This year’s KARB Kickin Country 98.3 Annual Pie Auction can be summed up in two words, “financially rewarding.” This yearly event helps generate funds that stay local to assist cancer patients in Carbon, Emery and Grand Counties through the Southeast Utah Community Development Corporation.
The auction was started over ten years ago with each year outdoing the previous year. This year the purchasing of pies brought in an all-time high which exceeds past years and is more than last year’s total by $5,000.00. “The curtain has closed on what I never thought would happen this year,” said General Manager, Paul Anderson. “We raised an all-time high of $18,000.00 by auctioning off 53 pies which brought in $14,065.00, with an average pie price of $265.38. There was not one pie sold for less than $100.00 and the highest pie was sold for $2,770.00, plus we received a total of $3,935.00 in cash donations.” Monetary donations are still being made so the final calculations have yet to be calculated.
Some of the businesses that made cash donations are Taco Time, T.C. West, Roy & Yvonne Nikas, Kraync Motors, Carbon Emery Insurance, Smuin Rich & Marsing, Price Insurance, Emery Telcom, Peczuh Printing , Groggs, Tom Rhodes and many more.
This year marked the second year of hosting the entire pie auction at the radio station on Carbonville Road. This made for an exciting, busy day with phones ringing, volunteers taking bids, on-air personalities interviewing various guests within the community who shared their remarkable stories of hope with either coping or surviving cancer. Guests this year were Price City Mayor Mike Kourianos, Mona Williams, Barbara Piccolo, Diana Bettino, Christina Brown, Debbie Sackett, Shirley Stubbs, Glenna Gilson and daughter, Norella Pilling, Judi Bishop, Shauntel Westbrook, Brook Sherman Cowley, Carbon County Sheriff Jeff Wood. All the guests were able to influence listeners during their on-air interviews to up the ante on the pie that was being auctioned.
A total of 53 pies were donated by local residents, business leaders and dignitaries. This year featured good ol’ American Apple pie, cherry, peach, pumpkin, banana cream pies to name a few. There is also a few crowd favorites each year that always causes friendly banter among the bidders like Rose Barnes’ famous baklava that went for $250.00, Peanut Butter Cream with Chocolate Ganache Topping that was donated by Tony Martines that brought in $450.00 and Bill and Toni Thayne’s famous Magnolia Lemon Pie in a cast iron skillet which caused a three way bidding war between Ann Anderson, Wayne Clausing and Jaclyn Beacker Heugly. The Thayne’s telphoned into the radio station to encourage the three bidders to each donate $300.00 and the Thayne’s would make each of them a pie. The deal was made and brought in $900.00.
The items that were bundled with the delicious pies ranged from gift cards to local businesses in both Carbon and Emery counties, gift baskets, certificates to the Clark Planetarium, various concert tickets, Ungerman Meats, University of Utah Football Tickets, autographed sports memorabilia, home décor and Demolition Derby Tickets.
Every year towards the end of the day you can count on the final pie to generate the most proceeds for the cause. This year the pie was a delicious Sea Salt Caramel Apple Concert Pie donated by Kickin Country. It was bundled with USANA concert tickets to Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Thomas Rhett, plus tickets to Tooele’s Country Fan Fest, as well as NASCAR and NHRA tickets, along with a flat-top grill and an opportunity to spend the day with Carbon County Sheriff Jeff Wood. For the second year in a row, the highest bid of the day was by Dinosaur Les Schwabb Tires who purchased the pie for a whopping $2,770.00.
Overall, the event organizers, volunteers, merchants/businesses, guests and the entire community would agree that the annual pie auction is a gratifying way to can give back to the community when it comes to “Kickin Cancer in the Pie.”
The funds earned stay local to assist residents in Carbon, Emery and Grand Counties that must travel to receive cancer treatments with $100.00 fuel cards, as well as towards the Thomas B Anderson scholarship fund that helps a student in either Carbon or Emery county who has had or has cancer to further their education.
Castle Country Radio Stations would like to thank everyone for making this year’s annual pie auction a huge success.