Greg "G-Man" Dellinger auctions a painting created by Elliott From. (Photo by Camilo Morales)
Money goes to Culver Fund, supports scholarships, unique programs and helps retain faculty and staff
Oct. 18, 2024
Culver Academies set another auction record with the help of Taylor Swift, an assist from Indiana University basketball captain Trey Galloway ’20 and the efforts of a legion of supporters who generously donated prizes, their time and bid on gifts in support of the Indiana boarding school.
The biennial Live the Legacy Auction, organized by the Culver Parents Association and held Sept. 27 at the Henderson Ice Arena, raised $2 million, breaking the previous mark of $1.7 million set at the last auction.
The money goes to the Culver Fund, which supports scholarships, helps attract and retain faculty and staff and allows Culver to continue to offer unique programs.
The three auction co-chairs, Catherine Vanessa Bentley ’89 SS’87, Meg Dinwiddie Bleakley ’91 and Sandy Markle praised the work of the subcommittee volunteers and the Culver Academies staff, parents and volunteers, particularly the two auction organizers, Julie Crews Barger, Culver’s director of parent relations, and Mary Szymusiak, senior special events coordinator.
“It’s the whole community that makes it great. There’s not one single factor I can point out. It’s Culver,” Bentley said.
The three co-chairs described the nearly yearlong effort as a “labor of love.”
“We made sure we found people we felt would contribute in a positive way and be excited about joining us along the entire journey,” Markle said. “We had a ton of fun doing it, so it never felt like it was work.”
Culver Academies supporters place their bids. (Photo by Sloan Losch)
Bleakley said the subcommittee chairs had a mix of boarding school, summer school and international parents who pulled the entire Culver community together.
“I think the key was we had a dream team of women who came together from all different segments of Culver who worked together to not only procure items but push out the messaging and promote the auction,” Bleakley said.
The co-chairs, along with Barger and Szymusiak, met every week on Tuesday nights over Zoom for nine months to plan, and met with the subcommittee members every other week.
The procurement subcommittee was made up of Bridget Collins ’93 W’88, Greta Jacobson SS’93 W’90 and Christine Elwood. Jenny Dorrel SS’95 and Emily Kershner were on the local engagement subcommittee. Bethany Jensen and Michelle Moncrief ’92 were on the logistic/décor subcommittee. Noreen Cagle ’85 ran social media and marketing and Kelly Place was in charge of editing.
Barger also credited Terrie and John Bollman ’75, the honorary co-chairs, for their work.
“It was great to recognize them because they have been involved in support of the school in so many ways,” Barger said. “They are just such wonderful ambassadors.”
Organizers were worried it might be difficult to top the $1.7 million raised in 2022 because the 2020 auction wasn’t held due to COVID restrictions.
“What if people saved up what they would have contributed in 2020 and really went big in 2022? Will this really sustain itself or was that a one-time thing?” Markle said.
Turns out, it wasn’t a one-time thing. It was a Culver thing.
Markle said the 2022 co-chairs Christine Barrett and Carrie Hart built a great framework for this year’s chairs to work from.
“They set the bar high and stayed available for us. That was comforting to know that we could get advice from them,” Markle said.
The co-chairs said despite those concerns their goal all along was $2 million, although they kept that to themselves.
“I can’t tell you how exciting and rewarding meeting that goal was,” Bleakley said.
The CMA Corps of Drums helped get the live auction started. (Photo by Camilo Morales)
About 1,100 people attended the event where more than 500 items were up for auction, another record. The auction also set records for Raise the Paddle, where people donate to fund Culver scholarships, bringing in $591,000 (up 25 percent from $472,000 two years ago); for the silent auction, bringing in $477,585 (up from $328,033 in 2022); and sponsorships, bringing in $662,270 (up from $562,500 two years ago).
The live auction kicked off with Elliott From creating a painting on stage of an eagle in less than 10 minutes. The bidding lasted almost as long as two bidders competed for the painting.
“It was a fun way to start things,” Barger said.
Fifteen items sold for more than $15,000 each, including two vintage doors to Culver’s Admissions Office, two doors to Main Guard, two pairs of tickets to see Swift on her Eras Tour stop in Indianapolis and a package that included tickets to the Country Music Association Awards show, hotel stay and a private roundtrip flight.
Other high-priced items included a Ford Bronco Outer Banks edition, a private paddock suite to the Mexico City Grand Prix Formula 1 race and a 10-day trip to a three-bedroom beachfront condo in Maui, Hawaii.
“You have the people who can afford the experiences that go for tens of thousands of dollars. But then you have the sweet little things that co-eds and cadets made that sell for $25 or $35. We’ll take that,” Bentley said. “Then you have a keepsake from the auction.”
There were also other distinctive Culver items, such as a custom made 1,640-piece Memorial Chapel Lego set designed by Diego Jimenez ’25, a vintage 32-foot-long Oliver Field sign, a customized dry bar cabinet featuring a maple inlay of the Culver logo, and the right to be the first to wear the new Eagle mascot outfit at a Culver event.
Another interesting item was advertised as a chance to take part in a shootaround with Robbie Hummel, a former Purdue standout, at Culver’s Fleet Gym and then play a round of golf with Hummel at the R. Stuart Dickson '47 Culver Academies Golf Course. It also includes four VIP tickets to an Indiana University basketball game.
On the night of the auction, via a surprise video from Galloway, who led Culver to its first state basketball championship in Class 3A as a sophomore and a return trip to the championship game as a junior, the offering grew to a scrimmage for the winner and five friends with both Hummel and Galloway.
Bleakley said it was rewarding to see how the whole Culver community showed up to make the auction a success.
“People’s willingness to give above and beyond what we could have hoped for is what was so rewarding,” Bleakley said. “People were so eager to support our school.”
A custom made 1,640-piece Memorial Chapel Lego set designed by Diego Jimenez ’25. (Photo by Alysha May)