P.E.O. Chapter AG of Silver City holds fundraiser purse auction 102117

: Category: Front Page News Front Page News; Published: 24 October 2017 24 October 2017

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

Although the purse auction, each year, is put on by one or the other of the two Silver City P.E.O. chapters, AG and BR, people come from all over the region and even from afar in the state.

Linda Cosner of Tucumcari, a state P.E.O. organizer, came to Silver City to see what the excitement was about. She told the Beat she was thrilled with the outcome and the entertainment value of the event. She was pleased enough that she took down the information from Dana Stout, who serves as the auctioneer from Circle M Auctions, owned by the Matney family. Dana does a good job of convincing people to buy purses, "to support scholarships for our girls to make them smarter."

Cosner said the state P.E.O, which stands for Philanthropic Education Association, is made up of 68 chapters, with another one in the works in Cedar Crest and comprising about 2,400 members "and growing."

After attendees had a chance to check out the purses, without peeking inside, because they always have "goodies," the silent auction items and gather some finger foods, Carol Barrington, the auction chairwoman, made some announcements on how the auction would proceed. Greta Oberg, an auction committee members, explained the process for the silent auction. The third committee member was Dayana Patterson.

After the fact, Barrington, told the Beat that the first estimate was that about 120 people cashed out from buying purses or silent auction items.

During her announcements, Barrington introduced this year's scholarship winner, Allison Sedillos, who graduated top of her class this year from Cobre High School.

Sedillos told the Beat that she is majoring in biology, because she wants to be a surgeon. Although this is her first year at New Mexico State University, she is technically a sophomore because of dual credit courses she took at Western New Mexico University.

"I don't do a lot of extracurricular activities, except for the Medical Club," Sedillos said. "I focus on my grades and work at Walgreen's. I had worked at the Walgreen's in Silver City and transferred the job to one in Las Cruces."

Bree (who introduced herself with the one name) said the P.E.O auction began in Deming. The organization provides scholarship funding for girls throughout the state, nation and even some internationally.

The Nancy Champlin Foundation Scholarship was funded to give scholarships to girls just in Grant County.

She noted that although the initials stand for Philanthropic Education Organization, for the AG chapter in Silver City, they also stand for Pecans Every October, as the chapter sells bags of pecans to fundraise for the scholarships. The P.E.O is also used successfully in the advertising for the purse auction in Purses for Every Occasion.

Champlin was active in the P.E.O. before she and her husband moved out of the area. "The organization is almost 150 years old, has 150,000 members in the U.S. and Canada and has awarded more than $308 million in scholarships over the years. Our two local chapters wanted to provide scholarships to local girls. We have $40,000 in an endowment that provides the stable funding for the scholarships."

She noted that everything offered for sale in the auctions, silent and live, as well as the food was donated by community members.

Champlin introduced the auctioneer, Dana Stout, and the fun began, with some spirited battles between bidders wanting a particular purse. Stout promised that when the first one went over $100 that Sedillos would dance. When one did go over $100, Sedillos got up on stage and did a short shimmy.

At least 100 purses went up for auction, not including ones in a separate room that had fixed low prices for those seeking a bargain.

The Presbyterian Church Hall is the venue for the activity and it bustles with activity and laughter during the auction.

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P.E.O. Chapter AG of Silver City holds fundraiser purse auction 102117

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