Rotary Club members reflect on the history of the WHOP Rotary Radio Auction

It’s almost auction season for the Hopkinsville Rotary Club and at their Tuesday meeting, WHOP General Manager Jeff Sisk spotlighted the past 74 years of WHOP Rotary Radio Auction history.

In March 1951, club members at the time attended a Rotary Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey and that’s where they first heard of a radio auction. Sisk says the members spent around $300 to travel to and attend the convention and afterward they called it the best money spent.

Then in August 1951 the first radio auction was hosted. Sisk says a goat was one of the first items sold. It was bought for $8 but the buyer gave it back to the club and it was later resold multiple times and inspired the creation of the Goat Club which spotlights donors.

The first auction raised around $3,550 and since then totals have only increased making it the club's biggest fundraiser. For the 74th auction, Rotary raised over $560,000 and over the course of 74 auctions, Sisk says the club has raised over $11 million.

Now the attention turns toward the 75th auction set for April 21 through April 26. The theme is “75 Years of Financing Our Future,” and Rotarian Landan Stallons is the auction chair. Funds from the auction will go toward the Rotary Scholars Program and the Rotary Impact Program which supports local students pursuing higher education.