With the skeleton of the event’s backdrop still adorning most of the War Memorial Building’s historic inside, Hopkinsville’s Rotary Club spent some time Tuesday afternoon celebrating its record-breaking 75th Annual Radio Auction — before immediately turning its attention to improvements for next year’s 76th effort.
And before he could even speak, this year’s auction chair — Landan Stallons — received a round of applause.
The total, $634,000-plus, is more than a new high for the organization and its supporters.
It’s likely the benchmark moving forward, and Stallons noted overall totals have sharply increased since 2020.
Stallons also noted that — because of increasingly successful auctions — more business investments have been made through the club.
Two such examples this past week, he said, included the revelation of two new Rotary Impact programs.
Statistically, Stallons said the main auction total of $133,860 was also a record, which included 26 in-house big board items and 21 online big board items, and it was suggested that big board online links needed to be more readily accessible to the public, and more discussed during auction nights.
Furthermore, it was suggested that big board items be teased in a preview online and television slideshow, or perhaps a scrolling bottom-third ticker be used during the live auction hours.
Speaking of numbers, auctioneer Ted Jatczak put forth a major breakdown of statistics about this year’s auction, including:
+ In 2024, the auction sold 776 items for $107,347, an average of $138.33 per item. In 2025, the auction 783 items, for an average of $170.96, or a 24.7% increase.
+ Items were sold at an average 39 per hour, and each auctioneer sold an average 21.8 items per shift.
+ The obtaining of a liquor license proved prudent. Bottles of bourbon sold: 33. Adding in barrel-picking experiences: it’s 65. This doesn’t include the 12 dozen bourbon balls sold, either. One bottle of vodka, three bottles of champagne and one rare bottle of Brazilian Ypioca Cachaca.
+ And more than 60 gift certificates were sold at, or above, value for local and regional restaurants — serving as more than 10% of the auction’s total.
Like Restaurant Wars in Top Chef, food sales were competitive and impressive through week. Offerings like sweets, Boston butts, jambalaya and more than 200 pounds of fried fish corralled greater than $40,000, and the Hour Club — supporting students attending Hopkinsville Community College — raised a record $458,457, up more than 10% from last year.
Hour Chair Andrew Wilson said the annual golf scramble raised $28,000, a bourbon raffle raised nearly $6,000, the Roast & Toast raised more than $8,900, and Christian County Public Schools brought forward more than $31,000 — in what has been a long-standing partnership between the district and its Rotary Club.
Next year’s auction chair, Brett Pritchett, is now on the clock.
