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I
still remember the day in June of 1997 when I volunteered to
help with our annual auction. I was truly excited and
challenged.
Then I witnessed the vast amount of effort and chaos that
came with running a charity auction.
My name is Steve Chwalisz. Every year, my
church in Buffalo Grove ran an auction.
I always
enjoyed going. When I was asked to volunteer, I thought it
would be fun and that year I had committed to help.
At our first meeting, I was briefed on the
auction preparation procedures. I could not believe the number of letters, bid sheets, items,
cards and other preparations needed. After questioning the
office manager, I realized that they used a word processor to
store the donor and item data, and a spreadsheet on auction
night to track the purchasing. All documents were printed using
custom mail merges. What a time consuming nightmare I thought.
I then tried demos of other auction programs. They were way too
complicated for most computer users.
Being Microsoft Access proficient, I volunteered to computerize
the auction for the 1997 season. Every day, I use Microsoft Access databases for tracking
Insurance reimbursements, auto maintenance, and Christmas card
addresses at home and write other data applications at work.
My #1 goal…To make this program EASY! I knew many
volunteers would use the program for inputting. Few of which
were computer buffs.
My #2 Goal...Bidders receive a detailed receipt on the night
of the auction without waiting.
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The 1997 pre-auction arrived, the program printed letters, bid
sheets, cashier cards, and all that was needed. The auction night
wasn’t that easy. Only some of the receipts had been printed that
night because the sales input system was poorly designed. I had a
year to rewrite it.
In 1998, Donors and Donations were inputted by the office
staff. Tickets were pre-sold and bidders information were
pre-registered into the database. Many paddle #s were pre-assigned.
Items were grouped (sometimes 5 items to 1 auction). Bid sheets,
cards, and booklets were printed with 1 click. Yes! I finished the
sales input much quicker. Everybody received their receipts on that
special night!
In 1999, several updates and upgrades significantly improved
this program. My program was so simple and time saving, I just had
to make it available to organizations everywhere.
This program is updated with new features and changes on an
ongoing basis. Changes are based on new ideas from our church and my
clients. When purchasing this software, you are getting the latest
version available at that time.
Today, I can’t imagine running an auction without this program. It is now
available to purchase. Order yours today!
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