Just a Little History...

The “YWCA All-Star Celebrity Auction” started over 22 years ago, and in its run, has cummulatively raised $750,000. The money raised each year goes to support the -YWCA’s domestic violence shelter, 24-hour crisis hotline and essential career development programs.

The first celebrity host for this event was Opry darling Minnie Pearl. In years that followed, Brenda Lee, Waylon Jennings, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Pam Tillis, Lynn Anderson, Crook and Chase, Kathy Matea and Charlie Daniels have all served as celebrity hosts.

Martina McBride became involved with the YW in 1995. She had just released her signature hit “Independence Day,” which deals with the problem of domestic violence, and it was at that time that she became more involved in women's issues. So much so that as she toured the United States, she began to speak to young women through the YWCA. Her subsequent hit “Broken Wing” further revealed her dedication to bringing this important message to the public. View these and other Martina videos at: http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/mcbride_martina/videos.jhtml

Because of her dedication to the cause, McBride hosted the auction in 1996. After hosting again in 1997, the auction was officially named “The Celebrity Auction with Martina McBride.” This year’s event will be Martina’s eleventh consecutive year to host the auction during The Country Music Festival, formerly known as Fan Fair.

The auction is completely free, and a festival ticket is not required. This makes the auction a great way for local people to have a taste of the “Fan Fair” experience without having to buy an expensive ticket a year in advance.

For those wanting to attend but not break the bank on bidding, $10 grab bags filled with posters, cds and other promotional items can be purchased. These popular items usually sell out before the first item is put up on the auction block.

Many items go for anywhere between $100 to $500. These might include a shirt Ronnie Dunn wore on stage, or a hatchet from Trace Adkins' garage or a maternity dress from Faith Hill! In other words, although the YW hopes to raise as much money as possible, this is not a fundraiser for only the “hoity-toity.” Regular folks can have a great time bidding, too!

However, high bidders do attend and take home such treasures as the white tuxedo worn by Garth Brooks in the "Red Strokes" video. When the gavel hit the table on that item, the new owner was $14,000 lighter. Framed, handwritten song lyrics are also hot items and have sold for several thousand dollars each.

Every year Jim Stevens Auction and Realty has generously donated their services to handle the professional auction process. Surprise guests have also been known to stop by, which is always a big hit with the crowd. In 2005, Miranda Lambert, Jimmy Wayne, Keith Anderson and Naomi Judd were just a few of the celebrities who thrilled the audience by auctioning their personal items.

The annual auction now draws crowds up to 500 attendees and would not be possible without he support of the CMA, amazing sponsors like Verizon Wireless and a loyal volunteer base.

Auction Highlights 2005

Miranda Lambert stikes a pose for attendees.

Naomi Judd auctions off daughter Wynonna's Copley guitar for $3,5oo.

JoDee Messina hands off her hit record "Burn" to the highest bidder.

XXL Keith Anderson gives a fan an autograph.

The 2005 YWCA Celebrity Auction getting heated up.

The 2005 YWCA Celebrity Auction was held the last day of the CMA Music Festival, Saturday, June 12, when Jo Dee Messina, Naomi Judd and many other country music personalities helped to raise $115,000 for the YWCA of Middle Tennessee, which provides education and aid for women in violent situations. Martina McBride has headlined the Auction for the past 13 years but due to the birth of her daughter, she did not attend in 2005. She will be back in the Auction spotlight for 2006.

Emcee Jay Teeter ("Football, Beer and You") was joined by JoDee Messina ("I'm Alright," "Burn"), Keith Anderson ("Pickin' Wildflowers"), Carolyn Dawn Johnson ("Complicated"), Miranda Lambert ("Kerosene"), Jimmy Wayne ("I Love You This Much") and Naomi Judd ("Love Can Build a Bridge") to promote successful bidding at the event.

The highest bids of the day were for Wynonna's personalized Copley black guitar, which went for $3,500, and her signed Gibson electric guitar that sold for $3,300. Other high-dollar items included signed lyrics from Big & Rich's "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" for $2,000; Martina's signed Barbie for $1,475; and Messina's framed and signed Greatest Hits for $1,675.

The YWCA wishes to recognize the following sponsors of the 2005 Auction:

• CMA Music Festival (www.cmafest.com)
• Carl Black Chevrolet (www.carlblackchevy.com)
• Verizon Wireless (www.verizonwireless.com)
• WSIX (www.wsix.com)
• Wrangler (www.wrangler.com)
• Copy Solutions Inc. (www.copysolutionsinc.com)
• Bush Beans (www.bushbeans.com)
• Lawry's (www.lawrys.com)
• Belle Meade Framers & Gallery (www.bellemeadeframers.com)
• DragonFly Screen Graphics (www.dragonflysg.com)

Without the support of Nashville businesses and media, the event would not continue to grow.

Not Just a Movie of the Week Issue

An educational video shown in health class or a Lifetime afternoon movie do not convey how close to home this epidemic of domestic violence is to the Nashville area. Many victims don't come forward or do not know exactly how to define what is happening to them.This topic being a new one for me, I had no idea that the below statistics were this bleak.

An estimated one in three women will experience abuse at the hands of a loved one within her lifetime. When the formula is applied to Davidson County census data, as many as 77,485 local women have been or are likely to become victims of domestic violence and 20,524 girls are in this group.

Domestic violence is the single largest cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States.

Domestic violence is the single largest cause of homelessness among women in the United States