missouri Memorial Hospital

Auction Fundraiser

Dear Volunteers,

Thank you for serving as a 2020 Auction volunteer. As head of the Missouri Memorial Hospital (MMH) Auction Planning Committee, I am looking forward to working together to organize a successful event.

The MMH Auction is the largest all-volunteer fundraising event sponsored by Missouri Memorial Hospital. This year, our goal is to raise $525,000 to contribute to the Children’s Wing capital building project.

The 2020 MMH Auction will be held at the Gateway Center on Saturday, October 20. The Gateway Center ballroom fees were provided by an anonymous corporate donor. We are thrilled to be working with Joe Halliday, a professional auctioneer, who is also donating his time and expertise. As we learned last year, a professional auctioneer knows how to pace the bidding properly, build audience enthusiasm, and keep the event lively and engaging.

We began soliciting goods and services two months ago and have received an enviable array of items for every type of participant. The attached Auction Update lists the donations pledged so far, including a few big-ticket items. Baseball fans will love luxury-box post-season tickets (plus parking!), gourmands will vie for the dinner for four at Oliva, and everyone will delight in a seven-day, all-inclusive vacation in Aruba.

Enjoy the attached Auction Update—and thanks again for your dedicated efforts.

Sincerely,

Valerie Lamont

MMH Auction Planning Committee Chair

MMH Auction Update

MissouriMemorial Hospital 2020 Auction

T

his year’s MMH Auction promises to be one of the year’s most successful fundraising events for Missouri Memorial Hospital. Dozens of donors have already pledged as many goods and services as we received last year. The Auction will be held at the Gateway Center—a fabulous venue—and the schedule is set:

Saturday, October 20

5:30 – Registration and Quick Draw

6:00 – Dinner                                                                          

7:30 – Dessert Relay

8:00 – Live Auction

Registration

Participants will stop by the registration desk to pick up an auction booklet. The booklet will list descriptions of all the live auction items and a personalized bid number.

Quick Draw

Each guest can pay an additional $10.00 to participate in the Quick Draw. After receiving a Quick Draw star sticker for their booklets, these guests can go to the Quick Draw table and draw a slip printed with the name of a product or service. They can then redeem the slip for the prize.

Food and Beverage

Dinner will be prepared by the staff of the Stella Café, a popular downtown restaurant and a 2020 MMH Auction corporate sponsor. Guests can select from four entrees, including seafood, grilled meats, pasta, and vegetarian. Hot and cold appetizers will be circulated by volunteer servers along with donation forms throughout the evening. Beverages will be available at a cash bar.

Dessert will feature a sundae and fruit bar (the most popular offering at last year’s MMH Auction).In addition, winners ofthe Dessert Relay will be able toshare their selected desserts with other guests at their table.

Dessert Relay

Guests at each table participate as a group and bid for desserts created by celebrity pastry chefs. The table with the largest bid has the first chance at dashing to the dessert table and selecting a dessert. So far, pastry chefs have promised gingerbread cupcakes, artisanal chocolates, raspberry truffle soufflés, and a butter pecan torte. As the highest bidder selects a sweet, the table with the next highest bid will be called to dash to the dessert table, so speed is of the essence.

Live Auction

Professional auctioneer Joe Halliday will host the live auction and act as master of ceremonies. Following is a preview of some goods and services pledged for the 2020 MMH Auction.

All-inclusive Aruba vacation

The winner and a friend will enjoy six nightsand seven daysat the Porticos, an eco-friendly resort and spa in Aruba. Besides offering a white-sand beach on a protected cove, the Porticos resort is adjacent to a national park with well-marked nature trails and freshwater rivers. The Porticos also boasts six pools and a mineral spa on 25 acres hidden on Aruba’s tranquil west coast. All lodging at the Porticos is in suites that include kitchens, living areas with all the amenities, whirlpool tubs, and gorgeous views.

St. Louis Cardinals luxury party suite

The winner and three friends will attend a home game of the St. Louis Cardinals and enjoy the amenities of a luxury suite. If the Cardinals are participating in the 2020 post-season, the tickets are for a home game in October. Otherwise, the winner and three friends will attend a 2019 regular-season home game at Busch Stadium, one of the best ballparks in the U.S. for watching major-league baseball. Parking and refreshments are included.

Dinner for four

The winner and three friends will dine at the top-rated Oliva, a fine-dining restaurant in downtown St. Louis. The kitchen offers an à la carte menu and a four-course tasting menu, all focused on coastal Italian cuisine. Popular dishes include grilled octopus with capers and olives, grilled fish of the day with fennel and fresh orange reduction, linguine with blue crab, grilled artichokes, and fresh anchovies. The CulinaryTimes calls Oliva “a taste of summer in the hottest new spot in the city.”

Auction 2019 by the Numbers Attendees: More than 1,500 people filled the ballroom at the St. Louis Refinery. Corporate sponsors: Fifteen companies provided essential services and sponsorships. Media: Ten media outlets, including magazines, newspapers, billboards, and websites, featured articles, ads, and videos promoting the MMH Auction. Online traffic:More than 25,000 people visited the MMH Auction website before the event, including 4,500 visitors in the week before the auction. Donations: Products and services worth $250,000 were donated to raise $400,000 for the MMH Cancer Center. Donations

Thank you again for your efforts in acquiring exciting items for the live auction. We are accepting donations through October 13, one week before the MMH Auction. Spread the word that we continue to look for the following types of goods and services:

• Travel: Popular auction items include hotel stays in destinations near and far (such as Chicago, New York, and New Orleans), airplane tickets or frequent flyer miles, and condo or time share rentals.
• Entertainment: Donors in previous years have had fun with this category, providing dinners with local celebrities, concert and theater tickets, and memorabilia or collectible items.
• Luxury goods: Successful goods are jewelry, handbags, works of art, and gift cards to retail stores and websites.
• Electronics: Popular items are smartphones, tablets, laptops, electronic book readers, and accessories such as headphones, speakers, and cases.
• Food and beverages: This category includes catered lunches, dinners, and parties;gift certificates to restaurants;fine wine;local beer;and gourmet or regional food.
• Services: Previously donated services include spa packages, fitness classes, museum memberships, cooking classes, photography sessions, and consulting services.

The MMH Auction aims to raise $525,000 for the Children’s Wing capital building project. The Children’s Wing will provide 100 beds; including 30 Level III neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) beds and 25 level II continuing care nursery beds. When completed, the Children’s Wing will make Missouri Memorial Hospital one of Missouri’s premier referral hospitals, providing a combination of services not equaled elsewhere in the state.   Missouri Memorial Hospital

Missouri Memorial Hospital is ranked as one of the top referral hospitals in the country, according to U.S. News &World Report. The hospital offers the latest benefits and innovations in medical technology, research, personalized healthcare, and ergonomics. All 300 rooms are private, allowing families to stay with hospital patients while having access to sleeping rooms, showers, and Internet connections. The hospital also features expanded trauma care facilities, the latest in modern healthcare technology, including equipment for minimally invasive surgery, and healing centers designed by leaders in the fields of fine arts, psychology, and spirituality.

Donation form

MMH 2020 Auction Donation	Item donated
Estimated value ($)
Donor name
Address
Email address
Phone
Donation date
Donor identification (as noted in booklet)

Major Donors

All-Star Fitness

Dao Pho

Dawn Hughley

Fernand Garssi

Gregory and Yvonne Spencer

Griffith Construction and Kitchen Designworks

James and Sally Berndt

Jeffrey and Leah Meissen

Jerome and Stacy Benavidas

Jonathon and Lashawna Collier

Kevin and Anita Chang

Knightsbridge Real Estate Services

Lorraine Jacobsen

Marvin and Christy Cameron

Milan Colombo

Missouri Insurance

Nick and Tatiana Stavros

Phil Gorwitz Land and Development Company

Sage Yoga Studio

Salem Graphics Design

St. Louis Performing Arts Academy

Tweedledee and Tweedledum Sandwich Shoppe

Wagner Photography

Watkins Chiropractic

Winston Heywood

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