On Saturday, February 7th, the 40th annual auction was held in the Brown Auditorium of Nash Community College. Since its origination in 1975, parents, grandparents, teachers, and even students have worked together to make this annual event a success. Although the auction has changed location and leadership over the years, it has always been and continues to be a major source of revenue for the school.

For the first time in RMA’s history, the event was not lead by an individual. This year, various responsibilities were divided between the food and decoration, silent auction, voice auction, and display committees. The food and decoration committee, which was led by Annie Daughtridge and Beth Turnage, provided a delicious cocktail buffet and beverages for guests. Dining options included fried oysters and buttermilk biscuits as hors d’oeuvres, a salad, beef brisket and pork tenderloin as the main course, and a wide array of desserts. Heather Freeman and Tonya Gutshall, along with many others, procured hundreds of items for the silent auction. The silent auction was divided into three phases and included items ranging from original paintings by local artists to activities for students and parents. Some of these activities involved becoming headmaster for the day, having access to a reserved parking space in the lower school and upper school parking lots, and two and a half hours of yard work done by RMA students. Towards the end of the evening, the voice auction began. This portion of the auction consisted mostly of items that offered unique travel opportunities and dinner parties for adults. Out of the 24 auctioned voice items, front row seats at the 2015 graduation ceremony and a South African safari hunt were the most sought after. This new method of divided leadership was successful and helped make the 40th auction one of the best yet.

Without the generosity of those involved in the RMA community, the auction would not have been able to raise over $113,000 this year. Thanks to those who have donated their time, money, and possessions to the auction this year and years past. It is these contributions that always make the auction a lucrative event for RMA.