October 22, 2009

RIS 'Online/Nonline' Benefit Auction to Kick Off Oct. 28

MACOMB, IL - - Looking for ways to start your holiday shopping early this year? You can do so -- and benefit a great cause at the same time -- by bidding for items on the Radio Information Service's (RIS) 11th annual "Online/Nonline 'Think Holiday' Auction Wednesday, Oct. 28 through 12:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6.

The auction's proceeds will benefit the RIS, which fosters equal access to printed material for individuals who are visually impaired or physically disabled, and will help fund its general operating expenses for the coming year.

A link to the auction site will available be on the RIS website beginning Oct. 28 at tristatesaudio.org. The items will also be displayed at the Tri-States Audio Information Services (AIS) studios, where bidders can bid "nonline" from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays during the auction.

"Our committee members have secured an extensive collection of items, and again this year, we are eager to showcase our auction site," said Carol Dennhardt, AIS director. "A lot of familiar patrons of the RIS, as well as new businesses and individuals, donated items this year, and we thank them all for their generosity."

The auction site, complete with photographs and descriptions, will preview the items, track the starting and current bid amounts, and keep a tally of the total amount of bids received. Bidders can submit their bid at ais@wiu.edu.

"Our staff will record and track all bids and notify the bidders when their bid is received. We believe we have created a more user-friendly auction experience with this method," Dennhardt said. "But competition will be present, because online bidders compete with those who bid at our studios. In-person or 'nonline' bidding, along with online bidding, was created as a way to give more people an opportunity to participate with this auction. The website will be updated regularly and will reflect online and 'nonline' bids alike."

Items will be on display from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, Oct. 28-Nov. 6, at the RIS studios in the University Services Building, 320 W. University Drive. Off-hour and weekend appointments can be made by contacting Dennhardt at (309) 298-2403.

This year's sponsors are Dr. Tim Bengston of Professional Eyecare Center and State Bank of Industry.

Items up for bid are categorized into Art and Handcrafted, Automotive, Household, Lodging, Music and Entertainment, Recreation and Leisure, Services, Special Interest, and Sports.

Items available for bidding include:

Log Cabin Star Amish quilt; African market basket; Art City and Gallery $50 gift certificate; Floor to Ceiling decorative hand-painted tray; Limoges Box; handcrafted bracelet; Soy Scents vanilla candle; market basket; Bead Retreat bracelet kit and instruction by D’Ette Myers; Longaberger memory basket; barnwood sleigh; Boehm "Game Birds of North America" ring-necked pheasant plate; Boehm "Game Birds of North America" bobwhite quail plate; Boehm "Game Birds of North America" American woodcock plate;
Handcrafted ash bookstand by Dan Curtis; June Star quilt by Betty Weber; hand- painted pine toy cart and hand-painted doll wardrobe by Linda Miller; winter wreath; "Native Circles" turquoise necklace designed by Erika Wolfe; oak state quarters holder; Lundgren’s complete auto detailing; Keister's Tire Centers $60 gift certificate; Attic Upholstering and Decorating $50 gift certificate; Peerless kitchen faucet; $25 gift card from Niemann's County Market;
Scent diffuser and potpourri; emergency First Aid kit; The State House Inn, Springfield (IL), one-night stay; Inselhaus Bed and Breakfast gift certificates (3) for one-night stays, Dorothee Gossel, Innkeeper; Robert Shaw CD, "Master of the First Art"; contemporary folk CD by Garnet Rogers, "Firefly"; Bureau of Cultural Affairs pair of tickets; University Theatre's productions of: "An Enemy of the People" (2 tickets); the musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" (2 tickets); and "The Taming of the Shrew" (2 tickets);
YMCA of McDonough County 3-month adult membership; Curves 3 consecutive months membership at Macomb Curves; Budweiser canvas bags (2-in-1); folding cosmopolitan club chair; WIU Campus Recreation Wellness Pass; pool party at Campus Recreation; Timberhill Nurseries $100 gift certificate; Massage by Bertha Marshall, masseuse; haircut and style from Blades Creative Hairstyling for You; Arnold Brothers Heating and Cooling $80 gift certificate; Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. $25 gift card (2); apple/ginseng shampoo and conditioner; Ludlum Food Mart $50 gift card (2); two hours of yard cleanup;
Bicycle tune-up; R&R Spa $45 gift certificate; Apollo Cleaning Center $25 gift certificate; All Pets Veterinary Clinic gift certificate for one bath package; Azer III, P.C. one-hour professional massage therapy gift certificate; Bumble and Bumble Styling Lotion for Golden Blondes; Cakes by Kathy $35 gift certificate; Tae Kwon Do lessons; guitar or drum lessons; autographed book, "The Lost Quilter"; self-defense DVD; James Bond Trilogy book and soundtrack; Nelson’s Clothing $20 gift certificate;
The Silhouette Shop $25 gift certificate; lasagna dinner for six; video-to-DVD transfer from The Ad Pro (2); Coca Cola Products (total of 24 cases); knitting lessons by Denise Elston; 2010 National Public Radio (NPR) calendar; Hart’s Nursery gardening gift basket; 18-month 2009-2010 wildlife calendar; Avon products holiday gift basket; Saddlehorn Cellars Merlot and Quill Lake Estates Sangiovese; "Knightia eocaena" fish fossil; "Asphiscus wheeleri " trilobite; "Ginkgo adiantoides" leaf;

Gift certificates from Envy (2); Robert Tonner doll/Mary Engelbreit's Georgia; Robert Tonner doll/Mary Engelbreit's Ann Estelle; Rialto Movie posters ("Harry Potter," "My Sister’s Keeper," "The Forbidden Kingdom," "G-Force"); ESPN The Magazine fleece pullover; golf lessons with Mel Blasi; Kosuke Fukudome (Chicago Cubs) No. 1 autographed baseball; University Union Bookstore WIU hooded sweatshirt; and Nike golf shoe bag.

Auction winners can pick up their items from 12:30 p.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, or the following week from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, Nov. 9-13 at the RIS office or by special appointment.

The Radio Information Service (RIS) is a regional radio reading service. Broadcasting on subcarrier channels of WIUM-FM, Macomb; WIUW-FM, Warsaw/Keokuk; WQUB-FM, Quincy; and WVKC-FM, Galesburg. The RIS reaches a 20-county area spanning west central Illinois, southeast Iowa and northeast Missouri. Volunteers read national, regional and local newspapers, magazines and novels. Primary attention is given to daily newspapers serving RIS communities and articles that have a local emphasis. The RIS operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Listeners are supplied with pre-tuned radios to receive the broadcasts or they listen through the Internet on the Web Streaming Service located at tristatesaudio.org.

Tri-States Audio Information Services' Radio Information Service is a service of Western Illinois University, College of Fine Arts and Communication.
For more information about Tri-States Audio Information Services' service and volunteer opportunities, visit the website at tristatesaudio.org or call (309) 298-2403.

For more information, contact Dennhardt at (309) 298-2403.

Copy By: Alison McGaughey, University Relations
Phone: (309) 298-1993 * Fax: (309) 298-1606