Game Night
Program and Arrangements Committee is hosting a game night in the Exhibit Hall on Wednesday evening following worship. Come make new friends and connect with old friends while playing your favorite game. While you are there take a stroll around the Exhibit Hall to meet and greet the exhibitors.
Ice Cream Social
Eder Financial will be providing ice cream treats in the Exhibit Hall on Wednesday evening following worship. Come meet the Eder Financial staff and pick up an ice cream treat to enjoy as you play a game or browse the exhibits.
Coffeehouse Stage
A small stage in the Exhibit Hall will feature short musical performances, storytelling, and other presentations throughout the week. Grab a cup of coffee or tea at the coffee kiosk and sit for a few moments to enjoy one of these performances.
Cupcakes with Carter
Join Bethany President Jeff Carter in the Coffeehouse area on Thursday at 4:30 for a Q&A session to learn about updates around campus and enjoy a cupcake to celebrate Bethany’s 30th anniversary in Richmond, Indiana.
Silent Auction
The Program and Arrangements Committee is once again holding a silent auction at Annual Conference in Grand Rapids this summer. The idea emerged during a discussion about how we could intentionally contribute to the vitality of and increase traffic in the Exhibit Hall. However, it also offers us an opportunity to raise some additional funds. Proceeds for this year’s auction will be split between a special fund to offset translation expenses related to Annual Conference as we seek to expand our welcome and the general operating budget for Annual Conference.
You can help!
Contribute an item to the auction. We are requesting donations of items to be included in the auction. Potential items fall in three categories:
- Experiences – Included in this category are things like tickets to events, use of vacation homes, trips, classes, a living room concert, and so on.
- Gift Baskets – Baskets could be assembled around a theme (perhaps a retreat or family game night), organizational “swag”, books (perhaps a recommended reading list), regional products, food, and so on. Be creative.
- Arts and Craft Items – Included in this category are quality and unique hand-made items like woodworking, pottery, fabric art, paintings or drawings, and so on.
Items being donated must be registered in advance. NO UNREGISTERED ITEMS WILL BE ACCEPTED ONSITE THIS YEAR. To register a donation, go to www.brethren.org/ac2024/silentauction to submit your contact information and a description of the item you wish to contribute. ONLINE SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY JUNE 1. Actual items must be onsite at Annual Conference no later than 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 3. Arrangements can be made to ship them to the Annual Conference office in advance if you are not planning to attend Annual Conference.
Volunteer to assist with the auction. We will need volunteers to staff the auction throughout Annual Conference. Volunteers will assist with receiving and staging auction items, registering bidders, and identifying/notifying winners. Anyone interested in volunteering can sign up for a shift here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945AFA722A4FCCF8-annual.
Visit the auction and bid—over and over again. Once onsite at Annual Conference, attendees are encouraged to visit the silent auction to bid on your favorite items (and browse through the exhibits while you are there). Make sure to return throughout the week to see if you have the winning bid or if you need to enter a higher bid. Bidding will open at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, July 3 and end at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, July 6. Winners will be announced by 4:30 p.m. that day and will have until 7:00 to return to the Exhibit Hall to pay for and pick up their items.
Auction rules and instructions
Auction Rules
- Items may be added or withdrawn without notice.
- Bidders must be 18 years of age or older.
- The auction will open and bidding will begin when the exhibit hall opens at noon on the first day of Conference
- Auction items will be priced based on their fair market value: Items will not be appraised. Fair market value will be determined by Program and Arrangements Committee in consultation with the donor. Starting bids will be 50% of fair market value unless donor specifies a different amount. Minimum bid increments will be specified for each item (generally 10% of fair market value unless otherwise determined by Program and Arrangements Committee in consultation with the donor). Bids that do not meet the minimum bid increment will be disqualified.
- Bidders can bid multiple times on the same item.
- The auction will conclude at 2:00 p.m. on the final full day of Conferenc. No bids will be accepted after that time. The bidder with the highest recorded bid for each item at the close of the auction will be awarded the item. Winners will be notified by text and/or email.
- Winning bidders agree to pay in full. Items will not be released until payment has been received in full.
- All items must collected by the buyer in-person at conclusion of auction unless other arrangements have been made. Buyer is responsible for shipping costs if necessary. Any items not paid for and claimed by 6:45 p.m. the day the auction concludes will be awarded (“resold”) to the second highest bidder.
- Payment can be made by cash, check, or credit card.
- Contributions from purchases are not automatically tax-deductible. Only the amount bid over fair market value will be considered a charitable contribution and tax deductible. A receipt for that amount will be provided.
- Buyer accepts all risks and hazards associated with their purchase.
- Limits may apply to some items: Gift cards or certificates are subject to availability and “black-out” dates.
- All sales are final. There are no exchanges and all items are sold “as is”. There will be no refunds after purchase. Buyers are responsible for purchased items once they are claimed.
Instructions for Bidding
- All persons bidding on items must register and consent to the auction rules to receive a bidder number.
- To bid, bidders must place their bidder number and bid on the bid sheet.
- Bidders may return to increase their bid as many times as they want until the close of the auction.
- The initial bid must meet or exceed the posted minimum bid. Subsequent bids must meet the posted minimum increase requirement.
Auction rules and instructions as downloadable PDF