Benefit raises $119,000 for youth ministries, Legendary Lodge

By Glenna Obie and Cathy Tilzey

The inaugural Son Light Celebration dinner and auction offered an elegant, lively evening for the 220-plus people who gathered Sept. 29 in Helena.
Four Knights of Columbus, decked out in their tuxedos and Fourth Degree insignia, greeted guests. Jerry Johnson of East Helena, Ken Downing and Chris Curtis of Helena and Dana Beaudry of Townsend shook hands with the people and directed them down a red carpet toward a string trio playing classical music.
They entered the Helena Civic Center’s ballroom to find colorfully attired Montanans talking cheerily as they looked over a wide variety of donations for the live and silent auctions and wrote down their first bids while munching on passed hors d’oeuvres.
The atmosphere quieted somewhat as emcee Michael Seipp made announcements, and listened while Megan Rennie of Boulder talked about her experiences in a youth group and nine years at Legendary Lodge. They helped her faith grow and “made me who I am today,” said the Carroll College freshman.
Bishop George Leo Thomas gave the invocation.
Students from Carroll College and Missoula served the dinner. Some of the students doubled as models to show the live auction items.
The diners continued silent bidding on theme baskets – some from parishes around the diocese – trips, artwork, a huckleberry weekend in Whitefish and a handmade afghan from Augusta.
Then the live auction began, with auctioneer Steve Mandeville rattling off amounts, extolling the value of artwork and cajoling people with bidding cards to lift them more often.
As the silent and “almost live” auctions drew to a close, live auction bids rose.
The top bid getter was a trip to New York City with a weeklong stay in an apartment. The package included tickets to a Broadway show, the Museum of Modern Art and the Cabrini Shrine. Toni and Clark Broadbent and Kathy and Mike Dawkins sponsored the trip, which fetched $3,800.
Other hotly contested auction items included a playhouse designed as a scale model of a caboose and the original Robert Morgan painting of “Legendary Memories,” which his granddaughter, Mary Ahmann, purchased.
Then it was time to draw for the Legend motorcycle. Scott and Susan Meyers of Gallatin Gateway, who donated the cycle and a trailer, spun the ticket container. Susan picked a ticket and passed it to Bishop Thomas and Seipp. They studied it, then the bishop said, “This is very interesting.”
Tension and curiosity peaked before the winner’s name was announced. The room fell completely quiet for the first time all evening.
With the microphone in one hand and a cell phone in the other, Bishop Thomas waited for a voice to answer. “Is this Joe Morris?” he asked, finally. “Joe, this is Bishop George Thomas of the Diocese of Helena and I am calling to tell you that your number has been drawn and you are the winner of the Legend motorcycle.”
“Is this for real?” exclaimed the surprised winner. The crowd, which could hear the exchange through a speaker, erupted in laughter and cheers as the bishop continued to visit with the skeptical Morris. “There are a few other people here who want to congratulate you,” the Bishop said as the room broke into applause once more.
Now living in Canyon Lake, Texas, the former resident of Anaconda and one-time Maryknoll missionary bought his raffle ticket for the Legend in Butte during a visit for Evil Knievel Days last summer. “I just bought it to help out. I never expected to win,” Morris said.
Anther ticket was pulled for the 1,000 gallons of gasoline. It, too, proved interesting and the Bishop made a phone call to Butte. Peggy Maloney answered and was very surprised to hear that she had won gasoline worth several thousand dollars.
When Bishop Thomas asked where she purchased her ticket, she said in Butte of course. Maloney is secretary at St. John’s Parish.
After a quick conference on the stage, Seipp and the Bishop announced that St. John’s will receive two camper slots for Legendary Lodge.
All told, about 2,500 tickets were sold for the Legend between March 17 and Sept 29, the day of the drawing. The raffle raised almost $62,000 for Legendary Lodge.
Those celebrating together at the Son Light dinner and auction helped to raise another $78,000 to support other youth ministries in the diocese. Expenses for the raffle, dinner and auction were about $21,000. Twenty-five percent of all proceeds will be deposited into an account for the permanent endowment for youth ministries and Legendary Lodge.

Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 22, No. 10, October 20, 2006.