By Carol Anders Staff Writer
PLYMOUTH — Auctioneer Mike Berger wasn’t about to let items go at the “Ounce of Prevention” Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser on Oct. 6 until he got the nod from audience members agreeing to his suggested bid amounts.
Even after the 24 donated items in the live auction were  gone, Berger started auctioning off  “nothing” as he asked the audience to make a monetary donations.
Berger was a part of the fifth annual event organized by sisters Jessica Oliver and Jennifer Houin.  The proceeds from the fundraisers each year are put into an account in the Marshall County Community Foundation. The goal is to build a center specifically for breast cancer related issues at the Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Plymouth.
Among the items that were auctioned off was a signed  picture of Tiger Woods at the 2005 Master’s Championship, a signed football from Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn, a football signed by both Quinn and Charlie Weiss, pictures of golfer Payne Stewart and an autographed jersey from the Colt’s superstar, Peyton Manning.
By the time Berger was finished, the live auction items netted well over $15,000. Prior to the live auction, those attending the event bid on other donated items in a silent  auction. No one stepped forward to claim a share of the 50/50 raffle, so the entire amount of nearly $500 was added to the proceeds.
A final tally will not be announced until the end of October, acccording to Houin. They are continuing to sell tickets for a raffle of a big screen TV. One number was drawn at the event and a second number will be drawn from tickets purchased from now until Oct. 31. The television is on display at the Oliver Ford dealership on Jefferson street.
Among those contributing to the auction items was Tom and Kelsey Flynn. Tom Flynn said, “Among our donations was paintings from my (late) mother’s collection. If she were still here, she would have been glad to give.”