CAFE art auction sells out

The bidding cards were flying Thursday night at Clinton High School from those who came out to support the annual Clinton Area Foundation for Education, known as CAFE, Art Auction.

“We thank everybody for being here this year to support us,” Brandon Warren, CAFE president, said during his welcome. “The funds earned here will be split between Michael Ray’s art department and CAFE. CAFE itself aims to aid teachers of Clinton City Schools, K through 12, to help support the projects and needs of their classrooms.”

It was veteran auctioneer Jeff Byrd’s turn to take the podium once again after that, as he’s done faithfully for CAFE for more than 20 years. He’d be there for just an hour as it only took that long for the 26 featured pieces to all be sold. At the end, just over $4,100 was raised.

“It wasn’t as big as it has been, but I still think it went pretty good,” Ray said after the auction. “I think we are competing with a lot of other things that are going on at same time, but that’s not a bad thing; it means we’ve got a vibrant community. So again, I think it’s was good and I’m still happy with how it turned out because we had good work.”

Byrd also shared a few words touching on what has continued to bring him back as the auctioneer year after year, put simply the students.

“It’s always been the students,” he said. “I mean, they really and truly enjoy it and they put a lot of effort into it. My daughter graduated from here in 2011 and she was involved in this too. I just really love it, that’s why I’ve been doing this here for over 27 years.”

Seeing as this was an event to uplift their students and staff it was only natural that some of the CCS administration was present to show support. They were quite ecstatic about the event and were happy to express that.

“It’s always great and we love the art auction that brings out a different clientele and different members of our community,” Superintendent Dr. Wesley Johnson said. “They get to see the school and they get to see the wonderful works that our students have put together. It’s always exciting to see the competitiveness of the individuals competing and bidding against one another. It was a great experience and I love it.”

“The auction is a wonderful way to showcase our children’s artistic ability,” CCS Nutrition Director Sheila Peterson added. “We are so thankful to CAFE for supporting the arts at Clinton City Schools, also the parents and community members that came out to support.”

As for the student perspective, Makell Wright, who was also featured in the Sampson Art Council’s “Sharing Our Gifts” art show in 2023, shared what the experience was like for them.

“Oh man, I mean, it was just fun being involved,” he said. “There was a minimum auction amount, but I didn’t expect our pieces to all go for more than that. To the lady who bought my piece, I’m just glad that lady got the painting she wanted. I’m glad that she liked my work and now she has it. Really, that’s all there is to it, I’m just glad to have been involved.”