The Stayton Boosters Club obliterated its former record for donations at its 42nd auction on Feb. 12 at The Oregon Garden.
Auction chair Randy Forrette said “we still have a few donations coming in and waiting for the deposits to hit the bank, but we are over $180,000.”
The total smashed the old record of $126,000, Forette said.
“We are humbled by the community support of our work to make Stayton High School the best Class 4A school in the state,” Forrette said. “We are proud of our accomplishments so far and we know there’s still more work to be done.”
The auction supports a wide range of activities and initiatives at the high school, including all athletic teams, dance team, choir, band and the equestrian team.
Forrette added that “we also do a lot of work to improve the physical structures of the school, grounds cleanup, and litter cleanup in Stayton and Sublimity, benefiting the entire community.”
Darren Shryock, the Stayton High athletic director, raves about the impact of the boosters.
“Our boosters are huge in relation to the help they give us, be it projects or individual purchases,” Shryock said. “Every year they designate a special project at the auction. The football/soccer turf field, the baseball and softball hitting facilities, the gym upgrade, and turf for the softball field are just a few examples of how the boosters have partnered with the district to seriously upgrade our facilities.
“They say ‘yes’ to virtually every request coaches make for equipment or uniforms for their programs. I would put our boosters up against any group in the state, regardless of school size. They do incredible things!”
Hot items – and that includes both weather and auction interest – were trips to tropical vacation sites. A Maui vacation sold for $6,300 with three trips to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic going to bidders for
$6,000 apiece.
The most expensive physical item was a “Beachie Creek Fire Bar,” built out of materials salvaged from the 2020 fire by Jarred and Kizzy Starbuck. It drew a winning bid of $5,100.
Forrette, who has served six years as auction chair or co-chair, said another crowd favorite was a knife made by Leon Adams, who has crafted 90 such knives for various charities. This year’s auction model included an image of an eagle on the handle.
The Stayton Boosters Club also honored a booster member, a community member and a coach with the Eagle Excellence award. The recipients were:
Boosters: James Reed. He and Sandee Reed helped start the auction in 1982, and he has been a constant supporter since then, helping fund athletic equipment, uniforms, meals, and “anything our kids need,” Forrette said. He also was a major donor to the gym update project.
Community: Stacy Hollenbeck. “Stacy is an amazing booster,” Forette said. “She’s one of those people I can call when things need done, and she comes through every time.”
Coach: Trisha Rutherford. The former girls tennis coach helped raise more than $20,000 to resurface the tennis courts in 2019 and “her enthusiasm for tennis helped grow our tennis teams to great numbers,” Forrette said.
