Girls, Inc. – Power of the Purse

The room was alive with supporters on Friday night at the Power of the Purse auction and event for Girls, Inc.

One of the trends we have seen take place at auctions this year, perhaps in response to last year’s softer economy, is the inclusion of performances before the Live Auction begins to get the audience jazzed — and it is working! Following the close of the Silent Auction at Power of the Purse, guests were asked to take their seats, the DJ began to play Black Eyed Peas, “Tonights Gonna Be a Good Night” and ariel performers put on an awe inspiring show.

I can always pick out an event produced by Cindy Thompson Event Productions – they have more of an edge to them and are not just events, but rather full-scale productions. Kudos to Cindy Thompson and congratulations to Girls, Inc. for a successful event!

Benefit Auctions 360 immediately took the stage following the performance, moving forward with the same energy that kicked off the evening. Working with us that night was Johnna Wells as the Auctioneer, and four of our talented bid spotters: Ryan Bjornstad, Lisa Heston, Judith Rizzio, and Erin Doherty Ward.

The new Executive Director, Elizabeth Nye, shared some stories of success with the audience about the girls of Girls, Inc.

To culminate the evening’s events, music legend Dionne Warwick put on quite a show.

Dionne Warwick made it possible to raise even more money following the Live Auction by having Johnna auction off a second song:

There were also other highlights of the evening that added just the right amount of sponteneity to further encourage guests to bid higher. Who knew that specific ingredient would have been headstands?

To read more about Girls, Inc. and the Power of the Purse event this year, you can click HERE to link up with an article from The Oregonian.