Auctioneer Col. "Stony" (Jerry) Emison

Public Policy internship auction a smash hit

The first annual Public Policy Internship Fund Barbecue & Auction held April 7 at the Sanford Institute was a huge success - exceeding expectations on all fronts. About 150 people attended and helped raise more than $37,000 to support public policy interns. Plans are already underway for a second auction next spring.

"We are very excited with this success, well beyond what anyone could have expected for a first-time auction, and we are extremely grateful to all of the board members, students, faculty, staff and friends of the Institute who made it possible," said Sanford Institute Director Bruce Jentleson.

"We raised more than enough money to meet the short-term needs of public policy students seeking financial support for their internships this summer, as well as to begin building up the endowment to meet our long-term needs," Jentleson said. "It is particularly heartening to see how this fundraiser brought us all together to work for a very worthwhile goal - and we all had a great time in the process."

The live auction saw high-spirited bidding on a range of items, including private lunches with N.C. Governor Jim Hunt, former Gore Chief of Staff Ron Klain, former UN Ambassador Ken Adelman, David Gergen of U.S. News & World Report, former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa James A. Joseph, Washington Post columnist and public policy Professor William Raspberry, Congressman David Price and Durham Mayor Nick Tennyson.

Also popular were vacation getaways in Greece, Nantucket, Buzzards Bay, Malibu, and Scotland (thanks to visiting professor Panagiotis Karamanos and board members Leslie Bains, Susan King, Tom McLain and Kathy Sorley); Broadway tickets, New York dinners, and an apartment overlooking Central Park (donated by board members Charles Sanders and Heather Ruth, and public policy professor Bruce Payne); rare wine (from board members Jeff Gargiulo and Robin Lail); third-row box seats at the Baltimore Orioles stadium (from board member and visiting lecturer Peter Hart); collectible art (from board member Ted Taub); plenty of autographed Blue Devils mens and women's basketball memorabilia; and much more.

The biggest ticket item in the live auction was a three-year lease on a brand new Volvo S-70 sedan, thanks to board member Shirley Robinson Hall, her husband Eric Hall and the Ford Motor Company. The silent auction included more than 50 goods and services contributed by public policy faculty, staff, students and friends.

The Sanford Institute is indebted to many, many people who contributed to the success of the auction, including auctioneer extraordinaire Colonel Stony (Jerry) Emison (he was electric!), the board of visitors (they came, they saw, they gave, with fearless leadership and encouragement from board member Kathy Sorley), Auction Committee Chair Teddie Brown (she kept everyone going and going), graduate and undergraduate public policy students (they used their incredible creativity and networking skills to gather an impressive array of goods and services), Institute staff (they contributed countless hours of volunteer labor because they believe in the cause), and many friends and colleagues (they came, bid for and bought more than 75 items).

The Institute is also grateful to all of the national, state and local officials and public figures who reached out to the next generation of public leaders now studying here in the Institute, by offering those very popular "power lunches."

We would especially like to thank the members of the auction committee: Director Bruce Jentleson; Committee Chair Teddie Brown and Co-Chairs Charmeka Bosket (MPP '2001), Lisa Jaworski (MPP '2001), and Jill Alexy (PPS Majors Union President) - they showed enormous grace under pressure; Committee Members Donna Dyer, Sandra Peters and Dee Reid, as well as other dedicated staff who worked above and beyond the call of duty, including: David Arrington, Belinda Keith, Jackie Terrell and Nancy Shaw.

Many thanks also to the students who tirelessly coordinated the donation of auction items, and in many cases contributed items themselves: Russ Allen, Eric Baim, Wendy Brown, Sarah Butzen, Ann Broeker, Emily Church, Kevin Corcoran, William Ewell, Carolyn Forno, Lisa Frack, Stephanie Gray, Amy Hepburn, Brian Hickey, Heather Holsinger, Brad Hunt, Ying Ji, Sarah Kaffenberger, Alex Kennaugh, Jaime Klima, Andrea Mazie, Janet Rosenblad, Renee Sewchand, Edith Stevens, Beth Tolle, Zoya Trofimenko, Jian Wang and Tanya Wolfram.

We are also extremely grateful to each of the individuals and organizations who contributed so generously by donating goods and services to the auction, including:

Russ Allen, Bill Ascher, Leslie Bains and Republic National Bank, Jordan Bazinsky, Bob Behn, Blaze and Glaze, Ann Broeker, Tony Brown, Wendy Brown, Maria Carrasco, Leigh Cherry and Family Garden, Carolyn and Tom Church, Emily Church, Matt Church, Charles Clotfelter, Phil Cook, and Kevin Corcoran;

Sandy Darity, Duke University Athletics Office, U.S. Sen. John Edwards, U.S. Rep. Bobby Etheridge, Mollie Finch, Joel Fleishman, Suzanne Folsom, Marilyn Foote-Hudson and Glaxo Wellcome, Inc., Carolyn Forno, Lisa Frack, Jeff Gargiulo, David Gergen, John Gilbert, Elliott and Shirley Robinson Hall and Ford Motor Co.;

Jay Hamilton, Peter Hart, Brad Hunt, Governor Jim Hunt, Sally and Franz Jaggar, Bruce Jentleson, Ying Ji, Hon. James A. Joseph, Panagiotis Karamanos, Alex Kennaugh, President Nan Keohane, Susan B. King, Ron Klain, Coach Mike Krzyzewski, Sunny Ladd and Ted Fiske;

Robin Lail, Amanda Lee, Fritz Mayer, Andrea Mazie, Tom and Celeste McLain, Denise and Chris McMahan and the Sanford Deli, N.C. Anglers & Outfitters, Nikos, Orvis Flytackle & Clothing, Bruce Payne and Jack Thomas, One World Market, Jill Ozarski, Stan Paskoff;

U.S. Rep. David Price, William Raspberry, Janet Rosenblad, Heather and Jim Ruth, Charles Sanders, Terry Sanford, Jr., Nancy Shaw, Jamie Shluker, Kathy Sorley and Niles Helmboldt, Ted Taub, Durham Mayor Nick Tennyson, Nan Tian, Susan Tifft and Alex Jones, Beth Tolle, Zoya Trofimenko, Washington Duke Inn, Jian Wang, Tanya Wolfram, Regina Yaeger and WUNC Radio.

Last, but not least, our heartfelt thanks to all who participated in the high-spirited bidding and buying for our public policy interns. We hope to see you at the next auction in spring 2001.