On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian advance director Troy Ruda shares information about the 2022 ACE auction and dinner.
Transcript:
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James Bell
The Hays Catholic Schools Ace auction is firing up this week advancement director with Thomas Moore prep Marion Troy Ruda stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Troy Ruda
Yes, and we're excited this year, because for the past two years, let's see, two years ago, we canceled all together and went fully online. And then last year, we tried to bring just a small group of people back together, but the auction was still online completely. And then this year is the first year that we're going to be a full in person auction with a portion of it being online and a portion of it being in person and the oral auction that that folks are accustomed to. So it's gonna be fun to have it. Welcome everybody back into the LBL in your Fieldhouse, very cool. I
James Bell
love that. And you know, it's it's so neat to me, as you know, we're all kind of coming out of the pandemic, to hear about all of these organizations are these things like this fundraisers that have really kind of embraced the digital along with the in person?
Troy Ruda
Yeah. If you would have asked us three years ago, would we ever take the auction online, we probably would have said, Heck, no, it would have been a hard no for us. Because it was so successful the way that we were doing it. But the circumstances forced us into a response of learning how learning how the online auction can work. And it turned out really well, I don't know that we'll ever go back to the full in person auction where you have to be there because this is able to let so many more people become involved around the world if they would like to. So it didn't, it just all of the supporters can come out. And so the online has its, you know, we learned something in the last couple of years on on how we can, how we're going to be able to go forward in the future with this auction.
James Bell
Yeah. But you know, in the but the online to me, it never takes away from the excitement, the energy of doing something in person. So let's talk some details, right, because people are coming back and you've got some tickets still available for this event, right?
Troy Ruda
We do. There are a few tickets left to attend the in person auction, which begins on doors open for that at five o'clock on Saturday, at the Albion, your Fieldhouse there on the campus of TMP Marian. So if you would like to attend those tickets, the general admission seating is $100 per person. And that gets you a bid number to be able to bid on the oral auction items, as well as your dinner and beverages for the evening as well. And then finish off the evening with cinnamon rolls that are made by our kitchen. And there's also some fun games and things that throughout the evening that you'll be entered into, to win some prizes as well for attending. So if you would like to still attend, you're welcome to you can contact our alumni office at the school, and they'll get you set up with tickets.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. So you know, overall, you know, maybe we should back this up a little bit. This ace auction, it really is. It's one of those things that we talked about this all the time on the Catholic schools report how important these fundraisers are, because this is operating costs. And, you know, it's you guys do amazing things for the community and for the schools that you need these funds to keep it going.
Troy Ruda
Yeah, so there's two components to the auction. And it does benefit both Thomas Moore prep Marion as well as Holy Family Elementary, a portion of the funds that we raise will go to the operations at Holy Family. So when you support the auction, you'll support both schools. And so the two components of the auction are the operational fund itself, which is going to be the ticket sales and what and the the revenue that's generated by the items and the raffle tickets and those things and then everything that pretty much everything that's outside of the item was item number 60. Item List. Item number 60 is what raises funds for capital need of the school that are outside of the general operating budget. And we can talk a little bit about what that is this year. So traditionally, the auction will raise with both of those components over $700,000 for all of the things that all of the things that are going on. So it is a major. It is a major component of of our schools budget every year.
James Bell
Wow. Yeah, I want to talk about that. I am 60 though because that is such a cool program every year and you know, I'm curious what this year what what that's going
Troy Ruda
towards Well, I before before we talk about this year. I'd also like to talk about a big success that we're going to have coming this summer that started last year's auction. Last year's auction was to raise funds to begin repaving the the roadwork, the roadways at the school. It's an extremely expensive proposition. To raise to fund the entire project of the roadways would be about $1.7 million to do all of the parking lots and the driveways there. So we were able to raise money for phase one through last year's auction and see if worth on. Our maintenance team is putting up a banner today that we'll see from Wall Street that says coming coming summer of 2022 the first phase and so right after graduation you'll see machinery out there tearing out the entrances of 17th Street and Hall all the way past the field house and then making the round and going all the way down to on Victory Road to where we connect with a Laughlin. So that's going to be a huge, that's a huge thank you and a huge success for the funds that were given last year at ACE item 60. It always takes us about a year's lag, because we can't go forward with contracts and things until we have the funds raised. So once we get the funds raised, and we know that we have those, then we can go out to contractors and get the project actually scheduled. So it's about a year lag from when we raise the funds to when the project is going to start. So this year, we will be in advance of moving the sixth graders from Holy Family Elementary to TMP in the fall of 2023. We need to add classrooms to the junior high floor to accommodate the approximately 50 or more students that will be bringing into the into the junior high. So we will be using we will be renovating an unused wing of the third floor of the school. It used to be the dorm rooms where the Capuchin Franciscans lived when we had residents on campus. Since the captions moved out that wing has been unused and it's still the it's still the dorm rooms that they slept in. So now those rooms will all be taken out and three new classrooms will be added. And the existing restrooms that are there will be renovated into a new boys and girls restrooms. So that's pretty exciting for this year, because not only are we going to be able to welcome those sixth graders onto our campus, we're going to be able to have a little bit of room to move around at Holy Family that's busting at the seams. As well as, as those sixth graders are going to be able to have that junior high experience, which is going to be pretty, pretty fun to see them over there and they're ready by the time they get to sixth grade at Holy Family, they're ready to they're ready to go. So it'll be really fun to welcome them. The other great part about the item number 60 Is that when you give $1 to that that dollar turns into two, because we do have matching funds available from the DOJ on albino Dreiling trust, and they're matching all of the gifts that go into item 60. So your $1 becomes two your $100 becomes 200 so you can do double the you can make double the gift with their double the impact with your gift item number 60.
James Bell
Yeah, I love that. That's so great for for the school and for the county as well.
Troy Ruda
So we're you know, if if the funds are available, we'll begin some of the demolition work this summer. And then the completion of the work on the classrooms next summer at the summer of 2023.
James Bell
Awesome look forward to that. You know it's funny in the huge conversation right now in Hayes's is the USD 49 bond issue and, and how expensive it is. And it I think, for a lot of folks, when you when you put dollars like that on on on just projects like fixing the roads, it's like Holy smokes, I know, no wonder we talk about such big amounts, because it's just so expensive to get anything
Troy Ruda
these you think three classrooms, right. And it's not like you're building a whole new building with three classrooms and two bathrooms, it's estimated at over $492,000 Just to do those three classrooms. And it's just to do that now. It's everything is incredibly expensive. But you know, there's no signs that it's gonna get less expensive. You know, two years ago, two, three years ago, almost now, when we had a project to build the Learning Commons. I mean, all it was was tearing out and building a room, right? Building a big open room, in theory. It was it was approximately the same amount as it's going to be to do three classrooms. And that was almost three years ago. Wow. So there's no sign that it's going down.
James Bell
All we can do is help support things like the ASR.
Troy Ruda
That's exactly right. And you know, these are just great things for for the for the mission of, you know, of Catholic private education. And it's one of the great things that make Hayes great is the diversity of education that we have in our, in our city. Plenty of success to go around.
James Bell
Absolutely, absolutely. Well, anything else folks should know about this ace auction before we go? Yes. The
only other thing that I want to say is, raffle tickets are still available, as well. The raffles are a huge part of the auction for $100, you can get a ticket to win a nearly brand new car from autoworld a 2022. I believe it's a Hyundai beautiful car. So $100 will win your raffle ticket. There's also two $5,000 drawings. There's, I believe, to $2,000 drawings, or maybe just one $2,000 drawing and for $1,000 drawings. So you can purchase your raffle tickets if that's the only way that you can be involved in the auction. That's a great way to do it. And the raffle tickets are always, always a great thing for us. The other thing too, is that the online auction will be available to preview starting today, later this afternoon. So later this morning, we'll have it online, you'll be able to go to Hayes Catholic schools.org Just click on the menu and you'll see ace 2022 Click there and it'll take you right to the auction. You'll be able to preview all the items and register stir yourself with a bitter number. The actual online auction to be able to start bidding on will be this coming Friday, at nine o'clock, we'll kick that off with a chamber chat there at the field house. And we'll have an open house all day long. So anybody that would like to come out and see the items in person that they're bidding on their welcome to that we'll go, I believe until five o'clock on Friday. The other cool thing that we're going to do is if you come to the open house, and you would like to see the area that the competition's used to live in, it's an area that most people were never allowed to go into. And so if you would like to see that area, that's going to be turned into the classrooms, we'll be able to take you over there. And we'll have an open house in that area, as well as what's going to be renovated. So that's starting at nine o'clock on Friday, we'd invite anyone to the campus that would like to come. And then the other thing I want to mention is if you have bought a ticket to attend to the auction, you do not need to register yourself for the online auction. We'll do that for you. And you'll get a text message on on how you can with a link you can click right into so you have the same bidder number for the online as well as the in person. It's taken care of. Yeah, I love that. Yep. So we're excited. It's gonna be a busy week. But it's one of those things I told. I told the team over there in the advancement alumni office today as like, you know, this is the week that you get to enjoy the fruits of your hard labor. It's gonna be a hard week and it's gonna be a lot of hard work. But every once in a while, I'll step out and look at the great successes and look at how amazing of a project this is. And look at the big picture rather than just faced with the challenges all the time because if it's it's a really hard week, but it's also should be a really fun rewarding week.
James Bell
Absolutely. Very good. Again, more information. If you're curious about that on the website, right?
Troy Ruda
Yep. Hays Catholic schools.org Just click on menu
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