I don't think I've ever met a person who doesn't like having a good time.
A good time looks different to all of us. Some had the best hours or days this past weekend celebrating Thanksgiving with their families and being with their loved ones. Others prefer big loud gatherings, and Christmas get-togethers, weddings or just good old parties might be more of their thing. Some prefer a more narrow circle with just one or two of their most important people.
One way or another, we are social animals, we like our packs, flocks, herds and little villages. Most of us like having people around. And while I first thought about dedicating this column to just the importance of having a good time and being surrounded by those who matter (inspired by my own Thanksgiving), I actually ended up switching gears and turning towards good times in general.
And what I believe will be a really great time for people in this community is coming up this week and will be the result of a great collaboration.
On Oct. 13, we at the Mercury, along with the Golden West Broadcasting Estevan team, are inviting everyone to join us and have fun at the Estevan Market Mall, where we'll be hosting our second Million Dollar Auction.
It may look like just another community event, but for us, it was and remains really big. And by us, I mean our sales managers and representatives, who had to be really creative, ambitious, patient and brave to pull it together.
Not only did we almost have to invent this event last year but, aiming at having something indeed good for local people, we also got together with our competition, which doesn't happen too often in business. (Have you ever heard of Coke and Pepsi working together for the interests of the community? Neither have I.)
To tell you the truth, when the Million Dollar Auction was born, we pretty much had no idea what we were doing. Not only did we not know what to expect, but COVID added ravelment to that. All we wanted to do was to generate some activity in the community. After many tough months, we wanted to stimulate some added motion around businesses, attract some attention to ourselves and the work we are doing, and create some movement just around town. But mainly we just wanted to have fun together with local people and spread some joy.
After all, we offered people to win something valuable without risking anything, while also having fun. Collecting money for the Million Dollar Auction to then be able to bid and "buy" prizes was pretty much as easy as adding your name to a prize draw list but was much more fun.
Our small and brave sales teams (and those who know us from the inside won't let me lie, we are pretty short-handed on all fronts) had to come up with a structure that would be entertaining and engaging, but also working, and then get businesses on board, get people out and about and then find a way to get together despite all the pandemic challenges.
Last year was our first trial. We couldn't have seating or any other attractions at the location due to restrictions. Throughout several weeks we had a bunch of fake money up for grabs all over town, we had really good prizes and professional auctioneers to auction them off, but everything else was as new to us as it was to you, our guests.
The rules of the auction were pretty straightforward. Our Million Dollar Auction money was the only currency to be used. And that was pretty much it. Following democratic principles, everything which was not forbidden was allowed.
People could work together; people could wait for what they wanted or they could try getting whatever and then making use of it. People could just come and watch the event, they could bid on behalf of someone else who trusted them with their money, or they could just pass their fake savings to whoever was in the room. We didn't regulate how people worked and what they decided to do with what they'd accumulated.
In the end, we had quite a bit of money that wasn't used up, and some people left disappointed. This year, to address it, our organizers came up with a raffle table with smaller items, so that cash that didn't do the job in buying bigger prizes can be used to enter to win other goodies supplied by local businesses. That will add another opportunity and another twist to an already interesting game.
Our salespeople worked really hard these past two months to make sure things come together and we indeed have a great community event. So please, come over and join us in having fun. Bid, watch, participate and just enjoy.
Let's make this Thursday night memorable for all of us.
