20070805 Auction is the icing on the cakes by Fortin – Baltimore Sun

Auction is the icing on the cakes

August 5^th, 2007

The Carroll County 4-H FFA Fair (July 28- August 3, 2007) is “one of the largest in the state that has free admission.” In order to keep the admission free, one of the several ways the fair raises money is by an annual cake auction in which award winning cakes are sold for fantastic amounts of money.

Writing for the Baltimore Sun, Cassandra Fortin gives us an excellent glimpse at how it all works:

Auction is the icing on the cakes

Young bakers support fair with winning entries

By Cassandra A. Fortin, Special to The Sun, August 5, 2007 baltimoresun.com

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…of about 195 items sold at the 35th annual cake auction. The auction raised about $58,000.

The proceeds cover the cost of the fair, one of the largest in the state that has free admission, said Amy Petkovsek, the assistant superintendent of the cake auction.

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The lemon bars were purchased by Rick Jones, owner of R.J. Custom Homes, a builder and a developer, located in Westminster.

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"Last year I ran the price up to $6,000, but I lost the bid to Sen. Larry Haines," he said. "It was an election year, so he had to win. But this year I wanted to win. It's for a good cause, and it's good for business."

Jordan's items were among hundreds sold at the event, Petkovsek said.

The premise of the auction is simple.

First, to participate, children must be 8 to 18 years old. They must bake their items and bring them to the judging area. About 30 judges interview the contestants.

"We use conference judges," Petkovsek said. "The judges might ask the kids how they made their item or how they beat their eggs. Sometimes they ask them how they mixed the ingredients or how they decorated their cake. Their answers are part of the selection process."

The judges also taste the entries, all of which receive a ribbon. To be selected for the auction, an item must be awarded a blue ribbon.

"The kids are not competing," Petkovsek said. "The cakes and other items are scored against themselves."

This year about 250 items received blue ribbons, and about 195 of them were selected for the auction, she said. A grand champion ribbon is awarded in each class.

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Read the entire article here: Auction is the icing on the cakes

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