Bidding for Change- YW Celebrity Auction with Martina McBride

Tennessean story

2006-06-12T00:37:00.000Z

FESTIVAL NOTEBOOK

Urban outfitting

Saturday afternoon, 500 sweat-soaked country fans sat in a tent, focusing intently on an oil painting of Wynonna Judd … sort of.

The painting featured Wynonna's face atop someone else's body. It also featured a snake and some other surreal elements, and it was in a heavy frame.

"That one certainly got my attention," said Martina McBride, just after the painting was auctioned off to the highest bidder ($350) at the annual YWCA Celebrity Auction With Martina McBride. Turns out the work of, um, art was seen on ABC's "Hope & Faith" television show during an episode with Wynonna as a guest star.
In 22 years, the auction has raised more than $750,000. Though the Judd painting didn't bring huge money, C'Dale Golovine of Houston, Texas, paid $4,000 for a chance to get into Keith Urban's pants.

"These actually fit me," she said. "I can't believe it."

Golovine, who sports blonde hair like Urban's, has paid charity dollars for other Keith items before. Three years ago at the YWCA auction, she was able to get a shirt for the bargain price of $375. She has also purchased a stage-worn jacket for $2,600, and the jeans help her complete what is surely one of the world's most expensive Halloween outfits.

— PETER COOPER, STAFF WRITER

CMAfest.com review

2006-06-12T00:18:00.000Z

Going… Going… Gone! Popular Martina McBride Celebrity Auction Raises Big Bucks for YW

It was 93 degrees hot and sunny as fans gathered under a shady tent in the Family Zone for The 23rd annual YW Celebrity Auction with Martina McBride hosted by Jay Teter and featuring Blue County, Jimmy Wayne and Trent Willmon. This is McBride’s eighth year with the auction. Before McBride’s highly anticipated arrival, the big ticket item was a pair of jeans worn on stage and autographed by Keith Urban, which went for $4,000.

Jennifer Rhodes and Amanda Millen from Atlanta, Ga., who were seated in the third row said; “No, we’re not bidding on anything, or at least we’re not planning on it. We’re just here to see Martina.”

When McBride arrived, dressed in denim capris, a white button-up shirt and red, lace-up wedge sandals, she headed straight for the stage to greet her ecstatic fans. Ah, the positive power of celebrity. From the moment the star graced the stage to auction off her personal items, the bidding skyrocketed.

McBride introduced her first item; “We’re on this Timeless tour, and it’s going really great thanks to a lot of you! We did a show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City; the first time I’d ever played there, and I was very thrilled that we sold-out the show in New York City. Radio City gave me this plague that says; ‘Presented to Martina McBride in honor of your sold-out performance, February 18, 2006’.” The item sold for a whopping $5,000.

One unique item McBride brought along was herself, but in a slightly smaller version.

“The people from Mattel called me up and said; ‘You want to be a Barbie?’” McBride explained. “I said, ‘Sure I’ll be a Barbie! But can we talk about the measurements, make them a little more realistic.’”

Mattel told McBride “no” on the measurements, but allowed her to have a lot of input in the actual styling of the Barbie, including the outfit that the Barbie would wear.

“This is unbelievable,” Pat Shea, YW CEO, said about the auction. “Because of this event, women in Nashville have somewhere safe to go 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Martina McBride, Verizon and CMA make this happen. This is great and we thank all of our sponsors.”

Auction organizers, Melinda Czarnyszka, Chair and Christy Czarnyszka, Co-Chair were also thanked for all of their hard work.

For a further review on the events of this year's CMA fest, visit: http://www.cmafest.com/2006/

See a Clip from Today's Auction!

2006-06-11T03:26:00.000Z

Despite having the auction on the hottest day of 2006 (a sweltering 93 degrees), today's auction was a complete success! Below is a clip courtesy of WKRN News 2!

Copyright 2006 by WKRN Nashville Tennessee. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.wkrn.com/nashville/news/big-attractions-to-cma-festival-charity-auction

YW Auction Becomes the 'Talk of the Town'

2006-06-03T22:27:00.000Z

Can you believe only one week remains until auction day?

Thursday June 8th, watch for YWCA representative Linda Ballew on 'Talk of the Town' , which airs on News Channel 5 at 12:30 p.m. and throughout the day on News Channel 5+. Check your local listings for station information.

Ballew will be showing Harry, Meryl and the gang some of the amazing items up for grabs at next week's auction as well as explaining the history and importance of the event.

The 2006 Roster and Schedule

2006-05-03T02:10:00.000Z

The Official 2006 Auction Poster!

The star-studded event is shining even brighter! Chely Wright, Trent Willmon and Blue County have been added to the roster, which already includes hit-makers Martina McBride, Jimmy Wayne and Jay Teeter.

From left to right: Jimmy Wayne, Martina McBride, Blue County,

Jay Teeter, Trent Willmon and Chely Wright

The following is the tentative schedule for the June 10th event:

7 a.m. Set- up

8:30 a.m. Registration

9:30 a.m. $10 grab bags on sale filled with posters, CDs and promotional material

10:30 a.m. Emcee Jay Teeter begins the bidding

11:30 a.m.- noon. Appearance by Jimmy Wayne

12:30 p.m.-1 p.m. Appearance by Chely Wright

1 p.m.-1:30p.m. Appearance by Trent Willmon

1:30 p.m.- 2:30 p.m. Appearance by Martina McBride

2:30 p.m.-3 p.m. Appearance by Blue County

This Just In: New items added!

2006-04-13T23:58:00.000Z

Lee Ann Womack's donation is sure to bring a pretty penny.

Support for the 2006 auction is coming from some huge names in country music. Below are a list of some of the latest items that are going to be auctioned off on June 10, 2006:

Autographed purple leather Terri Clark jersey worn during performance at 2003 CMA Awards
Lee Ann Womack autographed turquoise beaded cowboy hat
Framed, autographed Blake Shelton poster
Craig Morgan autographed t-shirt, I Love It CD, baseball glove and frisbee
Acoustic guitar autographed by Rascal Flatts
Wrangler cowboy hats autographed by Brad Paisley
Grand Ole Opry 80th Birthday Bash Hatch Poster autographed by Garth Brooks
Carrie Underwood prize package
Ashley Judd autographed movie promos
This Is My Country photo book autographed by Kenny Rogers and various artists
SHeDAISY autographed jeans and poster
Ricky Skaggs autographed western belt, Italian suede shoes and photo
Brooks & Dunn autographed stage shirt
The Very Best of The Eagles CD signed by all members
Autographed CDs from Daryl Worley, Josh Turner, Trace Adkins, Gary Allan and The Dixie Chicks
Wrangler Jeans autographed by Diamond Rio

Just a Little History...

2006-03-31T01:30:00.000Z

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

2006-03-27T04:43:00.000Z

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

2006-03-15T18:46:00.000Z

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