The 43rd Annual Benefit Auction took place last Saturday night at 6:00 at Nash Community College in the Brown Auditorium. With live music, dinner, and dancing, Saturday night was one for the history books. Since the dress code was Party Casual, attendees could dress festive but comfortable. The live music was provided by the Soul Fish Band, a rock quartet from Charleston, SC. The band played a variety of songs featuring “Brown Eyed Girl,” “December, 1963 (Oh What a Night),” and “Dancing in the Moonlight.” The night was topped off with a wonderful emcee and auctioneer, Mark Roberts, who was a former WRAL reporter and trafficologist. Mark Roberts has had an exciting career. From documenting the mission of Fort Bragg troops in Operation Desert Storm to becoming WRAL’s first traffic reporter, he has done it all. After deciding it was time for a change of career, he became a spokesperson for the Capital Ford Auto Group and continued to work for WRAL as the host of Brain Game on Saturday mornings. Mark Roberts was a great addition to the auction this year and helped make it a huge success!

The RMA auction is an important part of the RMA budget and student life. The proceeds go towards helping the school continue to educate students and prepare them for college and beyond. The auction is a great way to give back to a school that has invested itself into the students through the faculty and facilities. This year’s chair, Leslie Paszek, and RMA’s very own Katherine Bryant helped make the auction such a huge success! Through her hours of hard work and help from parent volunteers,  the auction was well orchestrated.

The auction featured many fun and unique items. The first, and probably the most well-known, is the raffle for either free RMA tuition for a year, or $5000. This was the most popular item with 300 tickets available. Next in popularity were the class gifts. My personal favorite was the first grade handmade quilt. It contained the handprints of the first grade class, and was made with love by Mrs. Maribel Rucci. Another favorite of the class gifts was the fourth grade creation. It was a basket full of items strictly from North Carolina including the famous Aunt Ruby’s chocolate-covered peanut clusters. One of the more unique items was a Royal Reception Party. Thirty people will be able to watch the royal wedding while eating a delicious English breakfast and dressed in their favorite pajamas and pearls. Another fun item was the day at the State Fair with Ms. Covolo and Dr. K. This item has become a tradition over the past few years, and always guarantees a great day at the fair. Lastly is an oldie but goody: being RMA head of school for a day. From choosing the main lunch entrée, to choosing a theme for the day, this child will have a great time as the temporary leader of RMA. These are just a few examples of the great items that were offered this year at the auction. Through donations and hard work, it was able to raise over its initial goal of $75,000! Thank you to all attendees of the auction and everyone who contributed to its success!