ATHOL — Operators will be standing by to take your calls on Dec. 3 and 4.
The 21st Annual AOTV Auction is slated to start at noon each of those days to benefit the non-profit television station and its non-profit radio affiliate, 105.9 FM WVAO.
AOTV Executive Director Carol Courville said at least 100 people have volunteered for various tasks at the auction of nearly 600 donated items that range from $10 to $800 in value. She said people are invited to call in with their highest bids on items they want. The money, she said, goes toward “being able to sustain the level of commitment that we have to the community.”
Courville said the auction reached its $30,000 goal for the first time last year and the station hopes to repeat it this year.
“It’s really a community event that lasts two days,” she said. “It’s like a PBS auction.”
She said the station has two full-time staffers and several part-timers.
Courville said she expects Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, state Sen. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer, and state Rep. Susannah Whipps Lee, R-Athol, to serve as celebrity hosts. She said selectmen, town managers, police chiefs and fire chiefs from Athol and Orange have also been invited.
Courville said the auction will be streamed live on aotv13.org and broadcast on 105.9 FM WVAO and 97.3 FM WJDF. You can also listen to the audio stream on www.wjdf.com. For more information or to be assigned a bidder number, call 978-249-4470. To call in to bid on Dec. 3 and 4, call 978-249-6500.
Courville said the event’s three main underwriting sponsors are Witty’s Funeral Home, Athol-Orange Rotary Club and Athol Savings Bank.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 258. On Twitter: @DomenicPoli