FOR IMMEDIATE MEDIA RELEASE
Monday, April 30, 2012

Items with Local Flair Fare Especially Well During the 2012 WVIZ/PBS Televised Auction

Area businesses, volunteers & bidders partner to raise $475,489 for public television

Greater Cleveland’s signature shopping marathon, the WVIZ/PBS Televised Auction, signed off on its 45th season at three this morning—four days, hundreds of volunteers and thousands of items later—having raised an exciting $475,489, a more than $10,000 increase over the year before.

As always, the success of the 2012 WVIZ/PBS Televised Auction (April 26-29) was fueled by the generosity of individuals and organizations who donated a huge variety of items, as well as by the bidders competing to get their best bids in. The donations were solicited by Go-Getter volunteers, many of whom also played roles in front of or behind the cameras in the live broadcast (totaling more than 40 hours) that unfolded last weekend.

Local items fared especially well this year, including Indians and Browns tickets and signed memorabilia, VIP concert experiences from Live Nation, 100th Anniversary West Side Market packages and red-clay pottery from area artist Marie Nyland (who only creates items for this Auction and one other charitable organization). And, many bidders chose to turn what could have been a good deal into an extra good deed by actually overbidding on these items and many others, such as a single Sterling Lindner Christmas Ornament that went to a lucky (and generous) bidder for $650.

The Wine Auction on Friday, April 27 uncorked some friendly competition and enthusiastic bidding for amazing collections and hard-to-find wines. Viewers made their bids on the phone and online, and the 45th WVIZ/PBS Televised Auction also generated conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The 2012 WVIZ/PBS Televised Auction was generously underwritten by Eaton Corporation, KeyBank, Nordson Corporation, PNC Bank and Spero-Smith Investment Advisors, Inc. And, thank you to the following Auction Board Sponsors: Alcoa, ComDoc, Greater Cleveland RTA, Huntington Bank, Live Nation, MCPc, Inc., The National Child ID Program, The Plain Dealer, Rockwell Automation, The Sherwin-Williams Company and UnitedHealthcare. 

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